Reflection 5

I know it’s a little early to post a reflection but I read an article today that I found interesting and wanted to talk about while it was still fresh in my head. The article is on the Washington Post and is similar to many articles I see about the Middle East. This article (here’s the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/human-rights-watch-says-tunisian-authorities-not-investigating-attacks-by-religious-extremists/2012/10/15/4b1ad204-16d3-11e2-a346-f24efc680b8d_story.html) discussed attacks in Tunisia by religious extremists. The attacks have been occurring for the past 10 months and the government has done nothing to stop the ultra-conservative Islamist Salafis that are responsible. The police have not made any arrests or even prompted an investigation even though six formal complaints have been filed. For that reason, the Human Rights Watch based in New York is urging the Tunisian authorities to take action.

I will keep following this story to see if the Human Rights Watch is taken seriously by the Tunisian government, but I am doubtful that this action and ones like it are actually beneficial in the region. Many groups similar to Human Rights Watch (Amnesty International, etc.) call for change in the region and try to pressure the government, but they are simply not enough. These groups have no real backbone to support their allegations; they cannot force change, only recommend it. It seems that the people of Tunisia are unhappy with the dangerous attacks, so it would make more sense if there were domestic organizations that could address situations like this instead of international organizations. An organization based in Tunisia might gain more support or have more clout that an international organization that is sometimes distrusted by the people of the country being affected. It will be interesting to see how the situation in Tunisia plays out and how the government responds to the Human Rights Watch because as of today they have made no comment.