We are faced with global and local threats. The world is one, and more and more the brutal news stories come to remind us of this fact. For many years, in the West people thought they could visit exotic countries at specific times (when on leave) and at their conditions (in the locations, format, accommodation and currency they have chosen) and then stay among themselves for the rest of the year. Visitors from those same exotic countries were not welcome at home. Traveling was one way. Even people fleeing war had no other option than crossing the border to next door, equally poor country, for the majority of them. This has changed: the world is one, movement is global, not only from North to South, not only for those who can afford it.
For many years we also lived in the illusion that we are not at war. Our governments were engaged –were engaging us – in many wars, but these wars were taking place there. For the majority of their inhabitants, our societies were not confronted with those wars, apart from the evening news, which we could choose to watch - or not. The war is also global and has reached our peaceful societies. We are one. We cannot bombard other countries and stay safe at home. Violence has reached us. What can we do to protect ourselves from violence? The first violence is in our hearts. Let us not let darkness take control of our lives. Let us invite and embrace the light in our lives.
I am saddened to see more and more, even among my friends, speak of “us” and “them”. People pointing to the victims of the Paris attacks and to President Holland’s war planes altogether as “them”, without any respect for civilians who lost their lives and for their humanity. Other people speaking of all Muslims and Arabs as “them”, without any respect for each person and for their humanity. Others stigmatising refugees. We have a choice to make here: either live in darkness or embrace our brothers and sisters.
Fear and hatred and separation are not a good idea and will only increase the divide and the spread of violence. Please refrain from spreading negative ideas.
The choice of fear and violence is bad, wherever you are standing. Bombarding Syria is not a solution, as bombarding Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen have not brought peace. Peace is not bombarded onto people. Peace is a lifetime project, for us and for our societies. Peace is a daily action, a project, a way of life. Peace in Syria is a Syrian project – if we stop supporting the dictator El-Assad and bombarding those who oppose him and the population living in the territories they control.
A war conducted from the air can only provoke disproportionate collateral damage. It is very difficult to gather targets without a presence on the ground. We cannot believe the US or Russia when they say they are “only” bombarding terrorists. Such things do not exist. And France, who has courageously conducted the Serval operation in Mali, with troops on the ground and without collateral damage (according to HRW), should keep away from these coalitions.
By the way, I am not sure I understand in what way supporting the coalition against Daesh is better than supporting Daesh. Is Putin’s Russia really someone you want to ally with? It seems they – and their ally El-Assad - who have been mainly bombarding non-Daesh targets so far, are benefitting from the attacks as France is now joining forces with them. A qui profite le crime, as we say in crime novels. Will you support the Syrian regime, who are ready to kill their population till the last soul before resigning, and who in spite of their discourse has never threatened Israel nor Daesh and is only bombarding their own population?
Is Obama’s US really someone you want to ally with? The US administration it seems is engaged in a process that is consistently and systematically destroying the Law of armed conflict and the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). It first denied the status of prisoners of war (with the invention of “enemy combatants”); it then legalised, at least in the US administration speak, extra-judicial killings (with the drone attacks); and more recently it suppressed the very basis of IHL with the targeting of a hospital providing health care for wounded combatants and civilians. At the end of the “Cold war, the US were the unique super-power. Instead of using this unique chance to make the planet a better place, they have created a horrible divide of “us” and “them” and have chosen to spread death and violence around the planet in order to be safe at home. Do you want to be part of that, because media campaigns try to make you take sides?
All these are not serious choices. Seriously. Fear is not a plan. Hatred is not a good plan either. Fear and hatred can only promote more violence.
What can we do then, to oppose the messages of hatred, violence and divide? Our duty is to work, each one of us at our level and with our resources and capacities, for peace, understanding, compassion, respect and togetherness. Our duty is to close our door to fear and hatred.
There is no “us” and “them”. Don’t be afraid. We are together, we are one. Let us spread love, compassion, light and togetherness. It is our duty. Each one of us. Let us open our arms and our hearts to our brothers and sisters. Let us chant for peace and love. Let us keep darkness away from our lives.
We are in the same situation as this visitor, in the Parable of the Long Spoons:
One day a man said to God, “I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
God showed the man two doors. Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. They were using their long spoon to feed each other.
The choice is ours. Let us make the choice of love and peace.
