The almost unhoped for success of the Iraqi footballers in reaching the final of the Asia Cup allowed for a fleeting moment of optimism; if a multi-ethnic team of athletes can deliver a united effort in a common cause, in spite of their identities as Shia, Sunni or Kurd, is there not a glimmer of hope?
The bombers proved otherwise. The key concept is that of a common cause, the finding of a solution which is equitable for all. What works on the football field does not on the Iraqi street as long as there are those who seek to impose their own self-interested vision of the cause, whatever it may be, and damn (or bomb) the others!
When the match ended I looked down from my office window to the Abu Dhabi waterfront corniche. Scores of cars in a flag waving, fanfare hooting corso. They were the kind of vehicles typically driven by young Emiratis (i.e. top-of-the-range SUVs) who saw, perhaps, the football victory as something all Araby should celebrate.
Given that the final match of the Asian Cup will pit Iraq against its neighbour Saudi Arabia I look forward to the next parade of cars, the next fleeting glimpse of what it could be like if energy were channeled in other, more constructive ways.
Funny how pertinent the latest promo for our Automotive Television channel, GearOne seems.
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