We Will Not Go Down

Two thirds of the over one thousand casualties in Gaza are children according to BBC Radio this morning. In the program an expert expressed his astonishment about the fact that such a war strategy is still being used in the 21st century, namely that civilians are locked in the region of war action without a chance to escape.

Furthermore, AlJazeera.Net English reported last night that three of the prominent Palestinian football players are among the victims. It was also mentioned that the football stadium had been badly damaged. Day after day the infrastructure in Gaza is being bombed to pieces. It will take years to rebuild all of that, if there will be enough money to do that. Meanwhile Gaza is bombed from a self-run refugee camp to a miserable ghetto in which the Palestinians will keep suffering even if the fighting stops.

The American songwriter and musician, Michael Heart, upon seeing the pictures from Gaza on TV wrote this song, which says more than a million words. It's hard to see how the Israeli government hasn't already lost this fight although winning the battle. There are opinions being voiced linking the decision of attacking Gaza to the objective of increasing the involved politicians' chances in the upcoming Israeli elections.

So, where were the diplomatic masters and experts in the run-up to this disaster? The UN for one (which had been established by the international community in order to prevent war attrocities after the last world war) has failed yet again, despite their many organizations involved. It looks as if the Palestinians have to rely on themselves while the world discusses who is to be blamed. Maybe the words of Mahatma Gandhi offer some comfort to them: "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." (Source)