My instructions were: don't identify the organisation, its staff or beneficiaries for security reasons, and don't make political statements. Herein lies the reason why I have not posted anything for the past week.
But it's hard not to make political statements on some events. Aggressive, disproportionate and unconstructive Israeli foreign policy for instance. The Arab world is enraged by what is happening in Lebanon and Gaza. If there was ever a time for Arab unity, this is it. Meanwhile, the reluctance to condemn Israeli actions and call for a ceasefire, essentially makes the US and UK complicit in the onslaught.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are fleeing, Israeli jets are striking routes in and out of the country, bombs and missiles have destroyed ports, services and buildings all over Beirut and other towns... Hundreds are dead and it's going to take years to rebuild Beirut. Sure Hezbollah are attacking military on the border and firing rockets into northern cities, but the casualties, destruction and humanitarian crisis pales in comparison.
Now who is the aggressor here and who is bearing the brunt of this war? And what's the real Israeli agenda in this. If Iraq tells you anything, its that this approach to dealing with terrorist groups is flawed.
Perhaps the news should feature a tally each day comparing the casualty figures and the damage to infrastructure etc of each side. Then we can make a more informed judgement...
Thank God Kofi Annan finally mustered up some strong condemnation for the disproportionate response. Not that it'll achieve a lot with the UK and US controlling the Security Council...
But it's hard not to make political statements on some events. Aggressive, disproportionate and unconstructive Israeli foreign policy for instance. The Arab world is enraged by what is happening in Lebanon and Gaza. If there was ever a time for Arab unity, this is it. Meanwhile, the reluctance to condemn Israeli actions and call for a ceasefire, essentially makes the US and UK complicit in the onslaught.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are fleeing, Israeli jets are striking routes in and out of the country, bombs and missiles have destroyed ports, services and buildings all over Beirut and other towns... Hundreds are dead and it's going to take years to rebuild Beirut. Sure Hezbollah are attacking military on the border and firing rockets into northern cities, but the casualties, destruction and humanitarian crisis pales in comparison.
Now who is the aggressor here and who is bearing the brunt of this war? And what's the real Israeli agenda in this. If Iraq tells you anything, its that this approach to dealing with terrorist groups is flawed.
Perhaps the news should feature a tally each day comparing the casualty figures and the damage to infrastructure etc of each side. Then we can make a more informed judgement...
Thank God Kofi Annan finally mustered up some strong condemnation for the disproportionate response. Not that it'll achieve a lot with the UK and US controlling the Security Council...
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