Silent witness to murder
Future generations will judge our silence on Gaza in the same way as history judged those who watched in silence when the children of Jewish communities were murdered in Auschwitz
History is written by the victorious but humanity’s collective memory will never forget the suffering of the innocent. And children, regardless of one’s perspective on a particular conflict, are always innocent. Hurting, morally crushing and killing children is always and forever unacceptable.
Future generations will judge our words and silence on what is happening in Gaza in the same way that history has judged those who stood by and watched in silence when the children of Jewish communities were murdered in Auschwitz.
I, for one, will not and cannot stay silent. I refuse to stand by while children are killed while queueing at a health centre. The atrocities happening in Gaza are not only against children; everyone is a target. Over 58,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including 217 journalists and media workers, 120 academics and more than 224 humanitarian aid workers.
The Israeli government has made no secret of its intentions in implementing what it considers to be a lasting solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict.
The solution pursued by the Israeli government is to relocate the Palestinian people from their lands. This solution, at least in one aspect, is similar to the Wannsee Conference final solution adopted by the Nazi high command. Both these solutions ignored the ethical aspect of the proposal and focused solely on the effectiveness of the ‘how’.
The ‘how’ then referred to identifying the most effective way of removing Jewish populations from mainland Europe. It is ironic and inexplicable how the very same nation that was targeted in such a cruel fashion is now removing the Palestinians from Gaza.
The move is being done in phases. For months, Palestinians have been subjected to deadly attacks. Gaza’s infrastructure has all but been obliterated. Hospitals and schools have been razed to the ground.
If you want to find hell on earth, there is probably no better place to look for it than in this area. Of course, with the right investment, it can become a riviera in future where millionaires and billionaires can spend their millions and play golf on courses built on the very sites where children were killed.
“All eyes must remain on Gaza, where children are dying of starvation in their mothers’ arms, while their fathers and siblings are bombed into pieces while searching for food.”
Gaza’s infrastructure has all but been obliterated. Hospitals and schools have been razed to the ground- Mario de Marco
These are not the words of some Palestinian propaganda official. This is a statement made by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza. Instead of condemning Israel, the Trump administration targeted and sanctioned the messenger. She has made it clear that, despite the United States’ effort to silence her, she will remain undeterred in her efforts to draw the world’s attention to the dire situation faced by the Palestinians in Gaza.
Clearly, the Trump administration is not overly concerned with what is morally right or wrong in this conflict, nor is it pursuing a fair resolution to the invasion of Ukraine. Despite President Trump’s promise to end these conflicts within days of taking office, both conflicts persist after eight months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is like the Ku Klux Klan nominating Marine Le Pen for the Global Anti-Racism Champions Award; it’s absurd and ridiculous and would be amusing if it were not so tragic.
But this is the world we live in today; a world in desperate need of leadership; a world that places more importance on soundbites and media likes than on values and policies.
They say that, at the moment of truth, the best thing one can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing. Our government has yet to officially recognise Palestine as a state despite it having promised it would do so last year and, then, again, promised that it would have done so by June of this year. June came and went and our government is still stalling in its recognition of the Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has now promised that the recognition will happen at the appropriate forum. I ask: What is the proper forum? Why must we wait for a conference to take place? How many more innocent lives must be lost before we find a suitable diplomatic channel to do what is right? Let us act now; let us do what is right without delay.
It seems Malta’s hesitation to act is due to the United States pressuring other countries to avoid any action that might be seen as contrary to US and Israeli interests. If they do, these nations might face diplomatic repercussions.
We should not fear doing what is right, even if it costs us. Our independence grants us rights and responsibilities, including the duty as a sovereign state to speak out when other members of the international community do wrong.
Malta must lend its voice alongside those protesting the eradication of the Gaza community. We must speak out against the relocation of the people of Palestine or forever be condemned as silent witnesses to murder.
Mario de Marco is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on tourism and a member of the Parliamentary Foreign and European Affairs Committee. .