After so many years of conflict watching where the behavior on exhibit in the field seems only to become more depraved and the surrounding politics more duplicitous, sadistic, and twisted, it may help to remind that the greater world, perhaps with the help of a greater God, goes around so many disasters of human and natural origin to deliver critical aid and services to those in need.
“Peace and development” means many things, takes many forms, and in the life of our own wild species has limitless potential in design.
I’m not going to pull down the volumes by Lester Brown, George McRobie, and E.F. Shumacher and others that grace my library shelves, at least not right now, but it’s good to check every now and then this other side of conflict.
An uncle, who did not want his name published, said Ms Ali was desperate to help people . . . After initially posting about buying Prada sunglasses and working night shifts at the Sea World resort in her late teens, the aspiring graphic designer was fund-raising for families in Syria and writing posts such as ”the blood of a martyr does not dry” in the past year.
I first saw that portion of the clip (2:31) here: Rights groups: Palestinian refugees starving to death in Syrian camp – CNN.com – 1/16/2014. From the same piece: ” . . . aid trucks had to retreat after the Syrian government told the convoy to enter from the camp’s southern entrance, where heavy gunfire prevented it from proceeding.”
The lack of access to conscience, simple decency, on the part of the combatants and their enablers and sponsors tells what needs to be told of the Syrian Civil War. Even for the generations of the refugees of 1948, the cause célèbre for 66 of anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist vitriol, it appears neither side will cease fire even to allow the same access to food.
Human Rights Watch has called for aid donors to Syria to “push the Syrian government to eliminate obstacles to effective aid distribution, and increase their contributions.”
Push with what?
Where good is concerned, the possession of conscience is the push. Conscience looks around at what has happened, and embarks upon repair.
Addendum
Contacts pass links to me after I’ve published a piece, and some so fit the topic area, such as may be on any post on this blog, that I would feel remiss for not sharing what’s brought to my attention for a few hours to days after publication.
Ironically, for the UN humanitarian appeal for Syria, held in Kuwait earlier this week, both Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledged a combined total of $120 million.
In other words, these two Persian Gulf monarchies have spent 75 times more on fueling conflict and destruction in Syria than what they are now pledging in “humanitarian assistance”.
Wounded Syrian woman: “We hesitated coming to Israel, because we were taught to hate it. We were taught this is a brutal enemy state, but we learned that reality is different. People here have a conscience. Our enemy is in Syria, not in Israel.”
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