don quixote's travels

a travelogue in the time of the information superhighway

1994

My story starts in drizzly, dreary, grey England. I worked as a nurse in a specialist cancer hospital in Manchester. One day, I suddenly entered her world, there she was. At once beautiful, but decaying visibly. Eyes that melt you, fumbled for reasons. High on morphine, she slumped on the chair. Her legs, previously long and graceful, were now fat and full of fluid. She was loosing her hair, something that upset her most. We all witnessed her struggling with the remains of her dignity and modesty, but she carried on fighting. Her mother applied facial cream like a corner man at ringside, her father just looked lost. She was a twenty seven year old woman, right before us, dying in her prime. She seemed to hold up a mirror to the thoughts sailing across my mind, a metaphor for what we've all become and what will become of us. So much potential, so much waste. It is at moments like this that we can take the looking glass to our own fragile existence, and ask questions of it. Cancer had infiltrated her womb, the very giver of life. I became aware of a feeling that her death had released something else, a thirst for living itself. She haunted me. Four months later, I set out on an adventure to view the world that she would no longer see.

Posted by don quixote

Saturday, 6 September 2014

Iraq, Syria, ISIS and intervention. Whats happened to the civilian crisis?

My fear is that as western attention focuses away from the refugees and potential refugees of the ISIS sociopathic slaughter towards US/UK individual hostages, yet again hundreds of 'Srebranica's' will shame us and abandon the people of Iraq and Syria. 

Western governments and the media just can't help themselves reframing the narrative into 'OUR' hostages 'OUR' national interest 'OUR' assets. Soon the Yazidis, Tukahmen's, Assyrians, Kurds and others even less known, are marginalised and edited out of the story. Thus, they increasingly get marginalised in the military planning. Now the priorities start moving away from preventing genocide and protecting civilians and evolve into 'strategic' goals, who is going to provide the military power, can we sell intervention to our voters, will they stomach troops on the ground and the inevitable body bags coming home, will temporary alliances return to haunt us and who do the west want in power after we leave? All these questions and others, like will this action stimulate rather than diminish violent Jihadism? obviously need to be discussed, but the reality is that this narrative has already left the real victims, mostly muslims, behind. I heard of the plight and existence of the Yazidi only weeks ago, now there is nothing on the news networks. Are there still people on the mountains? If not where are they? Who is protecting them, the Kurds, the PKK or a small band of special forces? What about the other vulnerable people in towns and villages we've never heard of? in Syria and Iraq. How are they being supplied with food, medicine, warmth and shelter? If they've crossed boarders, whose monitoring it, are they safe? 

Now Ukraine and Russia are taking our focus away, just like ISIS have taken the eyes off the occupied territories and Israel's war crimes in Palestine. (Muslims worldwide should take note, Neo-Jihadism has slowed the momentum and damaged the gains made in the journey towards Palestinian Statehood) Yes it is possible that Israel/CIA might have strategically aided ISIS to do just this, we'll see.   

Airstrikes were needed immediately to force back ISIS forces and protect civilians and it appears that that was done. And, it might be that we should take on ISIS and at least severely diminish their military capability. However, where are the protective enclaves defended by force if necessary? humanitarian corridors for people and supplies protected by troops on the ground? Where are the field hospitals? The massive injection of governments aid to neighbouring countries to cope with refugees? These measures need to be mobilised within days of a humanitarian crisis and with the same financial investment that goes into war. The make up of the protective, defensive force can be rearranged over time to suit the local conditions and politics of the region, initially the response is rapid and done by whoever is in the best position to do it. It is not an occupation and can only act defensively to protect non combatants. That means safe havens demand troops actively defend the refugees unlike the pathetic response of the UN command in Srebrenica. So this means that 'troops on the ground' doesn't have to be an 'occupation' and yes it does risk greater military casualties. The reality is that the West's obsession with limiting its own casualties and relying on, almost exclusively, not very precise 'targeted' airstrikes  invariably leads to many more civilian deaths, 'collateral damage' (in our language- hospitals, schools, children....see Gaza). 

If we decide to intervene, we have to do it properly. Not only because the crisis demands it, but because the political capital that is gained from acting honourably and primarily in the interests of the populations that inhabit these lands, makes everyone (including ourselves)  safer, trusted despite differing cultural/religious make-up's, more open to dialogue and change (free from the charge of hypocrisy), open to the idea of extending the hand of friendship, peace and respect. The lives saved on all sides, by adopting a consistent and honourable (free of strategic dirty tricks) foreign policy, will be immeasurable. 

' And in the end the love you take, is equal to, the love you make' - Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr   

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)