International crises still hit home

T his summer our TV screens, newspapers and social media have been filled with international crises and tragedies that have struck a chord with so many people. Geopolitics and foreign affairs often pass most people by as they focus on more immediate issues in their own lives.

This year has been different.

The tragic shooting down of Malaysian f l i ght MH17 over Ukraine with the loss of so many lives brought the conflict on Europe’s borders back to the top of the news agenda. The fact that so many innocent people – including a number of British citizens – had their lives cut short by a war in which they had no involvement, really hit home.

Then, as those headlines began to fade, our attention turned to another international crisis - in the Middle East. Renewed hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians brought horrific pictures of death and destruction into our living rooms. Abortive ceasefires came and went, and the international community struggled to come together to find a solution.

My vi ew has never wavered: Israel’s right to exist must be acknowledged as should self determination in their own state for the Palestinian people.

A humanitarian ceasefire and a two state solution remain the only sustainable basis for progress and peace.

Last week, the news agen- da moved on to Iraq. What amounts to a civil war is underway there, with a battle for land and power based on the complex web of historical political and religious divides. Fighting has suddenly intensified, with a group known as t he I sl ami c State making substantial gains in recent months.

This has f o r c e d t housands of people from religious minorities especially Christ i ans, t o f l ee t heir homes. I n particular the plight of the Yazidi people has dominated the headlines, with horrific stories of unimaginable brutality and suffering.

The UK has rightly joined

“Geopolitics and foreign affairs often pass most people by as they

focus on more immediate issues in

their own lives. This year has been

different.”

the United States in providing aid flights to these desperate people.

The act i ons of t hese barbaric jihadist terrorists have been brutal in the extreme and the affect on the innocent men, women and children has been awful to watch.

For the first time since the appalling tragedy of Rwanda twenty years ago, we have seen a modern attempt at religious- and ethnic-based genocide.

We really had no option but to intervene in what is an existential threat to civilization. This is a real conflict involving innocent people, and the international community must do what it can to help.

Life is seldom perfect but surely we should concede how fortunate we are to live in a safe, stable and secure country?