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UAE: Arafat's Flag Must Fly High, say Palestinian Expats
By Meena S Janardhan
DUBAI, Nov. 12 (IPS) - Palestinian expatriates across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) struggled with feelings of pride and sadness as they remembered the life and times of their leader Yasser Arafat who died Thursday.
''He was a great man. He spent his entire life, without any thought for personal benefit or pleasure, for the (Palestinian) cause,'' said Saleem Essa, a Palestinian businessman based in Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the UAE. ''His death has left a vacuum and we sincerely hope that the next leaders will be able to step in and carry on his work.''
The condolence message sent by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the new president of UAE, to the Palestinians echoes the sentiments of every Arab: ''With the demise of President Arafat, we have lost a leader who devoted his entire life to the Palestinian cause and to the creation of an independent Palestinian state...He will remain a great symbol.''
Hameed Jallad, a university student from Sharjah, another emirate, told IPS: ''Though he espoused the Palestinian cause, he epitomised pan-Arab unity. He was the face of Palestine - his fight for our rights continued till his last breath.''
''Nothing can stop us from continuing our legitimate struggle, even after his death. We hope the elections will usher in strong leaders who can carry on the cause that he shouldered throughout his life,'' added Hameed.
Arafat's fight against occupying forces dates as far back as the mid-1940s when he smuggled arms into Palestine to fight the British and stem the flow of Jewish immigrants into the country. An engineer by profession, he became the chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1969 and, after nearly 30 years of struggle, the president of the internationally recognised Palestine National Authority in 1996.
His historic speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 symbolised his dedication to the cause, which he hoped to achieve through peaceful means. ''I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Don't let the olive branch fall from my hands,'' he said.
Abu Ammar, as he was fondly called, leaves behind a wide gap that is extremely difficult to fill as his status as the symbol of the Palestinian fight for their own homeland has never been challenged.
Even as news of Arafat's death and the appointment of his successors filtered in, the issue of succession was one subject that was discussed threadbare across the nation. Most Palestinian expatriates who gathered outside the Palestinian consulate in Dubai were united in their grief but were very apprehensive about the future.
''I am glad that we are to have elections, said Saleem. ''Arafat unified our society and its different groups. There are completely opposed views on how the dispute with Israel should be resolved. We need a new and dynamic leadership that will bring these factions together.''
Under Palestinian law, Arafat's role will be taken over by Parliamentary Speaker Rawhi Fattouh who was sworn in as interim president of the Palestinian Authority in a special session of parliament Thursday. The interim president must now organise elections within 60 days.
Mahmoud Abbas, former prime minister and a strong supporter of reforms, was also elected in the special parliament session to succeed Arafat as PLO chairman and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, another moderate, was expected to take charge of the day-to-day governing of the Palestinian Authority.
There were a few misgivings however.
''Arafat's death will threaten the stability of the Palestinians, especially in the next few days. There is sure to be some chaos during the shift of power as we lack a specific structure for the transfer of power,'' said Haitham Ibrahim, a Dubai-based Palestinian graphic designer.
''Even when Arafat was alive, there has been a power struggle. It is essential that the next leader be accepted by all Palestinian factions and be able to represent the Palestinians in the international community,'' he added.
During his lifetime, Arafat has often been accused of jeopardising the peace process because of his stubbornness, of refusing to name his successors, and of being unable to get his groups to arrive at a consensus.
There are other shadows that linger too. A prominent Palestinian official recently estimated that Arafat's fortune held in various places around the world was worth around one billion U.S. dollars. While it was obvious by his lifestyle, that Arafat never used any of the money for personal benefits, reports suggest that the next Palestinian leadership has little or no access to these funds.
P.V. Vivekanand, editor of 'The Gulf Today', a leading English daily in the UAE, explained: ''Arafat retained sole control of PLO funds but it is almost certain that it is invested in a manner that would serve the Palestinian cause.''
''The secrecy was always a source of concern for the rest of the Palestinian leadership. He preferred to keep the cards of PLO funds close to his chest,'' added Vivekanand. ''Right or wrong, that was his style of management. Let us not forget, Arafat is described as the 'greatest political survivor' of the Middle East who has always dumbfounded those who, at times of his crises, made the mistake of writing him off from the political scene.''
For Suleiman Awad, a Dubai-based Palestinian intellectual, Arafat was the leader who put the cause of the Palestinians on the world map.
''He has made his mistakes...but his merits as a leader and as a freedom fighter far overshadow them. That is how the world and we need to remember him,'' concluded Suleiman. (END/2004)
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