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I can’t imagine anyone whose insides have not been churning at the gruesome images of murder, maiming and absolute devastation of humanity by humans globally.
Most visible are macabre scenes from Gaza: children, babies, women, the elderly, the young, all strewn together as the faces of physical pain—limbs and torsos shattered. The wailing and grief from families and friends pierces the senses.
Photo: Ali Jadallah/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.
It echoes across countries: in Haiti, in Sudan, in Ukraine, we see the horror. This century has been explosive, and the spectre of this meaningless violence growing seems an inevitable reality.
I cannot comprehend it. My brain does not allow me to even try to rationalise the frenzy of demented behaviour that has shaken itself loose around the planet. What is it about?
Amidst the ghastly struggle for life and the basic needs for survival—food, water, shelter—and the hourly deterioration of the capacity for access to them, there is a bizarre co-existence with an obsession with being fashionable and fancy.
There are people whose biggest hardship is their inability to shop online.
It boggles my mind.
I swerve off the main road sometimes and drive through my own lanes when I focus on cricket or farming and food. That is because like most of us, the unrelenting onslaught of barbarity is often too much to endure—and this from a distance.
What of the battering on the psychological state of those in the immediate proximity?
I engage people every week with my columns. A decision has to be made on every occasion. Do I try to remind people of the beauty and wondrous things that still exist? Do I come right out and bluntly say I see a world that is imploding?
By nature, I’m an optimist. I believe that we can influence outcomes by our outlook. I choose to encourage us to focus on the things that can give us hope. Gabrielle Hosein’s most recent column, We are our own hope, articulated the thoughts I have been keeping.
If you observe the growing outcry against the activities of the decrepit old men who are mistreating the planet, you will feel it in your bones that something has to give. Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, the ringleaders of abuse have been operating with frustrating impunity for years.
I can only imagine that in their advanced years, they are imagining creating a legacy, a monument to their existence. It seems to be the common thread among despots in whatever position they inhabit on the planet, because it is certainly not confined to those holding political power.
Our own region, this small space, is rife with overbearing characters, elevating themselves to totemic heights by manipulating simple minds.
Photo: Washington Post.
How do they get to these places? People have empowered them, and even as they might be recoiling from the monsters they have unleashed, there is still tentativeness about how to undo the damage that is already catastrophic.
Sometimes, when I am seething, I ask myself what goes through the minds that proclaim support for charlatans, corrupt buffoons and warmongers. Yes, people have the right to choose, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wonder what is the world they are opting for.
What happens when you feel that major decisions are being made on your behalf but they go against your values and principles?
At the very least it is embarrassing to be defined by your nationality when a national leader’s behaviour and pronouncements make you cringe.
I know I have been wincing, and I can only imagine what North Americans and Russians and Israelis must be feeling at the wanton carnage that is being disseminated in their names. Not everyone is a ghoul.
That’s why Gabbi’s column resonates. She points to the range of actions that are taking place globally. People are rising up in various ways. The small flotilla from several countries ambitiously making its way to bring relief supplies, despite the molestation by Israeli forces.
The BBC reported on Thursday that Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the Global Sumud Flotilla members were being transferred to an Israeli port to be deported.
Belatedly, but significantly, a large number of countries have announced their recognition of a state of Palestine, which has infuriated Netanyahu. The sale of arms to Israel (a shame by itself, no matter to whom it is sold) is being restricted.
At the 80th United Nations General Assembly, member after member denounced the bombardments in Ukraine and Gaza. The plights of Haiti and Sudan were highlighted as examples of indifferent countries.
Many of the speakers went past the usual moderate rebukes that generally serve to place a country’s stance on the record. When Netanyahu took the podium several delegates walked out in protest.
Outside the headquarters, the streets were filled with supporters of Palestine and protesters of Netanyahu. People are raising their voices.
Inside, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa reminded the assembly that his country is leading a case at the ICJ, pressing for a ruling that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
France president Emmanuel Macron urged countries to support the New York Declaration, which was signed by 142 states. It calls for the release of captives, stabilisation of Gaza, dismantling of Hamas, and recognition of Israel and Palestine.
I listened to our Prime Minister’s address, but she did not mention Gaza at all—and I wonder, is Trinidad and Tobago a signatory to the New York Declaration?
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Vaneisa Baksh is a columnist with the Trinidad Express, an editor and a cricket historian. She is the author of a biography of Sir Frank Worrell.
