Who do you want to win?

The death and destruction in Gaza, in Israel and in other areas of the world highlights the very worse in the nature of the human being. Armed with weapons, killing machines and preaching some form of ideology, religion or cause humans, yes humans wipe out women and children in milliseconds.

Here in the UK we are approaching that time of year when we remember those who paid the ultimate price for defending a country. War is a word which is defined as

‘an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterised by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces.’

When one reads the definition it seems unlikely that any individual would like to partake or instigate or support War. There is a long history of trouble between nations and tray as they may the peacekeepers cannot solve the long and historic problems between peoples of different faiths, different beliefs, different claims to land, different views on who is right and who is wrong.

The news has been full of images of people suffering from the actions of those who believe that Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Thankfully there are many who take an opposing view and believe in democracy and diplomacy. We have seen the result of long term struggles during the Northern Ireland conflict. Although there are still smoking cinders it has been an example of how peace can be achieved.

We live in a time where we can access so much information. Graphic images of war. Terrible scenes unfolding live in front of our eyes. We have been included in the theatre of War and it has the potential to desensitise the human being but some would argue it also heightens the will to do something to stop it. We have seen that with numerous marches across the World.

The media play an important role in providing a platform for those from all side to have their say. We have seen how the media are criticised if they appear to be taking one side or another blurring the lines of impartiality. But the truth and unedited painful truth often lies within a 10 second snapshot filmed on a mobile phone. Not the truth of who is right and who is wrong or who is to blame or who is the most cruel. The truth of War.

I stumbled across a video of a young boy at a hospital in Gaza. I am sure there would also be footage of a young boy in a hospital in Israel too and the same description would apply. The boy who may have been around 4 or 5 was shaking with fear. His eyes were enormous and bore the look of terror. He seemed to be somewhere else and unaware of anyone or anything around him. A young doctor sat beside him and was speaking quietly to him and gently cuddling him. He persisted for a couple of minutes and then held the child tightly. It was like an enormous amount of that terror and emotion was released and the child realised he was safe. He wept uncontrollably. It is an image that I will remember as much as I remember November 11th. There is a certain irony in the rhetoric from Benjamin Netanyahu is of nazis, an axis of evil, an organisation to be defeated by the whole free world. He wants to wage a war against Hamas but there is no clear distinction of who Hamas are, i.e. which individuals living in occupied Gaza. Women? Children? Grandparents? He promises the war will result in peace. Netanyahu said: “We must win.” He states ‘win’ over and over again and he uses the word ‘nazis multiple times’. “We need that continuous support as we prosecute and win this ‘just war’ against modern barbarians, the worse monsters on the planet’.

Sunak stresses that we the British people support Israel’s right to defend itself under International Law. Whether the leader of Israel adheres to that law remains to be seen. Sunak’s closing remarks were: “We will stand with you in solidarity, we will stand with your people and we also want you to win.”

Who do you want to win?

@ikkram_chaar_ A Doctor embraces a child and tries to calm him down whilst he was shaking from fear in one of the hospitals in Gaza. 18.10.23| profile: eye.on.palestine #freepalestine #gaza ♬ suono originale – ikkram🩶🧸