To Allonehhob and Maggie

Submitted by Swahili Dinaz (India), Oct 6, 2005 at 03:00

Civilised communities are in agreement that all efforts be made to avoid war at first, and if it is unavoidable, it be conducted with definite rules, and not serve to cause slaugher of the innocents. For the cause -- however righteous -- stops being so the minute it leads to unmitigated injustice in its own turn. This aspect of justice is informed, educated and authoritative, with commensurate responsibility to set right a wrong. The motive for securing justice cannot in the first place become a tool for the frenzied, pathological, sadist or vengeful individual misfits! We are all in agreement about this, which is why we find terrorism, and its propensity for inflicting maximum violence on unsuspecting civilians so abhorrent. It kills and maims physically, but what is worse is that it ends civilised discourse and serves to dehumanise victims and perpetrators. We know it well that God has nothing to do with such acts, to the contrary! And yes, it is true that brutalised by the events of our common history over the last century, we share to a greater or lesser extent the manifestation of symptoms of the Stockholm Syndrome. Who among us can today claim to be genuinely free of it, one way or other?

And we have before us, the example of the Tibetan diaspora, movingly marshalled towards non-violence by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. The more that he is put under pressure, the sweeter is his childlike laughter. A more authentic leader was never known to humanity, in the face of severe provocation. He inspires us to rise to our highest potential, to give our best in times of trial and tribulation. God what a contrast. He sees very far in the distance, and he knows the time is not far, for his people to be restored to their homeland. Violence and terror would have simply served to besmirch the gentle values that have helped Tibetans survive with dignity. Now there is news that Chinese tourists to Llhasa have begun to question the policies of their government, overriding propaganda of half a century, as they themselves take a turn at the prayer wheels in the monasteries of Tibet.

What have the Palestinians gained, even with communist and 'non-aligned' support over the years? Can they ever hope to wipe out the karma of Munich 1972 and whatever that transpired since? The early 70s were the times when the Arabs began to earn their petrodollars, and what has been their enduring contribution to world civilisation in modern times, other than violent retribution of the most savage, bestial kind, in the name of God and Peace? Palestinians continue to be a second class labour population in most Arab countries; moreover, how many Palestinians who live outside Gaza and West Bank have even long-term plans for their children to leave the ME and Western nations and return to their homeland?

The terms of human enterprise have changed since colonial times. It is time everyone took congnizance of these changes. It is only fair that we firmly work to put behind us the travesties of these old dehumanising engagements, with respect and dignity for all. As regards those who fail to see the writing on the wall, there must be a collective human response that leaves no room for ambiguity. You cannot negotiate with a terrorist, for terror is the tool of the Devil, not God!

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