A Beacon of Hope

Friday 25th July

Maybe, just maybe – amidst the carnage and death and sadness as coffins were unloaded from military planes, without us even knowing these unidentified innocents – there is hope.  Maybe despite the massacre that is Gaza – third time in a decade – where equally innocent women and children and bystanders are murdered – where Hamas still continues to fire rockets into Israel – where 2.5 million people are herded into a tiny bit of land, where they cannot leave or buy food or get medical supplies without their keepers say so – where brave soldiers are killed pursusing the dreams of old men – where the world looks on in horror – where resolutions about war crimes are proposed and vetoed by America and us – where peace talks rumble on with no real resolve on either side – maybe even here there is a glimmer of hope.  The world is sick of it.  Sick to the teeth of this senseless killing.  Sanctions mean nothing, they will not work at all.  And all this pointless rhetoric, bigging ourselves up.  Do we really want a war with Russia?  Why not talk, and talk meaningfully to the other side.  As has been shown in Northern Ireland a political solution is always possible, even if it is fragile and not every one is happy at least it is peace.  Whereas if you simply punish people they will always hate you.  If in Ukraine the government backed by the West wins, even if they imprison all those who took up arms to fight for joining Russia, do they really think that will resolve things.  If you leave hatred in peoples hearts it will fester and grow.  In Gaza unless the fundamental issues are resolved and Palestine becomes a real state able to grow and prosper then this hatred will persist.  There is plenty of land in Israel so stop the illegal settlements, in fact they should be handed over to the Palestinians whose land it was anyway.  If you leave hatred in peoples hearts it will fester and grow.

On Wednesday night we had the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth games and it was heart-warming.  All those young people with hope in their hearts not hatred.  That must be the future we must aim for.