Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Parachinar, and Oman, all have something in common- innocent lives have been calculatedly taken. Another is a lack of media coverage in the main news and press. Nonetheless, be it genocide, bombing in a capital city, airstrikes in a port, tribal and sectarian clashes, and terrorist attacks in a mosque, all demonstrate humanity at its lowest. With continued war in Ukraine and the Middle East being so volatile that at any point an all-out war can break out, there is constant uncertainty and no vision of peace in sight. It is only a matter of time before the more profound effects of these events will be felt at home. In the meantime, at home, either potential presidential leaders argue and debate about the actual ethnicity of their opponent or they are busy branding them as “weird”. Whatever whimsical matter the Western media chooses to focus upon, it still does not remove the fact that continuously defenseless men, women, and children are being gruesomely wiped from their homeland, a true genocide is being perpetrated.
The irony is that rather than the Superpowers calling upon the perpetrator to stop, the leader of this death and destruction is given 58 standing ovations in Congress, that’s about one standing ovation per minute despite just five days after the ICJ-International Court of Justice notified all UN member states that they have a legal “obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Despite this call, the U.S. government empowers the illegal occupation by providing $3.8 billion annually and it has sent an additional amount of $15 billion in military aid since October 7, 2023. This funding has fueled the genocide, which has killed nearly 39,000 Palestinians by the official Gaza Health Ministry count. However, the true death toll according to The Lancet well-known medical journal- is much higher than this. What is more, the U.S. has vetoed three Security Council resolutions that would have necessitated a ceasefire in Gaza.
It causes one to wonder “What is going on!?” If Congress cannot understand the gross human toll, at least the University students can and do. Students from coast to coast, and globally, have risked their education, finances, careers, and future by peacefully protesting via encampments on College campuses to call out the administrators of their institutions, to divest from companies that hold ties to the occupying entity along with other such demands. They have demonstrated that compassion still exists.
Undoubtedly, the obliteration of people from their native lands has occurred in the past such as the Native Americans and the Aboriginals of Australia, but again that was the past. Henceforth, one of the reasons for studying history is not to repeat the same crimes perpetrated before. What the world is witnessing now is a repetition of another onslaught, which is going into its 10th month. Yet, it remains unimaginable where displaced women, clearly holding white flags were targeted, hospitals bombed, and continued massacres such as in the al-Mawasi region, an area designated as a humanitarian zone by the occupying army, was still targeted by them in early July, and a plethora of more transgressions continue.
So where are we in all this? People power. Elections are soon to follow and voicing our concerns to our leaders regarding the need for a ceasefire and a legitimate solution to the crises is necessary. This can be done by participating in protest gatherings or calling government officials at every level. Furthermore, one must elect leaders that remain true to a just cause. Sometimes shifting away from main party lines may be necessary to establish this. Whatever efforts we make to gear towards a more conflict-free world is a responsibility fulfilled according to our capability. Then can we feel good about our efforts when we look back at history.
Fatima Kermalli holds a Masters in Islamic Studies, is a Sunday School teacher and member of the Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Pennsylvania in Allentown
