Three different episodes communicated to me more than anything else the horror of the collective hell called Gaza: the words of UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the tears of Chris Gunness who is in Gaza as part of his job with the United Nations and the video posted on You Tube by the face of Channel 4 news, Jon Snow.
Ban is not associated with sensationalist sound bites. The top world diplomat regularly weighs his words and prunes the tougher ones. So when his usual composed demeanour gives way to harsh words the reality they refer to tends to be harsher than one would have thought.
“Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children.” This strong statement described Ban’s sentiment after the shelling of the Abu Hussein School in Jabaliya refugee camp, killing at least 16 of the more than 3,000 displaced people who were huddled there using it as a haven from the rockets and shells whistling overhead.
Many of the dead were women and children. The shame becomes deeper as it is very clear that the attack was a premeditated one; part of Israel’s campaign of collective punishment of the Palestinian people. It could not have been otherwise since the UN had pointed out the precise location of this school to the Israeli military authorities 17 times! Many were shocked but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not impressed. Shame on him.
The second witness is former BBC reporter Gunness. His job has taken him to many tough situations, so he is, by all accounts, a hardened operator. Or so we thought. As part of his work with the UN’s Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, he was interviewed by Al Jazeera about his experience of the horror that surrounded him.
“The rights of Palestinians – even their children – are wholesale denied. And it’s appalling,” he said. Then he stopped and broke into loud sobs. Even for someone who has lived through Gaza’s troubles, what is happening now is all too much to bear. You can watch the video courtesy of The Telegraph.
Channel 4 journalist Snow went to Gaza. One would think that a journalist on the TV news channel payroll would then report on what he saw during a news bulletin. But instead he presented his thoughts on a video posted on You Tube since TV journalists are restrained by archaic rules on balance and due impartiality. As if one can be impartial when such an organised massacre is involved! In such a situation, it should be expected that experienced journalists give their take on a story and then let the audience to form a judgment.
An emotional but composed Snow told us that he can’t get out of his mind the scenes he saw. In this collective prison populated mostly by young people, suffering and anguish is the daily bread and butter of the population.
Watch the video on You Tube. But be warned: you will not be able to get the images out of your mind, which is fine because this massacre must not be forgotten.
• “Prof. Crano, in Malta we are discussing a White Paper proposing the decriminalisation of drugs. What do you think of such a policy?”
The answer was quicker than lightening and more resounding than thunder.
“That would be a disaster.”
William Crano was answering questions following an enlightening lecture he delivered last week at the University.
Crano is not one of the self-opinionated dilettantes that infest the social networks. His CV is almost intimidating. He served as an advisor to the United Nations, the Surgeon-General of the United States, the National Institutes of Health, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the European Union, and the US Department of Energy.
His expertise is on influence and persuasion. His research has guided policy in the US and internationally. Crano has published 15 books and more than 400 monographs, scientific articles and presentations.
The point made by the American professor is very simple. Vast research shows that when young people form the impression that drugs are not dangerous then they tend to use more drugs instead of less. This is quite a reasonable position, I think. Decriminalisation tends to give that impression, doesn’t it? The change that government is proposing is a radical one. This is no justification not to do it or to drag one’s feet doing it.
But if government policy is informed by hard and well-informed research and not driven by one of the myriad secret electoral backroom deals struck between the Labour Party and whoever could corral votes in its direction, then voices like that of Crano and other experts in the field would be listened to and given importance. Caritas and Oasi, the two largest NGOs that have worked with Maltese drug addicts more than anyone else in our country, have already taken positions similar to that of Crano.
Crano said that American parents mistakenly rate today’s marijuana with the kind they used to ingest three or four decades ago and conclude that the stuff is not very dangerous. This, in part, explains the changing attitude of Americans to the drug. This is a mistake. The marijuana available today is of a stronger and more dangerous type than that available yesterday. Today some products manufactured using a marijuana base can be hazardous, he concluded.
It is very clear that the attack was a premeditated one; part of Israel’s campaign of collective punishment of the Palestinian people
This extensive CV, quite naturally, does not make Crano infallible. Neither am I saying that when Crano speaks let no dog bark. Let there be a chorus of well-trained barking dogs, if need be. No problem with that. But for the sake of young people, mostly, avoid making this issue a political casualty and give heed to the man and others like him whose positions are based on solid research.
• I do not personally know Captain Martin Galea, who was abducted by Libyan militia currently described as ‘good guys’ by l-Oriżżont. Galea must be a man of courage. These ‘good guys’ kept him in appalling conditions, beat him, fired shots close to his head and threatened him with sexual violence. He even overheard his captors planning on killing him.
His predicament was so serious that the Prime Minister, two Cabinet ministers, the head of the Armed Forces and the head of the Security Service congregated to celebrate Galea’s release from his abductors. But Galea really showed his grit not only in the dingy Libyan cell. He really showed his mettle on the airport apron. His act of bravery was telling the truth: “Marisa Farrugia saved my life.”
Telling the truth in Malta today is becoming less frequent and more dangerous. May others show the same courage as Galea.
I will discuss in greater depth more of the humanitarian and political implications of this hell called Gaza in my blog on timesofmalta .com. Watch that space.
joseph.borg@um.edu.mt