20.12.08

Gaza: Deprivation and Irresversible Damage

Impoverished Palestinians on the Gaza Strip are being forced to scavenge for food on rubbish dumps to survive as Israel's economic blockade risks causing irreversible damage, according to international observers.

..."Because Gaza is now operating as a 'tunnel economy' and there is so little coming through via Israeli crossings, it is hitting the most disadvantaged worst." (Chris Gunness, UNRWA)


Could this political crisis with dire humanitarian consequences, consented by Israel and the West, qualify as Crime Against Humanity ? In the absolute sense, definitely YES, because it leads to the starving, deprivation, with death in the end, of hundred thousand people. In the relative sense, depending on the West's moral values of the moment, probably NOT.
Taking Jews to concentration camps was Ok for most people in Germany, most European countries who helped in their deportation, and the West, this is because people were asked to shut down their moral judgment and think in terms of nations, war, and politics. And who were the Jews at that time anyway to shake the moral sense of nations ? However, when the Nazi regime fell and the war ended, humanity retrieved its moral sense, and it judged those who were responsible for the death of million of Jews with crimes against humanity and war crimes, even though most high profile Nazis who were tried at Nuremberg claimed they were doing only their duty, as Israel is claiming now that it is blocking Gaza because of artisanal rockets.
It is our absolute moral sense, our virtue, the one that works beyond our social and political commitments, that made Nuremberg possible, and it will come back to haunt Israel this time when statistics of the occupation and the blockade will pile up and the drama unfolds to the world, and the world will stop turning its eyes from Gaza...

3 comments:

Anne Rettenberg LCSW said...

At least I'll be able to say I tried to do something about it. I haven't been doing anything lately though. I would feel guilty about that, but I am having some financial issues. I'm not sure what I can do right now that doesn't involve money.

Anonymous said...

Sophia
it is outrageous that Israel is closing borders to Gaza. How can Hamas send out teenaged suicide bombers if Israel closes the borders?

Sophia said...

Elizabeth,

The only thing we can do is write about it as bloggers. There isn't much we can do. I have a blogger friend who is from belgium and she is in contact with greta Berlin, the woman who runs the boats that brave the Gaza blockade now frequently and sail from Cyprus. She is planning to go in April or May. I am thinking of joining...

I hope your financial issues aren't acute.

I apologize for the load of typing errors in the first version of this post. They are now mostly corrected.

Cheers,

Sophia

 
Since March 29th 2006