“What do you want to be when you grow up?”, “We don’t get the chance to grow up.” This is a conversation between a war correspondent and the kids in Gaza. Though brief, the answer conveys a deep sense of despair.
The latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been going on for over eight months. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 35,000 Palestinian civilians, among whom over 10,000 are children. One by one, vibrant lives perished under the bombardment of unrelenting gunfire. This is heart-wrenching. What is most perplexing and infuriating is the indifference of the Western media when covering the untold miseries. We can’t help asking: Do Palestinian lives matter?
We weep, for Palestine, and also for ourselves. We can’t help but ask: How many countries of the Global South have been plunged into similar flames of war? Has any one of us, countries of the Global South, ever stayed unscathed? Is there any war that is not the result of either overt intervention or covert instigation of the hegemonic powers?
Since the end of World War II, over six million lives have been claimed by wars waged by hegemonic powers. Among them, how many were our family and friends? Now, Israel persists with its atrocities. Why? The only reason is that they are shielded and emboldened by a hegemon. The country which is called the “beacon of democracy” is chanting “All men are created equal”. But for them, the lives of people from the Global South are nothing but a necessary cost they are willing to pay to maintain their hegemonic positions.
Our cry to save the lives of people in Gaza is also a call to defend our own right to life. The life of every civilian in Gaza and the Global South matters. Only through solidarity can the Global South tell the hegemonic powers that every life matters.
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