by Samia Khoury of Jerusalem
Today I had a short break from the news and the TV set as I
joined Sabeel for a special service held
at the Dominican church for the people
of Gaza. This church where Yousef and I celebrated our
wedding, fifty four years ago, has become a symbol for special prayers held by
Sabeel. The occasions have been many and
seem to be endless. Iraq Syria, Palestinian prisoners, and now the people of Gaza for a third round of
invasions.
No words can describe the brutality of what is happening in Gaza. With the sophisticated media nowadays, nobody
can claim ignorance of this genocide. We
watch TV day and night and see bodies torn apart and people lifting children
from under the rubble. We also prayed for the Christians of Mousel in Iraq who are being evicted from
their homes or killed. Not much different
from the action of the sophisticated
army of the only democracy in the region shelling a defenseless population
under siege. Thanks to Mr. Bush and
Blair for starting this war in Iraq
and which, ever since, had created havoc
in the region and more refugees. It also
brought about all sorts of radical
movements that are to the advantage of
nobody but Israel, as the world turns a
blind eye to how it has been
systematically dispossessing the
Palestinians ever since 1948. The barbaric
war on Gaza
is another Nakba.
Despite the grave tragedy and the massacre of whole families
in Gaza totaling to over 660 until this evening and thousands injured
and homes demolished we find the reaction of the UN and the US not up to the gravity of this beastly
invasion. In fact it is unbelievable when the US president claims that Israel has the right to defend itself, instead
of having the courage to force Israel
to lift the siege on Gaza
and to withdraw from the occupied territories.
This sounded like the understatement of the year when an occupying force needs to defend
itself from the occupied. And what makes the
Israeli narrative more ridiculous and nonsensical is the claim of all spokespersons that Gaza
is not under occupation, and that Israel withdrew from it completely
eight years ago. Really did they? Who then controls this hugely condensed area whose
population is mostly from refugees evicted in 1948?
The people of Gaza
have been under siege for the last seven
years, with no access to land, air or
sea. So is the world surprised that they
had to be creative and innovative in finding means to liberate themselves from
this big prison and all the brutality of one attack after the other while the
world was simply watching without taking any action. Enough is enough. Those
people could not wait any longer for the wishy washy stand of the brokers of
peace, the UN or the Arab leaders and
took matters in their own hands. And at
this stage it seems that all the Palestinians are behind them in their right to
resist this brutality, despite the high price they are paying with human lives. But for a desperate population the cry ends
up being either freedom or death. Is
anybody listening? Just envisage your
own domestic animal cooped up in a small area, and felt cornered how ferocious
it can be and what damage it would do to
be able to get out, and you might end up being its first victim. The people of Gaza are human beings, who deserve a dignified life.
Mr. Kerry wasted his time and energy like his predecessors
in trying to forge a peace that could not be possible while Israel continues to
flout all agreements and UN resolutions as well as international law. Indeed as long as Israel can maintain the status quo
and get away with it by being above the
law, why should it bother to heed to the
UN, Mr. Obama or Mr. Kerry? They are all
irrelevant as far as Israel
is concerned. But now they got a taste of the suffering that they
have inflicted on others for years.
Would these mothers and wives losing their loved ones make a difference,
or will they become as arrogant as their leaders and more aggressive and revengeful
and increase the loss of lives on both sides?
In his homily, Patriarch Sabbah said that there is a need for the transformation of leaders with a
change of heart, and a change of vision
whereby all humans are equal and all people deserve to have their own freedom
and sovereignty, and to live in dignity,
and security. As I shook hands
with the Patriarch, the Bishops and the clergy after the service I told them I was hoping the doors of the heavens were open to hear our
prayers. It is indeed going to take much
more than our prayers to bring an end to the atrocities and massacres in Gaza.
