A vigil of artificial air...
/Blackouts - Layla Anwar
Jerusalem Post:
Israeli officials claimed that the Gaza blackout was deliberately instigated by Hamas, in a bid to present the appearance of a humanitarian crisis.
..A boy not older than 12, paralyzed and totally dependent on a breathing machine. The machine has stopped. No electricity. A total blackout. The whole family takes turns pumping air manually to keep him alive. A vigil of artificial air. Hospitals in total darkness. Children, adults, the elderly, anyone relying on a life saving machine is right now, as am typing this, in his/her agonizing moments... The place – Gaza. The people – The Palestinians (...) A few politicians appear, they talk the usual nonsense. They say "the Arab governments have to intervene in this humanitarian crisis." Excuse me? Did the Arab governments intervene when 500,000 Iraqi children died due to 13 years of the most brutal sanctions ever? Did the Arab governments intervene when Iraq was bombed senseless and left with no electricity and no water for over 5 years now? Did anyone apart from a few voices here and there, utter anything against the squeezing into death of the Iraqi population?...Did anyone ask after the thousands of Iraqis young and old dying in hospitals with no electricity? Did anyone care about the kidney patient relying on dialysis, or the crippled relying on a breathing machine? NO ONE gave a fuck. And NO ONE gives a fuck today. Because today was like yesterday and is like tomorrow. What happened to Iraq is happening to Gaza and to the whole of the Palestinian cause...
Jerusalem Post:
Israeli officials claimed that the Gaza blackout was deliberately instigated by Hamas, in a bid to present the appearance of a humanitarian crisis.
