Of Winds of Change, Domino Effects and Irrepressible People Power

"....Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change..."

'Wind of Change' - The Scorpions

Almost twenty years ago, the 1990 power ballad by the German hard-rock group The Scorpions 'Wind of Change' hit the charts worldwide. Perhaps  its  the whistle prelude coupled with the guitar intro that still makes this song so popular but its powerful lyrics celebrate the political changes that had swept rapidly across Eastern Europe leading to the collapse of the Communist bloc in the very early '90s. Although it was probably inevitable, the eventual decimation of the Eastern bloc started with irrepressible people-inspired revolutions that spread rapidly like wildfire across Eastern and Central Europe from Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia to Romania. The final nail in the coffin for the  Communist bloc was the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. In the  end, it was NOT Western capitalism, Western democracy or James Bond that won the Cold War but irrepressible people power. 

Yes James; part of me always thought 007 would win the Cold War!

Twenty years on, similar people-inspired revolutions are sweeping across the Middle East/North Africa. The world witnessed in amazement how events of December 2010 in Tunisia led to the toppling of the once-strong Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime. Could anyone have predicted that a domino effect would lead to protests in other countries within the region? A year ago, could anyone fathom that irrepressible people power would result in the resignation of one of the stalwarts of Middle-Eastern politics over the past 30 years, Hosni Mubarak? 

Former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. I still find it bewildering to be typing "former"
Source: bbc.co.uk

Although Egypt's immediate future is fraught with uncertainties and the stability of the region hangs in the balance, for the moment there is jubilation and celebration. It is becoming apparent that a strong wind of change is blowing across the Middle East/North Africa, the entire African continent and perhaps the world. Suddenly, the possibilities of people power are becoming endless.

As the list of African-leaders-still-in-power-when-I-was-in primary-school becomes shorter, one wonders where the next point of call for the wind of change is:

• Libya?
• Equatorial Guinea?
• Zimbabwe?

One thing is for certain, autocratic leaders and dictators across the globe should be quivering in their boots. The people they take for granted and govern with impunity are growing weary of accepting the status quo. They are now facing forward towards a future filled with liberty, peace and democracy.

"...The wind of change

Blows straight into the face of time

Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell

For peace of mind...."

'Wind of Change' - The Scorpions