The world changingWe’ve lost tribal honor [Archives:2003/629/Culture]

By Fadl Ahmed Abbas Al-Mohsen
For the Yemen Times
Tribes are clusters of people who have mutual customs, traditions and who live in one specific land.
Tribalism is the action of abiding or practicing the tribal norms in the tribesman life. This idiom is still alive in some countries, specially the Arabic peninsula and some African states.
In Yemen, there are several tribes and every one has its own special traditions and norms, so here the question rises, is tribalism good or bad? Which society is better: the civil or the tribal one?
It is not an easy task to know whether it is good or bad unless we get a lot of information from reliable sources, about tribalism, its advantages and disadvantages, or if we conduct studies ourselves about it.
It is said that tribalism is a bad thing. On the other hand, it is said that it is good! Why this contradiction and which one is true?
For us, we can give our opinion by mentioning how tribalism was in the past and how it is now. In retrospect, tribalism has meant generosity, and helping the poor and oppressed. It was the nobility, daintiness, and courage. etc.
If any tribesman committed any fault, that meant that he disaffirmed his tribe.
Tribesman were not to tell lies, steal, and overstep the norms and laws. He was doing his best in developing his society.
But the nowadays tribalism is something different. Instead of following his predecessors and abiding by his tribe's norms and laws to serve his tribe as well as his country, tribesmen of today have moved to the other side. Today the tribesman does so many bad things, by which he doesn't only disaffirm the reputation of his tribe but of his country abroad. He disaffirms tribalism as well.
For an illustration, take some of the things he practices: he smuggles, tells lies, and derides the social status and the vocational professions of others.
Why? What an ignorant thing!
Moreover, some have no patriotism. This is noticeable in disobeying laws.
Thereby, it is not hard for such tribes get financial sums to cause riots.
The tribal men of today breach laws and practices by kidnapping foreigners to blackmail authority. Is that brave action? Is it tribalism to kill your brother for trifling things?
Is it tribalism to carry weapon in towns, especially in the capital, Sana'a. Why do you carry it? This means that you are not a real tribesman because the tribal ma n goes disarmed and has safe with steady steps. He is not afraid of any one for he did not do, in his life, any bad thing to be afraid of.
Is it also tribalism to be a bandit and to explode public amenities such as the pipelines of petrol and some embassies?
So many questions like these are in crying need for answers.
To bring the point home, the only criterion of tribalism is that tribalism is not only for the people of power and of high ranks, but also for the ones who understand its meaning and abide it. Tribalism can be demon, if disregard the invalid and primitive norms like the one that says education of woman is a taboo thing.
In the corrupted and ignorant world of today that is changing around us, is it not better for us if were did not call ourselves tribesmen? Is it not?
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[archive-e:629-v:13-y:2003-d:2003-03-31-p:culture]