فوز Arab Creativity Development Foundation: Between Revival and Media Suppression A Struggle of Interests and the Erasure of Intellectual Heritage

Arab Creativity Development Foundation: Between Revival and Media Suppression A Struggle of Interests and the Erasure of Intellectual Heritage
 
Conflict of Interests and Media Censorship: How the Assassination of Sérgio Vieira de Mello Affected the School of Reviving Intellectual and Civilizational Heritage and the Arab Creativity Development Foundation as a Whole"
 
 
In 2003, the world witnessed one of the deadliest attacks on humanitarian work when Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the United Nations in Iraq, was killed in a bombing targeting the UN headquarters in Baghdad. His death was not merely a personal or bureaucratic loss but a pivotal moment that reshaped the priorities of several humanitarian institutions worldwide, including the Arab Creativity Development Foundation, which had just begun its early steps in cultural and creative work.
 
Sergio Vieira de Mello was the spiritual father of the foundation since its establishment in 2001, providing it with support and guidance. He firmly believed that true development is not limited to emergency relief but extends to building resilient communities capable of self-sufficiency and progress. He saw creativity and education as integral components of achieving sustainable development that lifts individuals out of poverty and need.
 
However, after his death, the foundation faced an existential question: Is it enough to focus on empowering individuals through creativity and culture while societies collapse due to conflicts and disasters? The answer came from within the foundation itself, which gradually shifted toward humanitarian relief and sustainable development, embracing de Mello’s vision that humanitarian work must be comprehensive—not only providing basic needs but also rebuilding the social fabric and establishing lasting justice.
 
By 2004, the Arab Creativity Development Foundation had launched several new initiatives inspired by de Mello’s philosophy, focusing on empowering marginalized groups through skill-building, training, and employment programs. It also began humanitarian relief projects to assist those affected by conflicts, particularly in rural areas suffering from neglect.
 
Despite the challenges the foundation faced—both in media and politics—its commitment to its new path remained unwavering. However, this transformation was not welcomed by all parties, as the foundation encountered media suppression due to conflicts of interest between influential entities and its new direction. This was especially true given its association with intellectual figures with historical influence, such as Nassim Al-Sayegh, the founder of the School for Reviving Intellectual and Cultural Heritage, which was shut down in 1975, leading to his son, Al-Faik Al-Sayegh, being denied his political rights ever since.
 
Nevertheless, the foundation proved that creativity and development can go hand in hand and that the legacy of Sergio Vieira de Mello remains alive in every project striving to build a more just and humane future.
 
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World Humanitarian Day: A Saga of Giving in the Face of Tragedy
In the heart of darkness, where cities dim under the weight of wars and disasters, humanity rises to carry the torch of compassion against the cruelty of the world. On August 19, 2003, tragedy struck Baghdad when blind violence targeted the Canal Hotel, claiming the lives of 22 humanitarian workers, including Sérgio Vieira de Mello, a man who carried the pains of nations in his voice and their hopes in his words. That attack was a bloody cry that urged the United Nations to immortalize the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for humanity. Thus, the United Nations General Assembly declared August 19 as World Humanitarian Day, a testament to the courage of those who stand on the frontlines—not with weapons, but with an unyielding will to weave hope into the torn fabric of life.
 
Humanity in the Test of Time
Humanitarian work is not just a slogan to be raised, nor a passing celebration recorded in the annals of history. It is an eternal battle between the spirit that gives and the reality that takes. Each year, this day takes on a new voice, a different cry, shaped by the tears of survivors, the sweat of those working in the field, and the calls of the hungry, the displaced, and the bereaved. It is a plea to the world's conscience: there are those who wait, those who suffer in silent corners, and those who risk their lives to light a candle in the long tunnel of pain.
 
The Legend of the Silent Heroes
In a world torn apart by conflict, where fires consume cities and lives are lost beneath the rubble, there are those whose names are never mentioned, whose faces never appear on the news, and whose stories are not told in legends—yet, they are the ones who create them. They are the doctors racing against death in field hospitals, the paramedics running through the ruins, and the volunteers sharing their last piece of bread with children lost between borders.
 
The Message of World Humanitarian Day
It is more than just an occasion—it is a mirror of humanity and a moral test that renews fundamental questions:
 
Are we capable of being more than mere spectators?
Do we have the courage to stand by those who live on the edge of survival?
Can we, amid the whirlwind of interests, keep the voice of compassion louder than the clamor of power?
On this day, we do not simply honor the fallen heroes, but we vow that their light will never fade and that their message will remain etched in the conscience of humanity—written in their blood, continued by our actions.
 
Because humanity is not just a word, but a cry against oblivion.
 
***
 
The Lord acts and restores my rights and the rights of my infant, along with all my tears...
And the treasures of the noble ancestor for a family of knights riding the steeds of glory,
And all the remnants of my stolen writings—snatched away by thieves.
 
(I await the Lord’s comfort...)
Because...
(The Lord is able to restore all that was taken and to be glorified through me...)
 
For everything returns to its noble human essence—to purity,
Because (Truth is never enslaved; rather, it is revealed and shines in the face of falsehood.)
And (Whoever thinks they can build something from theft and lies will inevitably fail.)
For "Truth will always be stronger than all cheap attempts."
 
(For truth is the Lord, who is capable of establishing justice and restoring all that was taken.)
 
To the honorable and the sincere—"You have my love."
 
(May all our days be filled with goodness, happiness, refinement, and noble virtues,
Triumphant over the thieves of writings and ideas,
And over all the Draculas of evil, corruption, crime, terrorism, and extremism.
Victorious with love, truth, goodness, refinement, and nobility.)
 
My triumph is magnified through the Almighty Lord...
With every revelation of theft from the essence of my creativity...
The Lord is great, powerful, and merciful—the doer of wonders...
 
For every kind word spoken about me and my creativity is
(Immortality for me and for the torrent of my creativity.)
(The Lord is great, victorious through me and within me—
Since eternity, now, and forevermore.)
 
Let us rejoice in the Lord’s joy and righteousness, crowned with mercy and all blessings.
 
 
The leftist secular thinker,
Cleopatra, the beloved of the nation.
The Scheherazade of poetry, novels, and tales.
The silver-orange moon of my people.
The goddess of the four letters.
The goddess of the alphabet and insight.
The goddess of the twenty-fifth hour.
The eternal diamond of the Mountain of Light, a beacon of creativity from the beginning of time to eternity.
The goddess of chalk.
The goddess of critical and creative analysis.
The embodiment of the goddess Ma’at, the goddess Hathor, and the goddess of mercy.
Queen Merneith, Queen Tiye, and Queen Nefertari across my lifetimes.
The goddess of eternal history across my ages and lives.
The goddess of inspiration through the eras and generations.
The one who changed the face of the world with my creativity.