Haykal's Foreword

It smells like spring in Syria
Article Author :Abdulsalam Haykal
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Ever since their establishment in 2003, private universities in Syria have been viewed with mixed emotions and a varying degree of enthusiasm. Some said that they were inadequate. Others added that they were colorless and lacked competitiveness. Some even described them as immature when compared to regional institutions like the American University of Cairo (AUC) or the American University of Beirut (AUB). Some were even completely opposed to privatization of education, saying that reforming the Syrian University should be a priority, rather than opening new private schools. 







  
  Attracting the best and the brightest
    
Article Author :Abdulsalam Haykal
    
     

       
    

      
            
          

    
       
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 Immigration has been a
continuing trend in Syrian society since the Ottoman days. The wave started in
1880, in an attempt to escape the poverty and grievance of Ottoman rule. Some
led to Egypt,
where they played key roles in the modernization of that country.


 




 Many others
went to Europe and the Americas
in increasing numbers that reached a peak on the eve of World War I. Syrian and
Lebanese immigrants make up the largest proportion of the Arab community
abroad, particularly in North and Latin America.
They have achieved distinguished positions in politics, business, culture and
society and supported the national liberation movements from their self-imposed
exiles. 

 

  

  
 

    






  
  Reviving the Syrian elite
    
Article Author :Abdulsalam Haykal
    
     

       
    

      
            
          

    
       
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 Sami wrote a courageous
article last month on the so-called ‘elite’ of Syria. He laid down a very true—in
my opinion—depiction of those who appear as the crème de la crème of Syrian
society. The economic and social forces of the past many years have produced a
strata of people that amassed enough wealth to buy them status. One of the
major problems that reform faces in Syria is the lack of skilled and
experienced middle management, as well as the lack of a real elite. To move
forward, Syria
needs to dig for the real elite, and bring them to the front, not for prestige
but to assume responsibility.