As the US and Japan issue a terror warning for tourists visiting “Europe” – more specifically the UK, France and Germany an evident shift in the lines of nationality is surfacing in the news. Malta (the nation) woke up for breakfast with Tiffany (the person) – the next top model born in Wolverhampton but claimed by the Maltese nation. The UK born and Maltese bred Tiff has already begun to receive comments from well wishers and one of MT’s regulars (signed Tarcisio Mifsud) urged her:
“to remain a lady with a strong Maltese character and with strong Maltese values. Enjoy it.”
Whether there is much to enjoy is another question. Then again – what are the strong Maltese values? Are they embodied in the Kalkara ’94 video? Or should she be making use of her new found place in the spotlight to echo the latest Vatican ramblings against 2010 nobel prize winner Edwards – father of the test tube babies (the idea – not all of them)? There are now an estimated over 4 million persons who were test tube babies – and the Vatican still wonders whether this miracle is right.
But back to nations and nationalism. Does nationality automatically impart a set of values? Are both nationality and values part of our DNA set up? We get contradictory messages. Germany’s president told the nation that :
“Christianity is, of course, part of Germany. Judaism is, of course, part of Germany. This is our Judeo-Christian history. But, now, Islam is also part of Germany. “When German Muslims write to me to tell me ‘You are our president’ – then I answer wholeheartedly: Yes, of course I am your president! And with the same dedication and conviction of which I am the president of all the people who live in Germany”
Which makes sense really because you cannot suddenly put up mental borders and block out anything new – a new form of religion – simply because it does not form part of your past. Well you could try – but that involves the kind of eradication that goes contrary to the core values which our liberal society holds dear. The problem is that we are still at pains to come to terms with the new realities and identities. Here is the BBC reporting the latest US activity against Al Qaeda in Pakistan:
At least eight al-Qaeda militants – some of whom were German nationals – have been killed in a drone attack in Pakistan, officials have told the BBC. The suspected US drone fired two missiles at a house owned by a local tribesman in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan, the officials said. At least three of the dead were said to be German – of Arab or Turkish origin.
The language of the reporting is interesting. Incidentally the title was ‘German militants’ killed in Pakistan drone attack. “German militants” had to be decorated with inverted commas and further down in the article we get the second clarification: “German – of Arab or Turkish origin”. You can sympathise with the reporter coming to grips with the “Us vs Them” nature of the “War on Terrorism”. He or she could never come to terms with the notion of a German Al Qaeda Militant. The Arab Al Qaeda is a stereotype we are comfortable with (at ease with the label not with the menace of course). Even the curious laxity with which the word Turkish is slapped on, almost as an afterthought, betrays a general compartmentalisation that goes beyond the national.
The ‘Turk’ is to Germany as the ‘Pole’ was to the EU before membership – a mass of people (Turks/Arabs, Poles/East Europeans) in search of work who would bring their own culture along to their new hosts. It is the Turk, mainly, who brings Islam to Christian Wulff’s Germany. It is the Turk who Wulff has to thank for the infusion of cultural and religious diversity and from those letters from “German Muslims”.
The War on Terrorism forced a radical revolution in terminology – most evidenced in the press. It obliged us to create the “Us and Them” mentality and oftentimes we struggle to understand that this is not really a battle of cultures/civilisations but an underpinning new battle of ideologies and that both the redneck yankee and the arab terrorist are just overblown stereotypes that serve to confuse us further in this “war”.
If the Tour Eiffel were under threat there is more of a chance it would be the French equivalent of the UK’s Tiffany. Someone with a French passport bearing an Arab surname – born and bred in Marseilles but with very very strong ties with the people back home (in the Maghreb?) urging her:
“to remain a lady with a strong Arab character and with strong Arab values. Enjoy it.”
Sure. It’ll be a blast!
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- Analysis: Terrorism alerts reflect evolving threat (reuters.com)
- Eight Germans with alleged links to Europe plot killed (topinews.com)
- US strike kills five German militants in Pakistan (telegraph.co.uk)
- US Drone Kills ‘Germans’ Amid Terror Fears (news.sky.com)
- ‘Al-Qaeda members’ hit by drone (bbc.co.uk)
- Drone strike kills 8 Germans in northwest Pakistan (reuters.com)
- Analysis: Terrorism alerts reflect evolving militant threat (reuters.com)
