A tale of peace and renewal
Most countries these days wouldn’t shamelessly set about trying to move or destroy an entire population. Genocide is against international law but more importantly, it’s against all of our instincts. Killing, injuring and traumatizing children is against all of our hearts. So we think ‘why, really why?’
It is so obviously wrong, we find ourselves finally dropping the context-denying media narratives and looking for the story behind the story. There are plenty to choose from…
Why are they doing this?
Here are two of the theories I find quite possible…
Suez II
The Suez Canal has been at the centre of international power-struggles before and several news stories in recent years have demonstrated the obvious fact that given the nature of modern shipping and trade, it could do with being a lot bigger, so this is a logical tale…
Where terrorists come from
Lots of countries have experienced horrible terror attacks. Our country has, and we have politicians who stoop to trading on the climate of fear terrorism creates, but most countries do not respond to terrorism by trying to destroy the entire population that the terrorists came from. That’s partly because they understand where terrorists come from…
Israel and the USA do a very good impression of not knowing that but they both undeniably do trade on the fear of terrorism. That’s why theories like this one seem possible…
You can’t fight shadows
But without plenty of evidence and good, firsthand testimonies, it’s not wise to fall back on horrible, deep-state theories. All that uncertainty drains people of hope. Given the urgency of Gaza’s cry for help, it’s probably better to focus on something we can all do, something we all feel the need to do …
When it reaches the point that Israel has killed half a dozen children for every one of the people they lost, even those of us who can accept an emotional lashing out, even those who believe in the efficacy of revenge, begin to feel the need we all feel.
Most people believe in fairness. Most people object to vindictive destruction. Most people will not tolerate cruelty to children.
That’s why, as the deadly weeks go by and the body-bags pile up, all around the world more people are coming out in protest. They say no, it’s not complicated. We want a cease fire, and we want it now. We want leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up and say killing children is wrong. ‘Complicated’ comes afterwards, in court. The most vehemently carried chant in Hastings today was #StopKillingKids That’s not complicated.
We don’t need to fight shadows. More and more people are coming out, to fight the injustice we all see. Imagine this:
Imagine
If we keep coming out, in growing numbers, until our influence is enough to embolden our local politicians and civil leaders, they will speak out – publicly, loudly. They don’t even have to ‘take sides’, they just need to say that our people do not tolerate cruelty and unfairness, that we do not tolerate taking food, water and power from civilians just like us, and then bombing them when they try to run to a safer place.
If our local politicians do that together, in big enough numbers to frighten our national politicians, the warmongers will be exposed. Obviously, some of them won’t budge. They are absolutely in the pay of the big tech and weapons industries. But the rest of them will shift, when they see that we won’t support them unless they publicly demand respect for international law. When that happens, so long as we keep speaking up, the incurably corrupt will be pushed out of office. And then the world will be able to act together. The world, through the United Nations, can find ways to pressure even Israel.
Amnesty International has stated that when Israeli politicians and representatives set foot on our soil, our countries should be arresting them for crimes against humanity. That is the kind of pressure that brings change. So are serious trade sanctions – especially as applied to the weapons industry.
Imagine further
Imagine if united global action did bring down the apartheid regime in Israel, and bring the political and military leaders of the genocide to justice – imagine if then, under UN supervision, a new Suez plan was hatched – a plan whereby Gaza City might become the flourishing metropolis that thrived alongside the second channel of the Suez Canal. If they kept the existing canal as well, if they had two channels, one south bound and one north bound, then they wouldn’t need a bigger channel and no one country could hold the entire passage hostage because even if one were closed, the other would be there for at least limited use.
Imagine further still
The trade and attention all this construction activity brought to Gaza would help to heal the horrific losses, financial and material – that Gaza has suffered. Obviously, nothing is going to heal the human losses except time – but they would reach that healing faster if they had a new, enlivening project on the scale of Suez Two happening around them (instead of through them).
Just imagine that please, but for now file it under ‘complicated’ — one of the things to be thought about after we’ve won a ceasefire. Just keep coming out for the marches and vigils. Next time, take someone with you who didn’t go last time – and keep writing to your councils, MP and community leaders, until they get it, and join in.
No need to fight shadows
The great thing is, whether the conspiracy theories are true or not, the national politicians know that they can’t win elections if they keep disciplining their local minions for saying genocide is wrong. Sunak and Braverman’s attempt to say that calling for international law to be respected is ‘hate’ is just a step too far. Almost no-one believes them. That’s why they’re all so jittery now.
Even an embedded apartheid state can’t carry on with impunity if the whole world agrees to put complexity aside for later, and just keeps saying #StopKillingKids
Let’s keep on doing it.
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Dear Reader,
Times are hard, and so the articles on this site are freely available but if you are able to support my work by making a donation, I am very grateful.
Cheers,
Kay
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Kay Green 