Arab Spring-

Today I was introduced to the term the ‘Arab Spring’, the term for the 2010-11 wave of political unrest throughout the Middle East.

From Tunisia to Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen, the citizens of Arab and Islamic nations throughout the region have risen against their governments.

This widespread demand for democratic rule across the Middle East could mark a turning point for a region fraught with political turmoil, violence and war.

It’s a known fact…governments in the Middle East are notorious for corruption...

People, some educated, some poor, all angry, have resorted to jihad and militancy in an attempt to seize power for themselves.

Driven by anger and, perhaps and helplessness, people are using violence and fear mongering as the measure of first resort.

Extremism in the Middle East has complicated and impacted every facet of foreign policy, because even in the end, a corrupt government is preferable over terrorism, at least in the minds of the West.

Still, for the majority of people living in the Middle East, terrorized by government and fundamentalists alike, there is little hope of empowerment – true empowerment, and not the vision of power through violence.

That is what makes the Arab Spring so remarkable.

For the first time in recent memory, the people of the Middle East – the young, the middle class, the idealistic – are marching in the streets, speaking truth to power regardless of their government's attempts to silence and subdue.

And here we are… in our World issue’s class learning with the timeline in which we know is the Arab Spring.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

I have posted this timeline in which I found very helpful- it is always updated with current events! Take a look!