The civilian toll in the Israel–Hamas conflict has risen to 20,400. The US has not called for a ceasefire, reiterating its support for Israel. The heavy number of deaths is a result of aerial bombardments, hitting hospitals, schools, and refugee camps. There’s no clear end in sight as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking the total annihilation of Hamas. Netanyahu is giving the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) an impossible task of destroying the enemy. The October 7 Hamas Attack is abominable, to use the words of Pope Francis to describe it. While its military objective may be achievable, the political aspect involving the deradicalization of Gaza is not due to the unimaginable sufferings of Palestinians. This is no longer a question whether the war is just. The world needs to do something to stop the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza.
Will Netanyahu be punished for war crimes? The reply is negative. The reason is that there is no world government that will ensure justice in the world. What is happening is that the global hegemonic order actually determines the state of global affairs. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been charged at the International Criminal Court, but how his warrant of arrest can be served, nobody knows. The Russian President has remained in his elements, leading his people by sheer power and grit. Democracy is silent when guns and bombs are ablaze. The United States was not able to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan after two decades and the two trillion dollars put to waste. It’s nothing short of an illusion thinking that one can bring down Russia on its knees.
The West Philippine Sea remains to be a delicate case for the Philippines. For sure, China will continue to bully us. The use of militia ships is just one attempt to show its muscle. The option for the Philippines cannot go beyond diplomacy. But the country must be careful about its dalliances with the US. The concept of an alliance might simply become a precursor for another proxy war. China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are the enemies of the West. The Philippines, being strategically located in the Pacific, cannot avoid being dragged into a potential conflict in the future. What we must do is to exert all means in maintaining the status quo in the region, with national interest in mind and regional security foremost in the agenda as we continue to protect our sovereignty and dignity as a nation.
The start of the century has been defined by economic and political upheavals. At the dawn of the new millennium, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis cause turmoil around the world. The subprime crunch in the US in 2008 caused its economy to spiral out of control. The US, its debt now stands at 31 trillion dollars, had to print more money to keep its consumption-based economy going. The Arab Spring of 2011 removed Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi but Bashar Al-Assad continues to rule Syria, the country now in ruins as he dropped bombs upon his own people. The Covid-19 pandemic killed 6.9 million people while infecting 700 million across the world. The medical solution to the pandemic, the Covid-19 vaccines, put an end to the global public health emergency. It goes to show that world leaders can work together to thwart an existential crisis. The same cannot be said about climate crisis and global poverty.
But what is the prospect for the ordinary man? Is there hope in the world? The great Ernest Hemingway once said, “it is pointless not to hope.” Precisely, hope gives meaning to motivate people to reflect and act to find solutions to their troubles. It is hope that makes us want to live and see the value of being with the ones we love. As humans, wars and the pandemic remind us that there are things that are beyond our power, that certain aspects of human life cannot be a matter of choice, for many of those who have died from these tragedies had no choice in the first place. But for us who are living, we only have one option, and that is, to continue living.
