A tribute to the courage of people of Gaza and to the contributions of all forces of justice

While several threats and apprehensions remain for the people of Gaza, there is reason enough now for some precious moments of cheer and celebration.

Yes, this too is necessary, the human spirit needs this. When people have suffered so much for such a long time, the moments of relief and some joy must be clinched when they appear after a long time and must be celebrated.

Of course in the present case the relief that has appeared for people is mixed with deep sorrow for those who have been lost forever; it is mixed also with concern for those who are injured and ill, and it is tinged with anxiety for the several uncertainties ahead. Despite this a spontaneous happiness and sense of celebration appears when people head back together for their homes (even though the houses may be badly damaged or just may no longer exist), and when family members or relatives or close friends who have not met for a long time are united. These small celebrations and joys of people are also very important in the middle of many uncertainties and threats, for these are evidence of the triumph of the human spirit. In the middle of many adversities and atrocities if the human spirit lives on, has the courage to live on, then hope is not lost, hope is still there.

If hope is alive even after months of genocidal attacks, then of course the first tribute must be to the courage of the Palestinian people. However not far behind there must also be a tribute to all those people who stand for justice all over the world, to all organizations and forces of justice who overcame many other mutual differences to work jointly for the cause of justice-based peace. These forces of justice, the people who stand for justice also have reasons to be happy and to celebrate but only a in a small way yet, because it is clear that still there are many uncertainties and while we all pray that this should not happen, but this reality should not be forgotten that things can still turn ugly again, depending on several factors.

There are several individuals and organizations who gave the highest importance to standing up with the Palestinians at the time of the most horrible assault on them, in the process even temporarily setting aside their other work of high priority. The ceasefire and returning home of the people of Gaza in huge numbers is a moment of hope and happiness for these people. It is also a moment for recognizing their huge contribution.

There is hope and happiness also due to the release of hostages in good health, and the affirmation by them that they were well cared for and protected. There is happiness for them and their families in Israel, just as there is happiness for the released Palestinian prisoners and their families who have waited even longer.

Another reason for some celebration just now is that after a long time the Arab world has shown commendable unity in rejecting the proposals of Present Trump for nearly 1.5 million Palestinians leaving for Egypt and Jordan, a proposal which stripped of its outer polite language amounts to ethnic cleansing by other means, as evident from the fact that far right politicians in Israel pounced on this as an ideal proposal. One hopes that this united opposition by the Arab world will convince the other side to give up for once and for all the idea of ethnic cleansing in all its variations and versions.

The story so far of over 15 months in Gaza is overall a very sad story of the loss of an unacceptably high number of human lives and of immense suffering caused to many more times this number, but there is even now hope alive that this can still end on the side of justice and justice-based peace, and the present moment is a moment of this hope and of the encouragement and renewed strength brought by such hope.

However it must be equally clear that the work of the forces of justice and justice based peace in this context is not at all over yet as many threats and uncertainties remain and these forces and individuals must continue to work with the same dedication for some more time to ensure three outcomes. Firstly, more durable peace with justice should be ensured in Gaza. Secondly, a very large-scale but community based and decentralized reconstruction, rehabilitation and medical care program should be organized in Gaza. Thirdly, justice-based peace should also get the due attention in the West Bank region.

Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071.