Sometimes, we humans seem like a pathetic species. Sometimes, it seems that we actually don’t have the right to call ourselves humans. Sometimes, our hypocritical acts show an ugly and dark side that might put violent and ferocious animals to shame. Some recent events have shown how the mighty, who call themselves democratic nation-states, have reacted to humanitarian crises.
I feel like echoing our prime minister when she questioned: “I was stunned seeing the world conscience silent. If there’s one incident of death in Bangladesh, we keep receiving letters from protesting and criticising congressmen. Today, hundreds of children and women, including pregnant mothers, are being killed in Gaza. Why is everyone silent now?”
I’m sure everyone remembers how the British politicians argued in favour of sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. They were quite successful from their point of view. But in the process, more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians died for no fault of their own. They were all innocent apolitical persons.
In 2003, 179 British soldiers were killed. Then again, the British killed 20,000 Afghan civilians in that country where 453 of their soldiers died. The total number of violent civilian deaths recorded since the 2003 invasion has now exceeded 114,000. And the total number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan now stands at 20,000. My question is: What did they actually achieve at the cost of all those innocent lives? Do they have any explanation for their actions?
Coming back to Gaza, recently, on August 3, 10 people died as an Israeli shell landed on a street near an UN-run school. But, before any type of investigation of the incident was carried out, America condemned it, saying: “The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah … We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.”
A similar incident happened in June 2007, when American troops killed seven Afghan children when they intentionally bombed a school, which they said was being used by their enemies. The only difference between the Israelis and the Americans was that the Americans didn’t fire blindly at their attackers, they intentionally bombed the school. But they thought there were no children in the school, and the children died. Of course, they said it was a mistake.
We all know that America will always put up a face to resolve every problem that pops up anywhere in the world but be soft to Israel no matter how many children and pregnant women are being killed. US congressmen, as they do when it comes to countries like Bangladesh, won’t even send any letter, there won’t be a special congressional or House of Lords caucus to discuss the killings.
Look at what happened in St Louis recently. The death of Michael Brown by a police officer there has already shown that the so-called values of human rights in that country are actually not what America wants the world to believe. The incident has indicated how discriminatory their society is. The public representatives of this same society have been condemning the extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh and other places in the world. According to USA Today, on average, at least 400 police killings each year are reported to the FBI.
A 2011 Reuters report by David Morgan says American Muslims are facing a rising tide of religious discrimination in US communities, workplaces, and schools even more than a decade after the September 11 attacks. We don’t need too much effort to find out whether what this report says is true or not. We all know about the disappearance of members of the Muslim community in America. When people don’t come back after their disappearances, we all can assume what could have happened to them.
When we talk about human rights in another country, we must assess how much humane our own acts are. I feel tempted to talk about the state of the Native Americans, the so-called “Red Indians,” or “Injuns.” I also feel tempted to mention how the American nation treated their so-called “salves.” We all know what happened to the ancestors of Native Americans.
It sounds amusing when the State Department imposes trade barriers and condemns labour rights in countries around the world. Has the US government paid the reparations to the descendants of Native and African American population who were brought to the country as salves? If not, then should the US government talk about how much a garment worker’s minimum pay in Bangladesh should be?
We know that nation-states such as these have the strength to do many things that aren’t accepted by the people across the world. We’d love to see these countries realise this fact, and start thinking of doing something about it.