As I’m here in the middle east, I have (almost) first hand experiences and views as per the news and reaction of people regarding the aging Israel-Palestinian conflicts.
This morning, I was with Kuya Vic and Lando and all the way going to our company, we are discussing what’s going on?
We have heard much about one of the demands made by Bush - that Israel end its operations in the West Bank and pull back, blah, blah, blah. While it is this demand that has received most of the coverage especially here in middle east (tell you what, media here is extremely biased) there was of course a second demand. Bush indicated that he wanted Yasser Arafat and other Arab leaders to publicly denounce the act of suicide bombings.
None of those who have failed to condemn such actions in the past have done so since the Bush request. What’s happening right now?
We just heard in the radio news on my car that in Haifa, Israel, a suicide bomber blew up a bus killing at least eight and wounding many others.
What’s going on?
Intelligent people can debate Israel’s strategies and actions over the past few weeks and even stretching back to the decision to continue to move people into the settlements. In fact, people who live in free countries (and people with free minds) do argue these points in newspapers, on streets, at political venues and elsewhere (but not here in middle east, as I said they are extremely pro-Palestinian - mind closed!). There are many issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian age-old strife that are up for debate. But it is horrifying (drama intended) that state leaders refuse to denounce a carefully planned trend that represents an evil of historic proportions.
Last night, all mobile users in Qatar received a SMS invitation, that there will be a Live TV donation campaign in support of the “brotherly” Palestinian people “who have suffering against Israeli. The amounts donated so far totalled QR27mn in addition to 12kg of gold and other donations in kind. The donations campaign is still continuing. Many Qatari citizens and residents contributed financial donations and others in kind including jewellery, gold and cars to demonstrate their solidarity with the brotherly people of Palestine.
Similar telethon led by Dubai Television and involving other Arab and local television stations has also collected more than $27mn in help for the Palestinian people.
Even Iraqi President Saddam Hussain ordered 10mn euros ($8.8mn) be allocated yesterday to support the Palestinian uprising.
Wow!
This is a difference in values and philosophies - on one side, there is an unequivocal condemnation of suicide bombing and on the other there is virtually no admission that the behavior is wrong - so profound that it may be hard other people of the world to really take a hard look at it. Where do we even begin a discussion with differences so complete?
Some of this is political. Some of the Arab leaders are telling Colin Powell that they will only denounce suicide bombings after Israel withdraws from the West Bank. But of course, it’s deeper than that and we know it. Asking some of these heads of state to condemn suicide bombings is like asking a pimp to condemn prostitution (sorry for my analogy). It is after all the needs of these very leaders that are being served by the process. It’s certainly not the needs of the first line of victims of such behavior - the adolescents who are somehow convinced to carry out these terrible acts.
This nefarious trend did not (and could not have) occurred naturally. It is not simply a matter of desperation leading to suicide bombing. Unfortunately, there have been and are many examples of desperate populations around the world and they have not created a systematic program of suicide. In addition, the organizers and sometimes even those who carry out suicide missions are often not desperate at all. September 11 is an obvious example of this - and any attempt to de-link the suicide bombings in Israel and on September 11 simply makes no sense. These suicide bombings are part of a calculated plot that has gone on for years and is supported by states - either through their supplying of the bombs, the financial support for the families of bombers, or the lies of holy martyrdom on which this child sacrifice is based. Oh man! I’m lossing now my context…
But hey! If martyrdom is so wonderful, why don’t any of the leaders who benefit from suicide ever commit the act themselves? When Arafat was interviewed after his first days of isolation he proclaimed that he wanted to be a martyr. On Al-Jazeera, he shouted out, “Martyr, martyr, martyr.” For me, it’s: Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense. Lie, lie, lie. Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy. We heard the same desire for martyrdom when it came to Osama bin Laden. Yet, when the opportunity arose, he did just about everything he could to locate an escape route. It is always interesting to hear a call for personal martyrdom from guys who have from fifty to two-hundred bodyguards with them at any given time. Such reverence for their own lives coupled with little or no value attributed to the lives of their people’s children is plainly sick. It’s just that absurd.
Anyhow, I can’t simply help myself to be quiet and ignore my feelings of what happening in this world, especially the event is near in my present place. What you are reading is what I feel inside, I’m no-analyst, not even a real-observer since I’m simply avoiding things or events behind my control. For sure my perceptions and ideas here are inaccurate, for that, read it as is, forget my words, and continue your life.
Trust God!
