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In the tumult of a raging battle, beneath the echoing cries,
Where shadows merge with fading lights, the silent truth belies.
A world not split by borders, nor by rifles drawn in dread,
But bound by shared existence, in the spaces tear-stained red.
We gather here as fragments of a once harmonious whole,
Diverse in thought and creed, yet one in heart, in soul.
For pain, it knows no language, nor sorrow a flag does claim;
In every mother’s weeping eyes, the tears fall just the same.
The earth beneath our feet, soaked with the ages’ cries,
Does not discern the victor, nor the truth amongst the lies.
It absorbs each drop of blood as if to cleanse our skin,
Hoping perhaps that from this soil, peace might grow within.
Can you hear the echoes of the fallen, whispering in the breeze?
Their voices carry stories across the oceans, through the trees.
They speak of dreams unfulfilled, of lives too swiftly taken,
They sing a sombre lullaby of the lost and the forsaken.
For what is war but a mirror reflecting our darkest fears,
A testament to what is lost through forgetting our common tears.
A child’s laughter silenced before it can fully form,
A lover’s bed left cold and empty, never to be warm.
Imagine now a world untouched by the scourge of war’s design,
Where the morning dew whispers of peace, and all our hopes align.
Where children’s laughter fills the air, free from the shadow of fear,
And the old are left to ponder life, with no more need for tears.
Let us then lay down the arms that serve only to divide,
And walk the path of understanding, with our hearts open wide.
For we are one beneath the stars, in the sun’s eternal light,
Divided not by our differences, but bound by our shared plight.
So remember this silent truth, not anger, hate or blame,
That the dreams and hopes and fears we share, are proof we are the same.
And never again shall division, see the light of day,
For in unity, we find strength, and in humanity, our way.
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Kids Under Fire is an Al Jazeera produced video on the subject of Israel's IDF targeting children. As described in the written intro, "The war in Gaza has killed nearly 16,000 children since October 2023, most of whom have died in indiscriminate bombings. Yet a deeply unsettling subset of these deaths stands apart - children arriving at trauma centres with gunshot wounds."
It's impossible to parse the degrees of atrocity and suffering inflicted on the Palestinians by the Israeli war machine and its sustained and determined campaign of brutality as it exacts revenge against these blighted people for the October 2023 Hamas attacks, and the question of justifiable reciprocity seems meaningless given the scale and ferocity of the response.
To the ICC's credit, prime minister Netanyahu and defence minister Gallant have been indicted for war crimes. Yet the killings go on, and the world's attention, fickle at best, seems to have grown weary of this theatre of blood & suffering.
To be clear, this is not the only conflict currently in play on the world's stage, but it may be unique inasmuch as a supposedly 'civilized' people are deliberately targeting the most defenceless in lieu of their actual opponents.
Viewer Caution Advised.