Overlooked casualties of conflicts

Let us pledge to establish a world in which unnecessary loss of life is regarded not as an unavoidable tragedy, but rather a catastrophe

In the desolate landscapes of war-torn cities and villages that used to flourish with love and laughter, there exists a group of individuals who perish in silence, their stories fading into opacity amid the mayhem and turmoil of conflict. These forgotten souls are the civilians, the innocent witnesses trapped in the crossfire of a bitter and devastating struggle for land, rights and freedom.

Children whose laughter has been replaced by sobs of sorrow, the women whose voices have been silenced by the thunderous roar of explosions and gunfire, and the elderly whose aching bodies display the scars of a lifetime of difficulties and suffering. Their deaths pass overlooked, their names buried in the endless list of fatalities, and their lives degraded to mere figures in an endless cycle of violence and catastrophe.

War is a vile and horrifying reality of human existence, and one of its most catastrophic consequences is the loss of life. While the media tends to focus on the heroic sacrifices of soldiers, this is the group of people whose deaths go unnoticed and unacknowledged — the forgotten victims of war.

In the ongoing conflict in Palestine, thousands of innocent men, women, and children have lost their lives in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. These forgotten individuals are often disregarded and overlooked in the wider narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian genocide, downgraded to statistics in the escalating death toll.

According to the United Nations, civilians (especially women and children) account for the vast majority of losses in conflicts worldwide. In Palestine, it has been reported that there are 63,543 casualties, including 31,227 fatalities since 1948 (excluding 2023, which is the year that Israeli forces killed the most Palestinians).

The forgotten victims who die in conflicts, specifically in Palestine, are more than just casualties of violence; they are human beings with goals, dreams, and families who are left to mourn the loss of loved ones. Their fatalities are more than just numbers; they are a terrible reminder of the human cost of war and the price that it imposes on innocent lives.

Their deaths must serve as an urgent reminder of the critical demand for peace and justice in war zones across the world, as well as a call to action to break the cycle of violence and suffering that afflicts many nations.

As we reflect on the forgotten victims who perish in conflicts, especially in Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, Congo, and all the victims whom we don’t know, let us not forget their names, stories, and the horrifying effect of their unfortunate deaths.

Let us pledge to establish a world in which such unnecessary loss of life is no longer regarded as an unavoidable tragedy, but rather as a preventable catastrophe that must be tackled and avoided by all means. Only then can we sincerely respect the memories of those who have been forgotten amid warfare, ensuring that their lives were not lost in vain.