Thakkaar thakavilar enpadhu avaravar echchaththaaR kaaNappa padum - Kural 114

“THE just and unjust shall be known by what they leave behind,” so states the ancient Tamil verse, Kural 114, from the revered poet-sage Thiruvalluvar. 

This profound axiom sets the tone for a reflective examination of two distinct yet paralleled episodes of modern conflict: Sri Lanka’s civil war climax in 2009 and the ongoing strife in Gaza as of 2024. 

Diving headfirst into the heart of darkness, where the so-called “safe zones” are nothing but gruesome theatres of death, a morbid repeat of history’s cruelest jokes.

In the smoke-filled corridors of global diplomacy, Sri Lanka once painted a grim tableau, transforming “safe zones” into killing fields. Fast forward to today, and Israel is playing the same bloody game in Gaza. 

But here’s the blood-boiling difference: Gaza’s nightmare is happening live, under the unforgiving gaze of the world.

Picture this: Rafah’s “Block 2371,” a patch of Gaza declared a “safe humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military. 

Mark the date – May 22. Now, fast forward four days – this sanctuary becomes a slaughterhouse, 45 civilians dead, their hopes for safety shattered amidst the rubble of their temporary tents. 

This isn’t just cruel; it’s a grotesque rerun of a secret spilled by WikiLeaks in 2009 – a US embassy cable from Colombo describing the desperation of civilians in Sri Lanka’s “no fire zones.”

Back then, a bishop from Mannar rang the alarm, a desperate call to the U.S. embassy to save civilians – including seven Catholic priests – trapped in zones promised safe but proven deadly. 

The US ambassador picked up the phone, a call to Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, hoping to shield the 75,000 souls trapped on a strip of land, twice the size of Central Park. But what followed? Artillery fire rained down, transforming these “safe zones” into death pits.

Now, shift to Gaza, where history repeats in the most sinister way. The Israeli military, like puppeteers, pulled strings to herd Palestinian civilians into Rafah’s so-called “safe zone.” 

The UN and aid organizations scrambled to respond, erecting camps, throwing together food and medical help to the huddled masses. Yet, like a cruel twist in a bad play, the area was bombarded, hospitals and all.

Between 2009 Sri Lanka and 2024 Gaza, the script is eerily similar – civilians displaced, herded into “safe zones,” and then bombed under the guise of flushing out militants. 

Tamil Tigers then, Hamas now – both used as excuses for indiscriminate slaughter. 

The international outcry? A cacophony of hollow words as Western powers keep the arms flowing, the same powers that once supplied Sri Lanka, now arming Israel.

But here’s where the plot thickens – Gaza isn’t shrouded in the fog of war like Sri Lanka was. The whole world is watching the horror live-streamed: bombed hospitals, shattered schools, and the International Court slamming Israel, demanding a halt, yet another bombing follows right on the heels of legal decrees.

And so, as the international courts throw around terms like war crimes and as more calls for arms embargoes and ceasefires echo through the halls of power, one has to wonder – will any of it stick? Or will these cries for justice just dissolve into the next news cycle?

This isn’t just a story. It’s an indictment of a world that watches, that knows, yet still spins in circles of paralysis while the same scenes of violence replay on the world stage. 

A call to remember that when it comes to Gaza, the eyes of history are watching, burning into the conscience of a world all too familiar with the taste of its own hypocrisy. 

This is the story of Gaza, a story of exposed atrocities and the excruciating cost of inaction. – June 13, 2024.