War, a truly dreadful word, laden with the pain it inflicts on the heart and the suffering it brings: displacement, hunger, destruction, and devastation for those who have toiled tirelessly to secure a decent existence for themselves and their children.
Yet, for politicians, this word can seem so effortless. They proudly initiate wars against people who bear no fault or power, indifferent to the suffering they unleash, which future generations will endure for years.
Regrettably, force often dictates the course of warfare, imposing its will on the vulnerable, while the powerful enjoy unwavering support through the dissemination of lies that they peddle to the world. All the while, the innocent, who are powerless and blameless, suffer the consequences without concern for the dreams they once held dear. Families are torn apart, lives are lost, and dreams are shattered.
In Palestine, specifically in the Gaza Strip, a merciless war has raged for a week. Israel has ordered to cut off electricity, water, fuel, food, and medical supplies from the Gaza Strip, which is already under a total land, air, and sea blockade since 2006.
In 2023, 75 years after the Nakba, we are still hearing about families who are being displaced. Entire households have perished under bombardments, their homes reduced to rubble. Survivors are left in a state of shock and speechlessness. Children lose their families, their dreams, their schools, and their friends. The aftermath of bombings leaves corpses scattered, and desperate individuals seek shelter wherever they can. Some approach hospitals, clinging to the hope that they will be spared. Entire neighborhoods have been razed to the ground, and tragedy looms in every sense.
We find ourselves confronting an unforgiving war, a fate that leaves people helpless. Children, who miraculously survive the bombing, search for their families amidst the rubble of homes reduced to dust. Orphaned children, adrift and uncertain of their future, visit their destroyed houses the next day, in search of their toys and schoolbooks.
Let us pray for every child who has lost their family. Let us pray for every mother who weeps for her children, for the child who mourns a toy lost amidst the ruins. Let us pray for fathers who rush to hospitals, desperate to find their families or identify their loved ones among the casualties. Let us pray for the families that exist no more, for the mosques and churches that have been reduced to rubble. Let us pray. Let us pray for the displaced souls with fear in their eyes, searching for safety when we sit at our dinner tables. Let us pray for those who have nothing to eat due to the ravages of war.
As human beings, we are bound by our shared humanity, irrespective of our religion, strength, or the color of our skin. Let us unite in our humanity and take a moment to recognize that we are all human, and in that unity, let us pray for all.
