By Anne Candlin
Dear BBC,
It is quite unbelievable that the behaviour of Israel in
assassinating an elected political Hamas leader in cold blood, killing
13 Palestinians in 24hrs, bombing houses in Gaza, keeping the civilian
population in a constant state of terror through the daily deployment
of drones over Gazan territory, can be read by the BBC in such a
distorted way as to turn the Palestinians into the aggressors. How do
you work this bit of magic? By minimising the importance of the
assassination, by glueing the word "terrorist" to the word "Hamas", by
giving airtime to the despicable Marc Regev and his bedfellow,Tony
Blair, who oblige the BBC by placing responsibility for the attack
squarely on the shoulders of the Palestinians. No airtime to a
Palestinian commentator.
According to Regev/Blair, it is the Palestinians who must stop
sending rockets. No mention of the horrors inflicted on the Gazans which
have driven them to send rockets.Why does the BBC not bring John Ging
on to describe the intolerable conditions of life prescribed for the
Gazans by Israeli and Quartet Sanctions:
mass unemployment, malnutrition, no clean drinking water, no
effective sanitation, frequent electricity outages, deliberate economic
de-development, exclusion from the world forum, imprisonment behind a
Wall? How would you, any of us, fare under such conditions? But the
most subtle strategy of all in this irresponsible reportage is the tone
of sympathy and affiliation employed whenever the word "Israel" or
"Israeli" is used. The tone of voice softens and warms. We can detect a
trace of emotion. It is clear we are talking about our friends here.
Listen to the different tone when "Palestinians" or "Gaza" or "Hamas" are used: the tone hardens and becomes censorious, the people objectified and distanced. These people are definitely not like us, they don't share our civilisation, our values, they cannot possibly suffer when oppressed like normal humans do....doesn't matter if they die of malnutrition or get killed...
Listen to the different tone when "Palestinians" or "Gaza" or "Hamas" are used: the tone hardens and becomes censorious, the people objectified and distanced. These people are definitely not like us, they don't share our civilisation, our values, they cannot possibly suffer when oppressed like normal humans do....doesn't matter if they die of malnutrition or get killed...
Dr. Mona El Farra, Gaza Projects Director of MECA (Middle East Children's Alliance) said this week:
“Right now, Gaza is under extensive Israeli military attack. Our
hospitals are already lacking essential emergency medications, and
citizens are being called on for emergency blood donations, but it is
not safe to travel. We do not have electricity; I am using backup power to get this message to you because we expect more escalation.”
“At
least two children have been killed so far today including 7 year-old
Ranan Arafat, and at least 6 children are critically injured, their
charred bodies have been arriving in Gaza's Shifa hospital for the past 3
hours. 25 airstrikes all over the Gaza Strip have occurred, and there
is an expectation of a possible Israeli land invasion very soon. Move. Act now to stop another Gaza bloodbath. Inaction around the world has led us to this point. Act now!”
she urged. “The children of Gaza are
terrified – there are children who lack medicine, food, who feel a lack
of safety and have no shelters.”
“At
least two children have been killed so far today including 7 year-old
Ranan Arafat, and at least 6 children are critically injured, their
charred bodies have been arriving in Gaza's Shifa hospital for the past 3
hours. 25 airstrikes all over the Gaza Strip have occurred, and there
is an expectation of a possible Israeli land invasion very soon. Move. Act now to stop another Gaza bloodbath. Inaction around the world has led us to this point. Act now!”
she urged. “The children of Gaza are
terrified – there are children who lack medicine, food, who feel a lack
of safety and have no shelters.”
Will you - the BBC - have the humanity to respond to her call - for the children's sake?
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