February 7th, 2018
Written By - Reem Kaouk '19
My parents grew up in a warzone. Two wars were going on at the same time, and they never complained, they made the best of life. They made sure to tell me and my sibling their stories. They made sure that we didn’t only learn history from the victors. They taught me that in war, no side was ‘just’. That war was war and that the taking of human life, any life, is always a tragedy.
When learning about what is happening with the Israeli- Palestinian conflict the stories of real victims of war get pushed aside. Nobody wants you to know about the stories of how soldiers stormed through people's houses and tried to take young boys to torture them, and maybe, hopefully send them back the next day. However, I have met the strong women have stopped this from happening, but I have also met others who weren’t able to stop the inevitable. Nobody tells the story of how an entire town was told to evacuate to a UN center ahead of time, only for the center to be bombed. Killing families with young children in it. The untold stories of the use of internationally forbidden cluster bombs such as the one where my Aunt from marriage lost six of her friends as a child when playing with a cluster bomb which was disguised as a toy. Some may “forget”, but my parents did not. As first responders, how could they ever forget the horrors of the dead children on the ground. After all this is the “collateral damage” of war, correct?
By all means I am not just saying that the Israeli side only committed crimes, I am saying that the Palestinian people deserve to have their voices heard as well.
When the Israeli government says that they are “defending” themselves by killing and persecuting the people and children of Palestine, I can not be defensive. Palestine is known to be on the offensive as well. For example, Amnesty International (a world renowned, non-governmental group focused on human rights) claims that “Palestinian armed groups in Gaza periodically fired indiscriminate rockets and mortars into Israel, without causing deaths or serious injuries.” However, they also brought up how Israel retaliated. They claim that “Israeli forces responded with air strikes and artillery fire, killing three Palestinian civilians, including two children, in Gaza.” How is this fair? I know this is always not the case but, there are multiple other stories that match this plot.
From what I understand, the Israeli Government believes that the occupation of Palestinian territories was necessary because of the belief that Israel is the land given to them by God. However, what about the people who have already been living there for generations? What about the people who do not believe that? What about the others who appreciate the holy place just as much as they do that are being barred from being fully able to appreciate their holy land? There must be a compromise.
I am a strong believer in the two state solution. It makes no sense for either side to be forced from their homes any more than they already were. But, an equal compromise must be reached by first respecting the equal existence of each other. No human on this earth can claim that this land is just for them. The reality is that both parties have deep rooted histories in the area, why should only one side be able to be in their long beloved home? I hope for a world where both nations can live in peace and break this long cycle of violence. I hope that the stories of victims from both sides no longer have to be told.
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