{"id":350618,"date":"2024-10-16T23:13:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T04:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=350618"},"modified":"2024-10-17T01:26:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T06:56:15","slug":"global-silence-prevails-as-palestine-tragedy-unfolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/global-silence-prevails-as-palestine-tragedy-unfolds\/","title":{"rendered":"Global silence prevails as Palestine tragedy unfolds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s hard to believe that we still perpetuate the hyped propaganda of peace forums and platforms! None of the so-called world leaders have shown any urgency for a ceasefire or even for truce talks. by Humra Quraishi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once again, we are focusing on the human tragedies unfolding in the Middle East. With Lebanon now on the hit list of Israel’s military might, one is left asking: Where are the superpowers? Why don\u2019t we see a united world front, taking on the violence and killings? Where are the political rulers? Can\u2019t they hear human cries! Can\u2019t they see dead forms of babies and adults and the elderly? Can\u2019t they see buildings and homes and hearths destroyed? Can\u2019t they visualize the offshoots? Can\u2019t they grasp the far reaching consequences of the ongoing killings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The havoc and destruction continue in and around Gaza, with killings devastating the Palestinian population and ongoing tragedies unfolding. When all they want is to live on their own homeland, which was robbed off them and with that they were made to sit like hapless refugees on their own land. Today even that basic right to survive seems ripped off, snatched from them, as hundreds are dying, if not already dead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It gets difficult to even describe its impact on psyches\u2026that is, of those left alive, destined to witness the mass killings! And if one were to see shots and videos of hundreds of the Palestinian children killed in Gaza, then words cannot describe the turmoil and pain hitting the very soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to believe that we humans, living in a supposedly developed and civilised world, still perpetuate the hyped propaganda of peace forums and platforms! None of the so-called world leaders showed any urgency for a ceasefire or even for truce talks. Tell me, how many more will perish in targeted attacks before the ongoing killings can be halted. Though most of the political rulers of the world are fathers and grandfathers, they seem little bothered about the ongoing killings and deaths in Gaza. Is this the so-called developed world? Is this the world that talks of peace? Is this world fit enough for humans to survive in, where even infants and new-born children are not spared?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As fears and apprehensions grow of Palestinians getting hounded from their very own homeland, it is absolutely urgent that there ought to be an immediate  halt to these  killings and targeted onslaughts on the  hapless civilian population in and around  Gaza and  Lebanon and along the borders. An immediate ceasefire and truce talks are urgently needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, it is shocking to see the balancing acts of the rulers of the day. Several heads of State have rather openly and blatantly even sided with Israel; perhaps, because of the rather too obvious expansionist plans. But in their synthetic speeches these rulers should confine their preferences to themselves and to their governments. Why drag the masses? After all, the masses are not na\u00efve and are mature enough to see the brutalities and killings spreading out. They are also well aware of the just and legitimate demand of the Palestinians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time I see shots and videos\u00a0 of\u00a0 hundreds killed in explosions,\u00a0 homes\u00a0 and\u00a0 buildings bombarded, dying\u00a0 children and\u00a0 fleeing\u00a0 families, entire settlements\u00a0 razed to the\u00a0 ground, one can’t help but wonder: who all are behind these mass scale killings\u2026 annihilating humanity in every possible way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Noam Chomsky<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And as Noam Chomsky detailed during the\u00a0 course of an interview\u00a0 with me \u2013 \u201cIn\u00a0 the\u00a0 Reagan\u00a0 years\u00a0 alone,\u00a0 the US-sponsored state\u00a0 terrorists in Central America left hundreds\u00a0 of thousands\u00a0 of tortured and\u00a0 mutilated corpses, millions orphaned\u00a0 and four countries in ruins. In the same year, western-backed South African depredations killed 1.5 million people. I\u00a0 need\u00a0 not\u00a0 speak\u00a0 of\u00a0 West Asia or\u00a0 much\u00a0 else\u2026All\u00a0 of\u00a0 this, however, is barred from the\u00a0 annals of\u00a0 terrorism by a simple device, the term \u2018terrorism\u2019 like\u00a0 most\u00a0 terms of\u00a0 political\u00a0 discourse\u00a0 has two\u00a0 meanings\u00a0 –\u00a0 a\u00a0 literal one and a propagandistic one. Needless to add that the propagandistic version is preferred and pursued by the US.\u00a0 Terrorism is terrorism that is directed against the US and its friends and allies.\u201d Chomsky also drew\u00a0 parallels between the US and the Nazis, \u201cThe\u00a0 Nazis, for\u00a0\u00a0 example, bitterly condemned terrorism and conducted what they called counter-terrorism\u00a0 against\u00a0 terrorist\u00a0 partisans. The\u00a0 US basically agreed and it organized and conducted\u00a0 similar counter\u00a0 terrorism in the post war years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Asfandyar Wali Khan<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And during  the  course of an earlier interview with me, Khan Abdul Ghaffar  Khan\u2019s  grandson, Asfandyar Wali Khan, had  come up with this rather simplistic and uncomplicated  explanation to the growing turmoil in today\u2019s world:  \u201c If you have two badmashes <\/em>(bad guys! ) in a  village it\u2019s okay, because the two will be busy settling scores with each other. But there will be chaos and confusion if there is only one badmash <\/em>left! That\u2019s the trouble in today\u2019s world. There is only one badmash<\/em> left! Also, where\u2019s the leadership of calibre in today\u2019s Muslim world\u2026\u201d  He had also detailed that religion was  used by  Americans  in Afghanistan to create their  base, otherwise Afghan  struggles had  been  based  on  nationalism and not religion. \u201cAlso, the ongoing atrocities against the Palestinians are  hurting  the Muslims the world over. Post 9\/11, the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are  being looked at as if they are similar, which is not the  case. The true  essence and meaning  of  Islam is being overshadowed  in this  chaos which is  unfortunate, for  Islam stands  for   justice and   peace.\u2026 it\u2019s a known fact that way back in early 90s, madrasas and other religious  institutions had been set  up along the Afghan- Pakistan  borders,  by the  CIA under the various camouflages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And  if one were  to  focus on Latin  American countries, it\u2019s best to grasp what the well-known Mexican writer and columnist Juan Miguel De Mora had to tell me during  the  course of an interview whilst he was  visiting New Delhi  in 2004. When I had  queried about the US,  he began by quoting two former Mexican  presidents: \u201cMexican  president General  Porfirio  Diaz had  said way back (he was president till 1910) \u2018Poor Mexico so far from God and so close to the US.\u2019 Then, another Mexican President  – Adolfo Lopez  Mateos  had  said that  the  biggest problem faced  by  Mexico is  \u2018the  US.\u2019 Together with that, Mora came  up with  his own comments: \u201cBut  in  my  opinion both Mexican presidents  were too diplomatic. President\u2019s Bush\u2018s democracy is like Stalin\u2019s and I have been writing in my columns that Bush\u2019s policies are a danger to humanity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in 2001, I asked Libya\u2019s erstwhile ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi\u2019s son, Saif  al-Islam, to comment on the \u2018terror tags\u2019 heaped by the western powers on his father and  on his government, along the strain that they are funding  terror groups. He had told me, \u201cIt all depends on your perception. Many liberation leaders were viewed as being terrorists but later, they became heroes. In the sense, when Nelson Mandela was in trouble we helped him out, when Mugabe was having problems we helped him too, so does that mean we helped terrorist outfits!  Mind you, both these men fought liberation wars and later emerged as heroes. In fact, in my own country\u2019s war for liberation from the Italians, we lost about three-quarters of our population, so realize the problems involved \u2026it\u2019s all a matter of perception and image.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who all are lacing or equipping Israel with arms is another of the factors we don\u2019t wish to dwell on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, let\u2019s try to focus on these two very significant and revealing news reports! In May 2024, news reports hit:  the Spanish Foreign Minister said that the country had refused permission to a ship carrying arms from Chennai to Israel to dock at one of its ports. According to Spanish media, the Denmark-flagged cargo ship Marianne Danica which sailed from Chennai on April 8 and was headed to the port of Haifa in Israel. To quote from news reports – A second cargo ship that had departed India was denied entry on May 21 to the port of Cartagena. A Spanish newspaper, El Pais reported that the Marianne Danica left from India\u2019s port of Chennai and was en route to Israel\u2019s port of Haifa with a cargo of 27 tonnes of explosives. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares confirmed in a news conference that the vessel was denied entry on the grounds that it was shipping military cargo to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And  in June  2024,  several  news reports surfaced which  more than indicate that on June 6, in the aftermath of Israel\u2019s bombing of a United Nations shelter at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, the Quds News Network released a video of the remains of a missile dropped by Israeli warplanes \u2013 with \u2018Made in India\u2019  labels on it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*****<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving you with verse of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe war will end\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leaders will shake hands\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred\/son\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girl will wait for her beloved husband\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those children will wait for their hero father\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know who sold our homeland\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I saw who paid the price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is quiet and so am I.\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is quiet and so am I.\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sips tea with lemon, while I drink coffee.\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the difference between us.\/\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think: Maybe he\u2019s a killer\u2026\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or maybe a passerby who thinks\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a killer.\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s afraid\u2026and so am I.\/\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to believe that we still perpetuate the hyped propaganda of peace forums and platforms! None of the so-called world leaders have shown any urgency for a ceasefire or even for truce talks. by Humra Quraishi Once again, we are focusing on the human tragedies unfolding in the Middle East. With Lebanon now on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[53],"tags":[17452,18738,17127,17508,18737],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350618"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350618"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350625,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350618\/revisions\/350625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/350619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}