By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban
The protests flood the streets of London, a tide of protesters of all ages and backgrounds flowing with quiet determination. An elderly woman, seemingly in her seventies, walks beside a man even older, leaning on a crutch. Nearby, a young mother navigates the crowd, pushing her baby’s stroller. Behind her, two beautiful young women carry a banner demanding an end to genocide in Gaza. Beside them, a man holds a placard showing a picture of Israeli Prime Minister modified to add a swastika and an Adolf Hitler-style moustache. The march presses forward; two young men make victory sign, while others wave Palestinian flags and hold images of martyrs and cities ravaged from the Nakba till now. Simultaneously, similar marches in many cities across Europe and worldwide play the same tune, calling for the end of the Israeli occupation, the father of all troubles in the Middle East.
Why should humans, regardless of their faiths, ethnicities, and attitudes, be extremely traumatised by the humanitarian catastrophe and genocide in Gaza? How will history judge us all? Have we done enough to stop the genocide there? These are questions that keep resounding in our heads, chasing our conscience, lashing our hearts and souls, and tossing all our pretexts or excuses in the wind. In fact, we cannot remain silent, fearing from speaking the truth. We need direly to regain our humanity.
Human genocides
Studies propose that genocides have happened across history. Though nonhuman species sometimes kill members of their communities for conflicts; apes , for instance, sometimes wipe out competing fellow apes, humans’ genocidal acts are far more frequent, complicated, ideologically-based, and at a massive scale. Human genocides are driven by numerous reasons, on top of which is dehumanising the other; once dehumanised the other becomes legitimate targets of extermination and annihilation. It comes to my mind right now the confession Prince Harry made in his memoir “Spare”. The Prince confessed that he killed a number of Talibans whom he saw as pieces of chess, rather than humans with stories to tell, aspiration to have, and loved ones to care for. The Gazans, for resisting occupation and seeking to live in dignity in their ancestral homeland, both of which are two human rights according to international humanitarian law, are called ‘human animals’ by the Israeli occupation leaders, making it justifiable to kill them, block aid, subject them to forced starvation, forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and take their lands and natural resources. Everyone should worry about the war on Gaza for many reasons. Below are some.
Palestinian lives matter: Astonishing human toll
The unprecedented number of victims is beyond comprehension. Almost 55000 people lost their lives, most of them are children, women and elderly civilians. Furthermore, over 150000 people are injured; some of them are left with amputated limbs. The figures could be higher and the reality harsher, given the fact that when targeting cities and villages, over 90 per cent of the victims would be children, women and the elderly. Imagine we were there, displaced, injured, maimed, hungry, armless, imprisoned in a dangerous ware zone, waiting for death from bombing, disease, famine, fear, and loss, how would we feel? Definitely, a sense of utter despair and complete distrust in international law, which is weaponised only to punish the weak, and serve the interests of the powerful. The arrest warrants issued by International Criminal Court (ICC) have not been enforced. Alas, the international law is dead! Humanity has to search for a new, just world order.
Weaponising aid
Nations at wars undergo economic hardships, soaring prices, rocketing employment rates plummeting currency values, among others. Yet, they rarely face complete blocking of aid. Gazanz do.
The images of hoards of hungry, desperate people struggling to get the least to feed their children and risking their lives are heartbreaking; they send horrific messages haunting anyone looking away from the plight of our fellow humans. It’s a litmus test for everyone! We cannot bear such a moral weight on our consciences. In fact, the Israeli occupation of Gaza over several decades that turns the enclave into an open prison . Why don’t the Palestinian lives matter?
Relax! Let AI do the job!
The war in Gaza is a model for future wars! No boundaries! No mercy! No charter of honour! No humanitarian aid! Simply, AI takes over. Wars will be automated, form choosing the targets to be attacked, to destroying entire cities, to killing coldly thousands and millions of innocent people. AI helps desensitise the warring parties’ senses of compassion, guilt, and solidarity. This is exactly the case in Gaza. Wars turn into games, including hunger games! The question is: What is left of us as humans? What a dystopian world!
Strategic loss
For fear that “allowing pro-Palestinian activism on campus to be hijacked by antisemitism,” US President Donald Trump’s administration has stopped issuing student visas as it will start scrutinising the social media activities of applicants, a matter constituting a possible barrier to many international students. Definitely, this would undermine the freedom of speech as well as the integrity and reputation of the renowned American universities; it would be a moral, financial, and strategic loss for the US and the credibility of the American core ‘values’ that ‘enshrine’ human rights , democracy, freedom of speech, academic freedom, among others.
Ray of hope
As l finish my article, a letter to stop war by judges, law academics in the UK is signed, European leaders issue tougher calls to stop the genocide, the Western values are hit so hard, humanity questions its long-standing principles, the Palestinians’ rights are gaining more international recognition, Israel is increasingly isolated, and many more to come.
By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban Professor of linguistics Faculty of Arts Kafr el-sheikh University
Email: [email protected]
