A Poverty Plan

Abdulkareem Al-Eryani

Nick Jeon

First Op-ed

As Obama gets ready for a speech, Mr. Al-Eryani, a former prime minister of Yemen, gives some advice. He points out that the Islamic world has done its part by fighting terrorism with the US, yet the US has not helped the Muslim world with its poverty situation. Mr. Al-Eryani goes on to accuse poverty as being the root cause of terrorism, as the poor and the jobless sometimes seek help from Al Qaeda, and he even names it “the twin brother of terrorism”. In order for the speech to make an impact, Obama needs to begin by apologizing for America’s failure to help and by telling the truth. Asking for the truth and isolating poverty as one of the main causes of terrorism sound great. However, has the Islamic world really kept its side of the bargain? The counterterrorist laws of a handful of the Middle Eastern countries, including Yemen, barely deter terrorism and seem ineffective. Honesty and poverty assistance are priorities, but how about the Islamic world keeping its promise as well?

Mr. Al-Eryani writes the article in a straightforward way addressing the needs of his country and America’s. One noticeable thing about the article is that the author uses the word, “we” when addressing the Islamic world. He makes his points bluntly, by sharing the statistics of his country’s unemployment and poverty. Also, he flat out tells us that if we do not help them, it’s not going to be pretty. His reasoning makes sense; we should help now to prevent throwing expensive missiles at terrorist tents in the future. Mr. Al-Eryani’s article is not a request. Rather, it is a demand as he does not explain what America should do or what America can do. He explains what America must do and what America needs to do. Not only that, but there also isn’t a single “please” in the article.