People in glass houses...

I think that when you read the title of this blog you either thought of that well-known sating: “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. Or maybe you even thought I’m going to talk about gardening, I can’t say.

In fact, I am going to talk about the millions of people living in a glass house, trying to climb its walls and escape to the roof. This is what happens in countries with oppressive regimes. The people feel they are guinea pigs, in glass cages. They feel they only have two options: excel and force the regime to open the glass doors for them so they can reach the roof, by becoming loyal to the oppressors; or they must keep drilling through the floors to reach the roof.

However, I want to mention one last thing:  in my opinion, Social Media has succeeded in lifting the ceiling of the glass house. Now, we need to measure its impact and see how we can make our ceilings expandable to release the pressure and avoid demolishing our houses.

Are we living in a glass house? Or we are living under a glass ceiling? This, my friends, is my question for you for today.

The Glass Ceiling

We all know glass is a transparent material and it can let you see all the details. However, for various reasons, when we approach a glass wall we may not see it and bang our heads against it. The same can happen with a glass ceiling. We might think it’s not there and it doesn’t exist, but when we are the ones hitting it by accident, we realise it exists and it can be painful.

How about a glass ceiling in society? Do you think such a thing exists? Some people say it does and some others don’t believe such a thing exists. Myself, I’m inclined to say yes, it does exist. In such an open society, not many people are able to see a glass ceiling or to believe there is one at all. People, the economy, social life, ideas and politics move freely. Masses move and manoeuvre, however it is all done within certain limits and at different levels. If they are unhappy, the “doors” of the country are open for them and they can choose to leave to a better place where they might fit. This kind of dynamic horizontal semi-selective vertical movement allows some to believe there is no glass ceiling.

For example, in some countries, there are very few security personnel. This gives you a feeling of freedom, until you realise how many cameras are watching your footsteps and listening to your whispers.  In other countries, the number of security personnel is overwhelming and this might frighten and restrict your thinking.

To come back to the point, if someone wants to climb fast or unlock any sealed doors, in my opinion, they will start feeling the glass ceiling soon enough. The glass ceiling is very selective when it comes to those that fit its culture, expertise or loyalty. We must ensure there is no glass ceiling so that change makers can do what they do best.

They say the sky is the limit, but I think it's only the beginning.

Who should run the country?

A grassroot solution

Lately I’ve done a great deal of thinking about the role of civil society. I think I managed to come up with a solution. After I’ve told you what I think, please tell me what you think in the comments section or on Facebook. Thank you.

In my view, if we ask “who should run the country?” everyone will answer that, in a democratic society, the political party who won the election should lead the country.  Looking back at the past 50 years or more we see conflicts, wars, corruption, climate change, poverty, illiteracy, pandemics, economical problems, exodus of refugees, war on terror etc. When we see this, we realise we have been giving the power of leadership to some wrong people; people who know little and talk a lot. These people are extremely clever at promoting themselves and are less realistic when it comes to building their own country. They don’t realise that the success and continuity stand in recognising and respecting the achievements of those before them and those who will come after them.

I ask you: is politics the only solution? What about the giant waiting in the sidelines, the civil sector? The civil sector has forever hovered in the background. In my opinion, the success of the country will lie on the strength of the shoulders of the civil society sector, not that of the government. After all, civil society outlasts every government.

It is up to us as individual organisations in the civil society sector to unite and cooperate, to share resources and advice, to network, guide and empower the citizens of the country. It shouldn’t be a contest for leadership; it should be a contest of citizenship. The successful civil society organisations will lead the way to save the planet and fight all the problems growing in the backyard of politics.

Inspirations

Today it's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's day in USA. Also today, Muhammad Ali is celebrating his 70th birthday.  Let us honour them by remembering what their work brought for society.

My bleeding heart...

I’m sure you know from the last year that my heart hasn’t stopped bleeding. The deep wound in my heart is called South Sudan. I hate to see such things happening. I hate seeing my brothers and sisters being tortured, killed and displaced in their own land in just one year after the referendum and independence from Sudan.

Sadly, this confirms my pessimistic predictions from last year. The power of authority has become more sacred than people’s lives. The strength of selfishness is higher than the gift of sharing.

In my view, we, the international community, hold the blame, because we acted without thinking of the consequences. In the past we used to say: “united North to South, Muslim to Christian”. Now, what can we say? We should be in control. Logic and wisdom should rule, however it seems that bullets and knives are ruling.

We should urge local religious and community leaders to roll their sleeves up and stitch the deep wounds in the hearts of my people of South Sudan. It is time to stop the bloodshed and the fear of torture, rape, displacement and death. Whoever was involved in the past in non-humanitarian activities should take responsibility and be held accountable. The people of South Sudan deserve justice and fairness.

In my opinion, the neighbouring countries need to take responsibility as well, because when you start a fire, you never know, it might burn your own house down.

I’m sad to see my Sudan at a standstill, even after a year. The people responsible for these atrocities need to be brought to justice. The celebration of independence should mean peace and security, not bloodshed.

Please pray for South Sudan to be more peaceful and for the international community to be wiser in order to save the lives of the South Sudanese people.

Horns in disguise?

When I was younger, there was a very popular Western song: “You’re the devil in disguise, yes you are...” I was in the car the other day travelling from here to there and this song came on the radio, just after the news. After hearing of politics, more politics, conflict and poverty, the song made me think of parallels between devils which live amongst us and the devils in hell.

Listening to the news on the radio made me realise that the issue is not the name of the country – it can happen in any country. The issue is that everything should revolve around the people, the citizens of the country. They ought to be the real owners of any country, not the person in charge.

In the past century we have found that some governments appointed by the citizens have started dictating to their masters. In my opinion, the master of the country isn’t the president, the prime-minister, the minister or the political party. The master of any country should be the citizen. All the ones mentioned above should serve the citizen.

Presidency and Ministry should be about delivering the service, not about ranking the titles. It should be about finding resources for the people, not abusing the public resources. It should be about empowering citizens, not overpowering the nation. In my opinion, it’s about thinking how to make their dreams come true, not about personal glamour. It shouldn’t be about selfishness and greed, but about sharing the resources fairly amongst the citizens of the country.

It makes me sad to see important politicians behind bars. Locked up, not drinking! It also makes me very sad to see them fleeing their country like thieves, after they have been touring like emperors.

Speaking of the devil... I’m sure the devil said: “I failed to rise to their standard. The human devil has a highly sophisticated brain, full of innovative ideas that we, ordinary devils, can only aspire to“. He added, talking to his boss: “I think we can send some of our fellow devils to learn from our brothers and sisters on earth”. His boss agreed: “Devil, I want you to get me a few of them as consultants. They have new techniques that our satanic encyclopaedia needs”.

See, the devil is not in disguise after all...

Shopping in the sales...

Now that season to be “jolly” has passed, I see the people around me preoccupied with one thing. Not world peace, not what’s to eat for dinner, not is it warm in the house. They think about the sales, of course, when all stores reduce their prices.

I was in Birmingham over the “Boxing Day” bank holiday and I was shocked to see major stores shut, while small kiosks were open. At that moment I began to wonder where all the people were. Have they decided not to shop at all? Were they shopping online, for convenience? Or is it because people don’t have any money nowadays?

In my view, we need to stop for a moment and think: are we feeding the hungry with our shopping? Are we clothing the poor with our shopping? Are we contributing to the rise of the community? I believe we aren’t. Mindless shopping for bargains has lead many people into financial difficulties.

I don’t think there were such issues in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. You will say: Perhaps it’s because there weren’t as many things to buy.  I agree, perhaps that might be the case. However, in my opinion, we should still show restraint, while supporting the local entrepreneurs.

Halal Hot Dogs (Trick)

This blog post is about halal hot dogs... somewhat!

The Transformation of Leadership and its Impact on Volunteerism

Let me start this discussion by asking what do we mean by leadership? In my view, a leader is the one in the front seat, driving, directing and delivering our vehicle to safety. He/ She could be one of three types of individuals: born leader (gifted and charismatic), trained leader (through experience) or appointed leader (sometimes they fit, other times they don’t).

In my opinion, leadership is about finding a way to create important opportunities, save resources and develop continuity to deliver the product to serve the needs of the community. A leader must also be able to gather wishes, root them in reality and forecast the future.  Leadership should be about modesty, transparency, honesty, openness and altruism. This is my personal definition of leadership.

Continuing my idea, let us imagine I’m the owner of a small stall or kiosk selling halal Hot Dogs in the corner of a shopping centre. Within 6 months up to a year, I may be able to buy a small van to take me from A to B every other day to buy stock. I would enlist the help of my wife and a paid employee to maintain and grow the business.

In the second phase, three years along the line, I and my wife might be able to save more money and open a small corner shop selling doughnuts, lollipops, kebabs etc. We would need to employ more people to run the shop, while my wife is in the kitchen cooking and I go to a wholesaler to buy in bulk. We can look at this development as the first stage of building an organisation, as it takes up more time to manage, direct and control.

At this very critical stage of development, we need to look at three things: 1. business idea; 2. business management; 3. business ownership. If there is no clear separation between the management and ownership, I believe that it is a fatal mistake for any business.

If we want to develop that corner shop into a supermarket, we need to create a clear landmark between the idea, the management and the ownership of the business. Specialised people should manage the business, while the owner should protect the original idea and safeguard its development. A “supermarket philosophy” could remain forever at the back of the mind of the owner, failing to take it further to the next level and transforming the idea into a chain of supermarkets.

Only a few can share the governance with others and give them freedom to manage a team will be able to create a chain of supermarkets. By doing this, more money will come in, more job opportunities will be created and more services will be delivered to the community. Plus, more profit will return to the business owner, while incurring less risk on their capital money and gaining more public trust for their business.

This is where a lot of organisations are failing: owners refuse to let other capable individuals manage. The organisations which widened their ownership, diversified their leadership or alternated their governance are the ones with the biggest and most effective impact on volunteers. These organisations will have wider catchment areas, access to volunteers with more diverse skills, projects that require multi-tasking. They are the ones delivering more for the community.

Just imagine what it would be like if we were to empower all the small-scale social entrepreneurs and encourage them to endorse this new culture of ownership based on partnership: from a hot-dog to a chain of supermarkets!

Inspiring Children – Mohammed (PBUH)

I am ending my series of stories about inspiring children with our Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The Prophet was born in Mecca and was orphaned at a very young age.  He was then passed on from one person to another, without a place to belong.

One day, little Mohammed (PBUH) was playing outside the house with children from the neighbourhood. While playing, two strange men came and took him away. They laid him on the ground, opened his chest and took a black spot off the heart. All the children ran away, but little Mohammed was brave. It turned out the two men were Angels sent by God to show His mercy and blessing for Mohammed (PBUH).

After that, Mohammed (PBUH) moved to his relatives’ house, where he proved he was a fast learner by helping his family out in trade. Because he was a blessed by God with very high morals, he didn’t follow other young men’s example and go out to party and drink. Instead, due to the steadfastness of his character, he acquired the nicknames “al-Amin” (faithful, trustworthy) and “al-Sadiq” (truthful).

Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) did not have an easy childhood, but became an inspiration for us all and a role model to follow.

My series of children and young adults with inspirational actions has come to an end, but I am urging you to remember that children not only can help shape our future. They are our future and we need to nurture their dreams and aspirations and sometimes look at them for inspiration.