There is no term called desperation in the dictionary of my life…I consider difficulties a blessing 2/1/2003 

Description  Saudi Arabia, Arrajul magazine, Issue #122 (by Khaled Al-Zubeidi)

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh was just a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon, and then a student at the American University of Beirut (AUB), after obtaining a scholarship from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for his academic distinction. The first large amount of money he earned was 500 Egyptian pounds, which was a literary prize for a short story he wrote. Yet the prize didn’t propel him towards literature, but rather towards the business and accounting world, such that today he heads an international committee formed by a decision from the UN Secretary-General. The committee addresses issues related to professional qualifications and recognition of accounting certificates.

Additionally, he established Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) and other organizations that carry considerable weight in the region. All this hasn’t tired Abu-Ghazaleh, as he says in his interview in Amman with Khaled Al-Zubeidi that he complains of no illness, except for short working hours.

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is proud of being a Palestinian, an Arab and a Muslim. He is referred to in his organization - which has branches throughout the Arab nations and worldwide - as “the teacher”, and his employees rarely call him the chairman or any other title.

He works all day long, even after passing his sixth decade in life, and sleeps deeply. He is keen to read and stay abreast of everything new in the world of auditing, intellectual property (IP) and information technology (IT), and has become one of the most prominent international names in these fields.

In 1956 he was a freshman at university, and was asked to teach Shakespeare to the grade 10 female students at the Makased College in Beirut. He successfully completed this task according to the results. He also worked as an English teacher for three years at the Shweifat College in Lebanon. His work helped polish his experience as a student at the AUB, and the teaching profession provided him with extra income to cover his university expenses while also making him able to offer some of this money to his family, comprised of 14 brothers and sisters in addition to his parents.

Abu-Ghazaleh had a taste of wealth and the abundance of money for the first time in his life when he received a monetary prize of 500 Egyptian pounds. It was an amount of money that was more than he could fathom at the time. The prize was from the Supreme Council for Support of the Arts, Literary Works and Social Sciences in what was known as the United Arab Republic (i.e. Egypt and Syria) at the time, for a short story competition held among the students of the higher education institutions for the academic year of 1957-1958.  

The story that Abu-Ghazaleh wrote, entitled “The Dreaded Echo”, held an advanced idea, in which he addresses the concerns of a young man who lives a life of refuge and frustration from a defeated Arab world. He struggles in order to understand the truth and life and looks forward to the future with hope.

Abu-Ghazaleh worked as a translator for books, and transferred important books into the Arabic language with catchy names. This was to help cover the family’s expenses. The hard work, persistence and long nights in translation and research were reflected into his increasing knowledge in the Arabic and English languages. Later, he would become convinced that an Arabic dictionary must be issued such that it would help researchers and professionals in their performance and conducting their work. Abu-Ghazaleh was excused from exams of the Arabic and English languages for his distinction in these two subjects.

The Joy of Suffering

During his school years, the Abu-Ghazaleh family lived south of Sidon in the Ghazieh refugee camp. He used to walk for two hours between school and home whether it was warm or cold, rain or shine. The trip to school would begin at 5 am, and on some days the drivers of the vegetable trucks would give him a lift as with other lucky people that day.

During the university years, Abu-Ghazaleh used to get three meals that the university would offer its students, along with three fruits, such as apple, banana and orange. So Abu-Ghazaleh would collect his fruits throughout the week, so that he could take it all to his family at the end of the week and they could enjoy eating it together.

Abu-Ghazaleh presents his unique perspective on things, and says that the joy of suffering becomes apparent when one reaches his/her goal through hard work. He adds: “The long hours that I used to walk during my university studies in order to visit my parents, and before that between home and school, helped me in terms of health now, as I do not complain of any illness, except for short work hours.”

Abu-Ghazaleh elaborates by stating: “A person cannot rest, and if he must then it can be done by changing the nature of work, but the human mind doesn’t need rest, as for the eyes, they rest by changing the scene that one is looking at.”

He doesn’t sleep at noon, and sleeps on average seven hours a day. His most productive hours are near the end of the day.

His day begins with a quick review of newspapers and various reports. He studies like a students for four hours daily in accordance with a program that covers the fields he works in. He has a light lunch at the office in order to save time, and has dinner with the family between 8-9 pm. He then follows regional, Arab and global news, reads up on a few topics, and goes to bed at 11 pm.

Abu-Ghazaleh is keen to take care of his family, as he is married with two sons and two daughters. He has great love for his daughter Jumanah, who he calls a rare pearl. She obtained her MBA from Harvard. Abu-Ghazaleh also has grandchildren that he has great joy in connecting with.

Escaping the Circle of Monopolies

The control of Western companies and corporations over the world and over the Arab region in numerous vocational and economic activities was the greatest challenge before Talal Abu-Ghazaleh. He arrived at the conviction in 1972 that the Arab region needs a professional renaissance built on knowledge and researches such that this renaissance provides its services to the Arab economy at levels that match those of global establishments.

Abu-Ghazaleh emphasizes that in the areas of consulting, certified accounting and intellectual property (IP), foreign companies had monopolized the business in the Arab markets. These companies didn’t grant opportunities for the Arab national to train and learn. These companies, which were known as the Big Eight (and now are the Big Five due to mergers), had tightly monopolized the professions of certified accounting and consultations.

Abu-Ghazaleh stresses –with the attitude of someone quite proud of his nation and the capabilities of its youth- that the situation has changed during the period 1972-2000. Now, there are expansive Arab conglomerates working in the field in addition to the Big Five. He adds: “The Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGorg) has been able to lead the market in all the services and activities it undertakes, and the Arab equation in the profession is now the Big Five + One as a result.”

Elaborating further he says: “If we move forward to 2002, we note that Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP) was able to become one of the five major players at the global level in the realm of IP, thus achieving a pioneering position as an Arab organization to reach this status. It is not only the first and largest in the region, but may very well be ranked first at the international level. It is definitely within the top five companies in this field internationally.”

Competition Pushed Us Forward

Abu-Ghazaleh states: “If I wanted to summarize our progression, and what I faced during it both as a person and as an organization, then what others describe as war, competition or difficulties, I would always consider a blessing. This is because these things would force me to stay aware and ready to face whatever could happen. This competition and these types of difficulties would almost put me in a place where there would be no mercy if I made a mistake, which made me even more careful in doing my job. Also, if a mistake or shortcoming took place by one of the international organizations, it was considered somewhat okay and forgivable, whereas any mistake on our behalf would be greatly inflated or exaggerated. Despite all of this bitterness, what happened was a blessing for us, and we learned to be more cautious.

 

 

 

 

No Existence for Desperation in Our Dictionary

As for challenges and obstacles, Abu-Ghazaleh is of the opinion that experience taught him there is no existence for desperation, and that any failure represents an opportunity for a new initiative.

He adds: “Some people may find our behavior strange towards those who fought us and stood in our way, as we thank them, because they are one of the reasons we are currently so strong. As such, we do not hold a grudge or animosity towards anyone.”

He points out that any success resulting from external support will be a burden at the end and will fail sooner or later.

Abu-Ghazaleh recalls the experience of the past decades saying: “Some Arab companies would side against our organization for the benefit of foreign companies. This undoubtedly was painful for some of my colleagues in the organization. Further, foreign companies working in the Arab region would also discriminate in their treatment towards us, which means that we endured compounded discrimination for the benefit of global organizations. So a great motive before us was to gain respect and recognition of our efficiency, and to become on equal footing as an Arab global corporation, which indeed took place as we now match up with international organizations. 

Build-up of Supporting Establishments

Abu-Ghazaleh goes on to say: “In order to devote some of what the organization has fulfilled, I have created non-profit organizations to serve the profession, such as the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (ASCA), which has become a beacon of knowledge to graduate certified accountants.”

The non-profit organizations created by TAGorg aim to serve governmental and private establishments. The training and qualification outcomes in these organizations are at a high professional level. The number of subscribers to these institutions for the year 2002 exceeded three thousand students from various Arab countries. ASCA was also able to fulfill its national and popular role and provide full scholarships to one thousand Palestinians. Books, educational and qualification necessities and exams were provided despite the continuous Israeli siege, as the Palestinians proved that they were stronger than it.

Abu-Ghazaleh chairs the international committee that was formed by a decision from the UN Secretary-General, which is in charge of vocational qualifications and recognition of accounting certificates, and includes the largest accounting societies globally, in addition to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The committee was successful in its missions and adopted the report that Abu-Ghazaleh provided on its behalf.

 

 

 

Arabs Able to Excel

Abu-Ghazaleh believes that Arab persons are able to excel in all fields, as he states that “I am the most insignificant example for this type of performance.”

Here Abu-Ghazaleh reiterates the constant message to Arab youth not to submit or fall victim to the effect of the media aimed always to convince us that we are a nation that has no good in it and no future. “The opposite is true” says Abu-Ghazaleh, adding “This vicious campaign against our nation is driven by fear of its ability to regain its leadership role in the world, and building its true civilization once again, as the Arab and Islamic civilization –with its researches and accomplishments in the areas of science, culture and medicine- paved the way for the civilization and advancement that the Western world witnesses and enjoys today.”

He elaborates stating “My message to the youth is that there is no room for desperation, frustration or surrender, because whoever has the capability to endure in the most difficult circumstances possesses the opportunity to be victorious and successful. This is my philosophy in life which I have worked with in the professional organizations and societies that I lead.”

He continues “When ASCA was established in London in 1984, an official from one of the Big Five called, and asked his members not to elect me as president, in return for granting assistance initially worth half a million dollars. The amount was very tempting at the time, but my colleagues stood by me, and this attempt was an additional motive to achieve success and excellence.”

The Support of Decision Makers

As for support and its necessity in the success of institutions, Abu-Ghazaleh says there is no chance that any individual or organization can claim failure due to lack of support from the decision-makers in the Arab world, because “my experience has proven that hard work receives support and sponsorship, and the challenge is proving that you deserve it and not the opposite. You cannot ask for support and assistance and then try to prove that you deserve it.”

Other Successes

Afterwards, the Arab Society for Intellectual Property (ASIP) was created, and it is the only Arab regional body that provides advice and national expertise to whoever requests it from governments, individuals, and companies in the fields of legislation, prosecution , education, guidance and awareness.

The success continued as Abu-Ghazaleh says by establishing the Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS), so that it is a regional non-profit body that guides the Arab region towards transformation into a knowledge-based society in world that is undergoing a knowledge revolution that affects all life’s aspects. The basis of this revolution is information technology and constantly developing communications.

Also, the Licensing Executives Society – Arab Countries (LES-AC) was formed to support Arab tendencies to host global technology, by creating a communications network between the owners of new technologies and their users, in addition to creating a methodology that deals with technology transfer and its necessary infrastructure.

Imaginative World Becoming a Reality

Speaking more forcefully, Abu-Ghazaleh asserts that the hypothetical world is becoming a reality, and “we at TAGorg were the first to deal with this change. We were at the forefront of international bodies leading this change. For example, our representative was elected as Assistant Secretary for the Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC). We also succeeded in making Arabic one of the five major languages on the internet, such that entry into the internet is possible by communicating solely in Arabic, instead of there being a message in Arabic accompanying the current message that exists in English. We worked extensively in this field through our presence on the Internet Council for Businesses, the Internet Council for Intellectual Property and others.”