A couple of months ago, I was asked to address a seminar about peace. I started my intervention by saying that war is inevitable. It might sound strange to start an intervention on peace with the word war. However, I think that any discourse on peace has to take into account the historical fact that humankind and war are inseparable. We might not wish it to be that way. We might pray, work and dedicate our lives in the pursuit of peace but we all know in the bottom of our hearts that war will happen.
It is as if the pain and suffering of our ancestors are etched in the human DNA. Rather than reminding us of the horrors and pains of conflict, these memories fuel a morbid fascination mixed with a dangerous cocktail of violent cultural, tribal, national and racial sentiments. These sentiments come to the fore whenever there is a call to arms. William James wrote that “war taxes are the only ones men never hesitate to pay”.
People are dying right now because of conflict. They are dying in Ukraine, they are dying in Gaza, in the plains of Sudan, in the streets of Syria, in the villages of Afghanistan and Iraq. Closer to home, the situation in Libya and Tunisia is pointing to a return to bloodshed.
It is not only armed soldiers who are dying. The lives of men, women and children are being wasted. Their untimely death will fuel more deaths.
Certain conflicts have been going for so long that the cause is no longer clear. Hatred becomes self-sustaining. It is sad that so many lives are lost to vindicate history rather than applied to build a better future. Just think about the futility and senselessness of a father’s pride, as he watches his son taking up arms to avenge his ancestor’s deaths.
Death begets more deaths. And these deaths are not restricted to some far-away battlefields. With the advent of terrorism, war did not remain confined to the battlefields. Our cities became potential fields of war. New York, London, Istanbul and so many other cities have seen ordinary citizens cut down by senseless violence.
The downing of the Malaysian airline in Ukraine is yet another black spot on human history. Three hundred lives wasted, 300 families destroyed forever. Will these deaths lead to more deaths or will their loss lead to saving of other innocent lives? Time will tell. Our prayers and sympathies go for all those lives lost in vain.
Malta remains a safe haven in a world that is becoming more and more unstable
After centuries of playing a major role in the theatre of war, Malta is now luckily relegated to the role of spectator. We have the luxury of sitting back and passing judgement without fear of losing our life or losing those we care for. We remain a safe haven in a world that is becoming more and more unstable.
Our sea of tranquillity is broken, however, by the deaths of those escaping the horrors of war and the consequences of civil strife. There are those among us who refuse to acknowledge what these people are running away from. We cannot, however, choose to ignore what is happening around us, not least what is taking place right on our doorstep.
The government’s silence is, at times, deafening. But, then, this may be symptomatic of a society whose world of comforts has made it immune to the pain of others. We have, however, an obligation to come out against acts of terror or intimidation. Yes, it might be more comfortable to sit on the fence and stare blankly as blood is shed. But diplomacy is not about sitting pretty. It is about doing what is right as a member of the international community of nations.
As a nation, we should be sharing the grief with the families of those who lost their loved ones in downing of Malaysian flight MH17. We should be protesting about what is happening in Gaza, putting pressure for the bloodshed to stop. There seems to be not enough sense of urgency in dealing with what is happening in Libya, even though there are Maltese interests and lives at stake.
Those who study war will teach us that certain ingredients are constant in the recipe of conflict. Most wars are driven by one of mankind’s oldest obsessions: self-preservation. Our mind refuses to accept the inevitability of change and, to a certain degree, the fact that decay of anything we build is part and parcel of humanity.
In a bid to maintain a level of status quo, we build up geographical, cultural, religious or racial borders and then fight to preserve those borders. There is nothing contemporary in this. This has been the modus operandi since pre-history. The only counterbalance to this craziness lies in accepting diversity.
We have to accept the reality that the human race is not homogenous and that being different is a beautiful, not threatening, aspect of human life. This is still a bitter pill to swallow for some societies, including our own.
Mario de Marco is deputy leader of the Nationalist Party.