YESTERDAY, when our managing editor asked me ‘when are you going to write your annual Christmas message, especially as this year is not an ordinary one’, my reply was that the reality of language now contains more words of hurt and regret than words of joy and happiness.
This year has been The Year of Grief and Sorrow, with a mixture of tears, fear, death and destruction.
This year has not only been barren, it has had a killing season – killing for no reason. Even the so called ‘greater powers’ have lost their moral conscience and mental serenity by backing more death, to the level of being complicit.
Against whom? Palestinians.
Palestinians have no army. They have no tanks, no jet fighters but, once-upon-a-time, they did have homes, schools, universities and hospitals which now lie under rubble, destroyed by an enemy that shows no consideration at all for human values, ethics or even an element of kindness.
All these atrocities have been taking place in the land where Jesus was born. He was the Blessed Soul that God bestowed upon us to learn from His sufferings and teachings, to be kind to each other and to bring peace to all, to be able to share this earth to grow and to prosper, to free man from starvation, pain and agony.
The message was clear, to be fair and just to all and to treat the children of the land equally, without taking into consideration colour, creed or religion as a priority.
Instead, in the land that is supposed to be ‘blessed’ we have witnessed the indiscriminate death of thousands of children, mothers, fathers and grandparents.
On what basis does humanity accept such atrocities, watching on our television screens and social media platforms and reading in our newspapers, the disaster of civilians suffering from a lack of water, food, electricity, shelter and medicine … and yet the powerful still insist on the rejection of a ceasefire?
Are insane politicians running this world? It appears so.
In the entire seven decades, in which Palestinians have struggled and begged the world to help them obtain their own state, all they have received is indifference, as if no one wishes to be concerned to come up with a workable solution.
Alternatively, can we understand in their eyes, Palestinians are unworthy individuals to have what most of us take for granted? Yet, in reality, they are more than worthy.
We have seen the number of well-educated and brave physicians, technicians and nurses who have been operating in their home country under the most terrible circumstances, irrespective of the danger they have faced on a daily basis.
We, as members of the national press of Bahrain, thank every reader of our print editions and visitors to our online and social media platforms, for their moral support of the Palestinian cause, despite many of their governments who have stood silently without doing anything constructive.
Twenty-seven years ago, I started writing this annual Christmas column, this year, with a heavy heart and an unknown tomorrow, I conclude with a wishful prayer for God Almighty to ease our burden and end this carnage.
The souls we have lost are irreplaceable and they should never be forgotten as they have not seen justice whilst on this earth. May God show mercy and guide humanity on a more righteous and peaceful path.
At this festive time, please show love and compassion to all.
