Compassion for ceasefire in Gaza

SINCE the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7, 2023, the unimaginable sufferings of the people of Palestine and innocent lives on both sides of the divide continues. It has been reported that in the past 25 days of fighting, the Palestinian death toll had gone above 9,000 including 3,700 Palestinian children.

Without doubt, the state of Israel cannot be allowed to continue with its deadly attacks on Gaza. Many nations and people, including Jews, all over the world are calling for an immediate ceasefire. The loss of lives of innocent civilians, children and women included cannot be excused under the label of “collateral damage”. Every innocent life matter. Our hearts cry out.

Many articles have already been written over the past 75 years over the Israel-Palestinian issue to no avail. Many resolutions have been passed in the security council of the United Nations, only to be blatantly ignored by Israel. The promise of peace called the Oslo Accords signed between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzakh Rabin and the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat in 1993 never came to fruition. An entire land of people continued to be subjugated with oppression, imprisonment, poverty, loss of lives and daily affronts to human dignity.

It is a tragic shame that the so-called powerful institutions and nations around the world are unable to resolve the horrendous plight of the ordinary Palestinians. The Palestinians, like everyone else, merely want to live a peaceful life with their family. When all is said and done, it appears that the suffering Palestinians have to manage their own fate. The world continues with its busy schedule albeit that generous quarters have been channelling aid to them.

However, this is not the first time we have witnessed the capacity of human beings to unleash bloodied violence. Since the world wars, regions of misery and collective sufferings have always been around. On Aug 6 and Aug 9 1945, when America dropped the atomic bomb, around 40,000 people were killed in Nagasaki and 80,000 people in Hiroshima.

The devastation of Iraq under the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction could have been due to global politics and economics. However, the death, sufferings and pain experienced by the Iraqis are real. The socioeconomic consequences and the emotional scars remain until today.

The same goes for the ongoing Yemeni civil war and the Russia-Ukraine war. Why are human beings so prone to violence and aggression to solve problems, real or imagined?

Is this because the fear of God is absent or there is not faith? That cannot be so if you look at the statistics that boast of billions of Christians, Muslims and other religions. The Middle East itself is wealthy with resources and funds that may be used to propagate peace within the region in the best way possible. Why has peace not happened?

Almost 10,000 Palestinians, out of which over 3,700 children, have been killed in Israel’s vengeful war on Hamas. — AP

We tend to get drowned in sophisticated geopolitical discussions without realising that politics has always been about strategy, strategy and strategy. It has never been about compassion or peace. Politics, local or international seem to thrive on crisis and conflicts.

What the world needs to comprehend is that we need this skill urgently – the skill to know and to fully appreciate the sufferings of another coupled with the immediate desire or action to alleviate that suffering. This is the definition of compassion that I propose to the world under the Rapera concept. Without this compassion, we would only be firefighting conflicts, and wars without addressing the root causes of why we become brutal and violent collectively.

Those who study history would know that human beings have used every possible excuse to be violent – religion, ideologies, economics, nationalism, and so on. The results are clear – violence and aggression does not make the world better but only aggravates further violence and conflicts. There can never be justification for the destruction of property and taking of innocent lives. In the wake of violence, conflicts and aggression elsewhere, we have to quickly learn our lessons.

Seeking peace: Anti-war activists calling for ceasefire at the Hart Senate Office building in the US Capitol, Washington DC. — AP

First, we ourselves must be the catalysts for peace and not aggression. Governments, individuals in their various occupational and professional capacities, and the various institutions must be cautious of the narratives that they create. Are they being divisive or unifying in their conversations or expressions? Influencers, journalists, educators and politicians carry a very heavy responsibility of how they express themselves to the public.

Second, locally and globally, it is important to educate and remind everyone that we are human beings and have to learn to embrace our mutual and common humanity. We have to continue designing ways of co-existing peacefully and to understand our differences be they religious, cultural or ethnic.

Third, we have to try to eliminate the mentality of exclusiveness and learn to become more inclusive based on common values. Government policies ought to move towards inclusiveness. Exclusivity often to leads to conflicts and creates a “them and us” mindset.

Fourth, there is an urgent need to teach compassion at schools, and universities. It must be taught as a universal value applicable to all lives. The Rapera movement believe that encouraging or creating more thinking and compassionate citizens will increase collective happiness and reduce collective sufferings.

We pray that a compassionate, compensatory and corrective solution for the Palestinian people and for those who have suffered is urgently found.

Senior lawyer Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos is the founder and chairman of Yayasan Rapera, an NGO that promotes community-based learning activities and compassionate thinking among Malaysians. The views expressed here are entirely his own.