Why Don't I Receive Checks?
Jihad el Khazen Al-Hayat - 13/12/05//
Today I'm writing about the Arab and World Media Conference 2005, organized by the Arab Thought Foundation, assisted by the Dubai Press Club and with hosted graciously by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, the Crown Prince of Dubai. The conference itself received wide coverage in the Gulf and around the world. I have some personal observations to make.
The "password" at the sessions was the "coverage" of news, a word that has only recently come into use in Arabic. It's a literal translation from English and seems to be the most appropriate term under our current conditions in the Arab world. We literally cover news, as in cover up.
The conference's sessions dealt with coverage in the wide sense of the term, and in the way I understand it. There was a discussion of different types of censorship, and general and specialized sessions that dealt with what is important and more important in Arab and non-Arab journalism. Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the Chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation, observed that among those invited were 126 leading foreign media figures, some representing corporations or interests bigger than the entire Arab media sector put together (there are US, Japanese and other papers that have a greater income than that of all Arab media).
I was happy to hear Prince Al- Waleed bin Talal speak about the economy, since that's his field, and especially because we were in Dubai, where economic success has been considerable. I turned to my friend Mohammed al-Qarqawi, one of the leading investment figures in Dubai, to scold him for not telling me, despite our long friendship, about an upcoming economic boom, so that I could have bought shares.
"Be quiet," he said. "I haven't bought shares either."
Queen Rania of Jordan attended the opening session, and it was an opportunity to thank her for something specifically Jordanian. On certain occasions, Jordanians exchange cards with family pictures on them. I recently received one with the King and Queen and their children, which I added to early ones, in which you see the children grow. I have similar annual cards from Prince Talal bin Mohammed and Princes Ghida and their children, and from many other friends.
MP Saad Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority in Lebanon, also spoke during the conference and answered the questions of the leading British journalist, Nick Higham, of the BBC. I spoke with MP Hariri later and asked him if he noticed how people clapped enthusiastically when he spoke about the resistance and occupied land. At all occasions, and this is documented, there is a quick and clear positive response to patriotic positions, which all people support. If the conference represented the Arab elite, then we can appreciate the position of the public in each Arab country.
Discussing patriotic positions would not be complete without discussing Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League. He spoke at the opening session and I had a session with him at the hotel, which brought together Hamdi Qandil, Dr. Intisar Aqil, Dr. Samia al-Fasi and Mrs. Farah al-Atassi, a blonde "nationalist girl" like we were as well during our youth.
Dr. Aqil presented me with her book Five Freedoms and I will definitely read it. Farah gave me her book, The Mask, a collection of short stories, and I promise to read it as well. Earlier, Dr. Shehab Jamjoum gave me his book, The Arab Media and the Culture of Human Rights.
I know that I'm a journalist and I must read for my job. However, I do many other things besides reading that require spending money. So my question is, Why don't I receive checks?
I should say something here, so some idiot or "admirer" doesn't interpret it the wrong way. The first part of the paragraph is my advice to every journalist who wants to write - one must read before writing (or contact officials, to benefit from their opinions, which complements reading). The girl gets married and then pregnant. A writer must read, and then write. If you get pregnant before marriage, or if you write before reading, the product will be bad news. The second part of the section was just a joke, since my imaginary salary is enough - it's a little bit more than enough, and I don't know what to do with the rest. I'm thinking about investing in the Dubai Stock Market.
Dubai deserves to be the topic of an Arab conference on "success," since the progress that Dubai has achieved in recent years has been unprecedented. I have a big file from the foreign press on the topic. I brought it with me to give to Mona al-Mirri, the president of the Dubai Press Club, but left it in my suitcase. It returned with me so I sent it from London via express mail.
In every conversation of mine with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, in every conversation of mine with him, does not stop at mentioning the media city, medical city or other city, or the Dubai Tower, but also stresses the human progress in Dubai. All nationals work and female nations have made great strides in a single generation, compared to their mothers. Some women hold high posts. The contribution by the Dubai Press Club, its (female) president, and the young men and women there were fundamental in seeing the Arab and World Media Conference become a success.
The final meeting of the pillars of the Arab Thought Foundation decided to hold the annual conference in Beirut next year, under the title "Arab Political Movement: Where is it Headed?" I'm afraid that Arab political movement is actually a case of running in the opposite direction, or what is called the dynamism of backwardness. I hope I'm wrong and that we move in the right direction, although I'm not even convinced by these words. But I'll remain optimistic about things, so that they come to pass.
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