Archive for January 2009
STUDENTS AND GAZA
Recently, due to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, masses has begun thinking on what we can do to help this matter, albeit not as a soldier, I believe we could lend our hands. This bloody war on innocent the Palestinians should not be condoned. Ever since the Balfour Agreement existed, the crisis between Israel and Palestine has been happening. It prolongs until today without a concrete solutions. Things getting worst when Arabs are silent like stone. They don’t even have the brotherhood spirit to help the victims.
Arab states are blessed with oil and gas and that makes them so rich. Economy should be perceived as modern ‘weapon’ to curtail US (Israel ally) economy. Apart from military gadgets, curtailing US economy will put a great effect on Israeldecision to attack the Palestinians. A call to boycott US products is actually one of the ways (some people say the sole way) we could do to help the war victims. Parents might start telling their kids that McDonald’s is just a two buns with a dead meat between it. Dr. M once said, you’re not going to die without McD and KFC. Take it easy. After all, they are not healthy stuffs.
According to Hishamudin Rais, we shall not perceive this matter as a battle of religions; instead, it is a dilemma of sovereign territory, faced by them. Israelis came from all over the world, settled on West Bank i.e. Palestinians’ lands illegally. Yeah, sort of mini invasion at that time, but now, it grows at larger scale!
At the same time I read a newspaper cutting on the statement done by Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Khalid Nordin. He said that students are allowed to participate in demonstrations against the Israel’s attacks on Palestin. Okay, it seems good news for me. Eventually government realises students’ voices are quite important. After all, students are future leaders, so future leaders could gain their ‘leadership’ skill via demonstrations. Demonstrations as a way to express or to demonstrate your thoughts are cool.
However I would like to add a bit based from what I got from the talk I attended last night. We Malaysians are not daring enough to stand up against violations made by the government which are similar to what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians. Examples are detention without trial, Kg Berembang’s tragedy, aborigines’ lands were seized, people died while in police custody, people were beaten due to their participation in peaceful assemblies and many more. Aren’t these examples similar to the Israel’s conducts on the Palestinians? Yes, we feel secure to pick up safe issue like this as government is sympathy towards the Palestinians and hence it is okay to have public discourses on this issue. Try to have similar event on the abovementioned issues, I bet hundreds of police will be ordered to disperse people and to stop the event.
Personally, I feel that is the long term plan that we could do and it depend largely on the Malaysians awareness on the aforesaid issues. On the other side, the short term plan which might affect US economy is a realistic measure by boycotting US products. Students too, should be given freedom to show their concerns on any matter and not restricted to certain issues only.
Writer is trying her best to stay away from the delicious Prosperity Burger.
