The collapse of the West’s value system
All the stuff we were taught about democracy, rulesbased law, and respect for institutions established by the West after World War 2, to manage relations between states based on shared principles of human rights, international law, etc., seems hollow in view of what is unfolding in Gaza.
The idea of wiping out a whole people from the face of the planet seems to be the ultimate goal of the Israeli regime. The mass genocides of the past pale in comparison to what is currently happening in full sight. Tragically, the very same European countries directly responsible for the ethnic extermination of the Herero and Nama people in Namibia (first genocide in the 20th century) and the holocaust are complicit in the genocide now unfolding.
My own (and perhaps the English language limitations) cannot find words to describe the indiscriminate massacre/slaughter of innocent women and children seen live on our TV screens. Any normal human being can feel the pain and suffering as thousands of innocent civilians are killed with 2, 000 pound bombs and other sophisticated weapons guided by AI technology provided by the United States and other Western countries. The US and its allies can no longer be seen as credible champions for, or exemplar of democracy that they propagate around the world.
What words can we use to describe the bombing of schools, universities (all of 12 universities in Gaza destroyed), and hospitals with patients inside pulverised. How would one describe the complete closure—blocking access to fuel, water, electricity, food (starvation used as a military strategy), medical supplies, and other goods into Gaza? A two-year-old child dies of starvation and thousands more likely to die in the next few days and weeks. Our basic humanity, the innate capacity for interest in the well being of others is missing. The moral compass, the principle foundation on which the West’s so called rules-based international order is anchored, no longer matters as the massacre/slaughter continues unabated. The mask that has long obscured the true nature and purpose of so called “international law”, the supposed foundation of the global order, is finally exposed. As the Palestinian cries for help remain unanswered, the sinister truth is now undeniably out in the open; “international justice” more often than not, is used as a tool to advance imperial interests, and not justice, as the primary foreign policy value. The Western world’s double standards exposed for all to see. The gallant and bold initiative by South Africa to take up the matter through the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been a huge enabler exposing the injustices of the West. The ICJ case resolved that the very countries that created the system are today undermining the rules and institutions compromising the rules-based international order. These countries are complicit in the massacre of innocent civilians.
The ICJ’s order to take all possible measures to prevent genocidal acts, to prevent public incitement to genocide, and to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the provision of basic services and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, have all been ignored.
But, the Palestinians, like all oppressed peoples of the world, know that justice is greater than the sum of its parts. The unquenchable thirst to correct a historical wrong is worth great sacrifices. The 75 years of distorted history about the injustices have been deliberately propagated. Land and homes can be forcibly taken away but memories can never be erased... whole civilisations can be wiped out but memories remain...that is why the study of history is the best medicine for those who forget or propagate their own distorted versions of what is unfolding in Gaza.
The mark of a civilisation is the unquenchable thirst for justice. The rights of the Palestinians to reclaim their land remain inviolable. Self-determination is a core principle of international law. Striving to correct the historical injustice cannot be denied. Justice, like memory cannot be erased...it keeps getting passed on. The oppressors must remember that one can demolish anything but not the truth; one can erase anything but not memory.
Resistance always wins, occupiers always lose. This right to resist occupation is enshrined by the United Nations Resolution 3, 314 (1974). The resolution affirms the right of self-determination, freedom, and independence for all “peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination,” and affirmed the “right of these peoples to struggle to that end and to seek and receive support.”
South Africa is an example that colonisation and Apartheid can be defeated. History will hold the West accountable for tolerating and enabling for what is happening in Gaza. The whole world must never forget that they were witnesses to genocide for the first time in human memory.
The central lesson of observing the live streaming of the genocide; that the genocide experienced by the people of Gaza presents a warning to humanity everywhere not to be complacent concerning the murderous intentions of colonial regimes; that recognition of our common humanity and protection of human rights are among our highest responsibilities.