Of The Asymmetric And Hypocritical “War” Creating Hell On Earth!

Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak 
Opinion - Bacalah Malaysia 
November 22, 2023  

The “war” between a long standing “occupier” and a relatively new “occupied” resistance group has been at each other’s throats for more than a month now.

If the latter is put as the point of reference, the “war” has been on for more than seven decades involving a variety of the “occupied” groups.

As such, some refused to even acknowledge this as a “war” because of its acute asymmetric character best likened to that of David and the Goliath in the historical sense. An inspiring example of how an underdog could defeat someone much bigger than him, against the odds.

He demonstrated a keen understanding of military tactics in order to defeat a much larger, brutish foe. And willing to step forward, and face a physically overpowering enemy alone, according to one analyst.

Given the most disproportionate asymmetry that unfolded in front of the eyes of the world, many were shocked at what they saw almost daily since October 7. For those who are conscientious and emotionally intelligent, discerning the discrepancies comes naturally.

In particular, when the lives lost multiplied swiftly due to actions that violated the international laws on war. Collective punishment, being one of the most obvious, its blatant “abuse” to the extent that hospitals were and are still being bombarded by the “occupier” in horrendous.

Consequently, the number of civilians who were killed climbed higher and higher each time the gross bombardment assumed. Not unexpectedly, the number of children who died count for the most, next the women and the elderly.

This is not taking into consideration the state of the “occupied” territory that is often referred to as the “open glass prison” of more than two million people in what is considered to be the densest place in the world.

The UN Secretary-General called it “Hell on Earth,” (May 20, 2021) referring to the children living there, urging immediate end to fighting even then.

It goes without saying that the lifeline to the “prison” is very much wanting, making all forms of lives vulnerable and pushed to the brink. Meaning that the toll swings to the extreme even without any military bombardment be it from the air or land aimed at all-or-no targets at the same time!

If this is not a “war crime,” then what is? In other words, the more protracted the “war” the worse it gets, more asymmetric it becomes as the “occupier” claimed “victory” pushing the “occupied” out of existence with practically no choice. Each time, the next “war” assumes, it becomes even more asymmetric adding on to the shortcomings of the previous ones!

The cycle of agony continues for the unforeseeable future emboldened by the “occupier.”

This time, more than ever, the division between those who choose to back up the “occupier” is very sharply defined! In general, they were once “occupiers” themselves way back in the days of the First Nations in faraway places unknown to humanity then.

The land grabs were already rampant, with the rightful owners being chased out, not unlike today, on which a “civilised” nation was proudly proclaimed, deliberately blotting out the ugly, inhuman aspects of the dark past. Otherwise, normalising it as part of the guilt trip of the Wild, Wild West!

Or that of the world wars fought mainly among themselves within just the last century or so!

When the pandemic emerged out of the blues recently, (although there were accounts of various theories to “occupy” some parts of the word), the hypocrisy stood like a sore thumb almost spontaneously in the cry of “Black Lives Matters.”

That part of their history that was dehumanised through massacres, genocidal intentions, or mere hatred through discrimination and exploitation of the others that have gone generally unchallenged. Except of course if they are at the other end of the stick! Then automatically, human rights issues kicked-in in full force! Not the reverse.

So, the “occupier” then and more so now is “immune” to human wrongs of all sorts. More the preserves of the coloured – “white” somehow is not a colour, rather the colourless!

Here is where we stand today under the old rules of the “colourless” that do not apply to the rest of us! An unsustainable world of inequality, where injustice and unfairness prevail. Otherwise, how else can we account for the number of deaths that took place on the World Children’s Day, celebrated annually on November 20.

This time in the midst of the “occupier” killing at least 5,500 children, according to official reports. That is one child of the “occupied” killed every 10 minutes, or about one out of every 200 children in the “glass prison.”

And if that is not enough, there are strategies by the “occupier” to strangle the livelihood in the entire strip, as the world and so-called international community look and see.

NATO – no-action, talk-only, powerless to even initiate a “ceasefire,” hypocrisy at its best.

After more than three decades of the sustainable development agenda, it suddenly dawns that “hypocrisy” is one the major factors that has escaped us in keeping humanity deeply asymmetric and unsustainable! Fueling the Hell on Earth! – BACALAHMALAYSIA.MY

• The writer is Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)