Horrorism: War seen from the victim’s point of view

Words like ‘terrorism’ and ‘war’ no longer encompass the scope of contemporary violence according to Adriana Cavarero who wrote the book, Horrorism. Unlike terror or war, which is usually defined by governments, horrors refers to outbursts of violence seen, experienced from the perspective of the victim, usually innocent victims, rather than from the perspective of the warrior, the soldier, the military. Included in such a definition is the holocaust and the colonial and post colonial wars such as Vietnam.

Japan’s entry into WWII saw it take over much of South East Asia building on its Asian empire, which included China. The fall of Japan in September 1945 was an ignominious defeat and its imperial acquisitions were relinquished. For Vietnam and Cambodia, French Indochina, it opened the door for France to continue to exploit its colonial empire, except that the Vietnamese nationalist, Ho Chi Min led the resistance which culminated in the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in March to May 1954. Under the Geneva Accord signed in June 1954, France was forced to withdraw from Vietnam. For over one thousand years, Vietnam had been a colony to foreign forces. Their fight was for freedom.

It was a humiliating defeat for France which had relinquished sovereignty over Cambodia in November 1953.

Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel, the North being controlled by Ho Chi Min’s communist forces, the South under a non-communist government.

American involvement in Vietnam began with agents working as early as 1944 to support the French in reclaiming their colonial holdings, but when the French withdrew in 1954 the US supported the newly formed government of South Vietnam.

As tensions between North and South Vietnam increased, America and its allies increased their military support for South Vietnam, an effort to stop ‘the domino effect’, the fear that if South Vietnam became communist, so too would Cambodia and other South East Asian nations including Indonesia.commented on the Vietnam War.

Referring specifically on the Vietnam War, but can be seen more broadly on colonial wars generally, the French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre commented on the means of colonial powers retaining control over their holdings, where, ‘Colonial powers retain their superiority in terms of arms, but they were at a distinct disadvantage in terms of numbers.’

And so genocide reveals itself as the foundation for anti-guerilla strategies.

According to Sartre’s commentary, to the colonial power, genocide appears as the only possible response to a ‘rebellion of a whole people against its oppressors’, resulting in a total war that is no longer between two armies, but an army against an entire population.

Sartre concludes that this ‘genocidal blackmail’ was not just a threat to the Vietnamese population, as its violence was perpetrated under our eyes every day, it turned all who did not denounce it into accomplices.

Horrorism: war on a civilian population, genocide, blackmail, total war

During the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians of Gaza, we can reflect on the impact that war has had on the 2.3 million people who lived in Gaza as they return to where their homes used to be, where the hospitals were, the schools, the universities. We can reflect that because of a terrorist attack, a guerrilla attack if you will, by Palestinian members of the Hamas militia which saw 1200 Israelis killed and 250 taken as hostages, over 46,000 people have been slain in Gaza, the vast majority women and children, and as the people return to where their homes used to be, more bodies of innocent victims are being found in the rubble left after the most brutal demolitions witnessed since the destruction of Ypres in WWI.

Not counted as casualties of war are those who have died and are dying of the effects of starvation as aid and relief supplies were withheld. Also not counted as casualties are those who have died as a consequence of living in tents moved from one ‘safe area’ to another during the severe winter.

The information which has been effectively suppressed but is pertinent is that Israeli intelligence forces have been very aware of Hamas and other guerrilla activities and plans, including in the lead up to the October 23 attack. Information from ‘watchers’ – people working on the Kibbutzes bordering Gaza – had reported activities which appeared to be planning and dummy runs for the attack, but these were apparently ignored. Also, the retaliation by the IDF on October 23 included a number of injuries and fatalities inflicted on their own people, but that too was not reported. Rapes and other brutalities were reported which were made up stories.

Yes, Horrorism was the October 23 attack on innocent bystanders, civilians enjoying a music even and people going about their daily business inflicted by Hamas.

Horrorism is the punishment meted out to the population of Gaza for the last fifteen months.

Horrorism is the continued assault on the people of East Jerusalem and the West Bank where homes are destroyed, people imprisoned, lives made almost unbearable as the lands are taken for this who have lived there for generation after generation.

Horrorism is what Mary T Bassett and Eric Reinhart reported in Al Jezeera yesterday as they told of the 2000 pound bomb which destroyed the hospital they were working in, trying to save lives, or Hadeel Awad, a nurse in Gaza, whose daily activity includes looking for food, water, firewood as she spends time helping her mother care for the family and then she works as a nurse in a makeshift clinic. Her concluding words: ”I look through the destruction and see us. Death did not defeat us, not because we are heroes but because we are people who love life. Dear reader, is clinging onto life victory?”

As in so many colonial wars, the innocent are ‘collateral damage’, or are they, are they targeted, are they daring to stand in the way of the colonials who want the resources the land offers? When I look around the post colonial world, there have been many such wars, there have been many innocent people who have defied the colonisers, but more often than not, the colonisers have left.

The words of Hades Awad ring loudly, hopefully: “Dear reader, is clinging to life victory?”

It has been in so many wars.

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