Editorial

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.

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.

During college, my constant and in fluential companion was the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. In one of the essays that has resided in my memory since then, Emerson said that the best advice he heard given to a young man was, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” I think this is what Syria needs today.

We are all prone to a miscalculated risk, an inescapable accident, or a moral slip. That applies to countries, companies, and people alike. According to Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong at a certain point in time. The risk of going wrong is always there; it is inevitable. The only way to avoid it is to remain very tightly tucked inside our comfort zone. But is that what we need, to feel safe but stagnated, and not quite alive?

Although I like voting, none of the candidates for my native Salhiyya neighbor-hood appealed to me. Better said, none of them made even the slightest effort to win my vote. Nobody sent me their political or administrative program. I did not get any election propaganda in my mailbox or inbox. I don’t vote for faces. And I don’t vote for people I do not know. The only campaigning done in Damascus was plastering photographs all over the city walls, along with colorful signs with the names of some very colorless candidates.