Gaza: A Mirror to Our Moral Compass

Imagine standing on the bustling Republic Street in Valletta, the sun warming your face, as you sip on a traditional Maltese coffee. Now, picture this: 2,000 miles east, a child in Gaza Strip does the same, under a different sun, but with a world of difference. This child’s playground is a war zone, their sunsets often painted with smoke, not orange hues. Why? Because the world has allowed it.

Genocide by Degrees: The Slow Death of Gaza

Gaza, a mere 360 square kilometers, has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. It’s like having the entire Maltese Islands locked down, indefinitely. The United Nations calls it “a humanitarian crisis.” But it’s more than that. It’s a slow, systematic unraveling of humanity. The UN predicts Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020. We’re already in 2022, and yet, here we are.

Water, electricity, food, medicine – all in scarce supply. The UN estimates that 97% of Gaza’s water is undrinkable. Imagine having to boil water from the Birżebbuġa waterfront before you can use it. That’s Gaza. And yet, we’ve normalized this. We’ve accepted this as the status quo.

Ecocide: The Silent Killer

Gaza’s plight isn’t just about people. It’s about the land, the sea, the environment. It’s about ecocide. Israel’s use of depleted uranium ammunition has contaminated Gaza’s soil and water. Fish from Gaza’s shores are unsafe to eat due to pollution. The Mediterranean, our shared sea, is suffering. Yet, we’ve turned a blind eye.

Remember the Great Siege of Malta? We Maltese understand resilience. But Gaza’s resilience is being tested beyond limits. Their fishing boats, restricted to just 6 nautical miles, are a stark reminder of their imprisonment. The Maltese fishing boat ‘Santa Maria’ was once impounded by the Israeli navy. That could’ve been any Gaza fisherman’s story.

The Price of Impunity

Impunity has a price. It’s the price Gaza pays every day. It’s the price the world pays in its collective conscience. It’s the price we pay in our silence. The UN’s Goldstone Report in 2009 found evidence of war crimes in Gaza. Yet, no one was held accountable. Impunity breeds more impunity. And so, Gaza bleeds.

The world watches, silent. We’ve become numb to the numbers: 2 million people, 1.4 million refugees, 80% aid dependency. We’ve lost sight of the faces behind these numbers. They’re not just statistics. They’re people. Like you, like me. Like the child on Republic Street.

Malta, with its rich history of humanitarianism, can’t afford to be silent. We’ve welcomed refugees, we’ve stood up for justice. We can’t turn our backs on Gaza now. We must raise our voices, demand accountability, and insist on change.

As Maltese writer and activist, Immanuel Mifsud, once said, “We are all refugees, all immigrants, all seeking a better life.” Let’s remember that when we think of Gaza. Let’s remember that child under the different sun. And let’s act.