Let's Pray For Peace In GAZA

I received an email from my friend who has been working in Dubai since 2006 telling me that new year’s eve in the country (UAE) was not so as lively as usual before. While we, who are living in Indonesia particularly Jakarta so cheerful celebrating new year with fireworks and long night party. My friend told me the people of Dubai quietly stayed at home or went to mosques and churches to pray for Palestinian. There was no party, no fireworks, no trumpet blown in the night of 31 Dec 08.

The UAE government asked everybody to welcome new year calmly as part of apprehensive attitude upon what was happening in Gaza – Palestine. The UAE government said it was not a wise attitude conducting a party while brothers and sisters in Palestine are moaning from pain in the war zone.

War always creates deep misery, not to the elite figures, but to ordinary people. We don’t need to care either Israel or Hamas is standing in the right side. We don’t need to blame either Simon Peres or Ismail Haniya who creates so long troubles in the disputed zone. Ask them and they will claim each other that the truth is theirs. That is the never ending story, never ending dispute, and never ending distrust between the two.

When I put this article’s title of “Let’s pray for peace in Gaza”, honestly I also doubtful it could come to the reality. Am I skeptical about God’s power to create a peace there? Not at all. Isn’t HE the true peace itself? Yes, He is the peace, and He once said to His followers: “My peace I give unto you…” However, why the peace so faraway, going somewhere and never come, particularly in the Palestine land which till now is claimed by two nations, i.e. Israel and Palestine?

So many peace talks organized by sponsor of many countries, their leaders shake-hand on the table, smiling, cheek kissing and holding hand in hand in front of journalists from all countries, from Yitzhak Rabin - Yasser Arafat to Ehud Olmert - Mahmoud Abbas, but, are we sure Israel and Palestine have strong willingness for peace? If they both still distrust each other, why we ask God to force the peace to happen there?

***

Today there is war in the land, in Gaza, the stronghold of hardliner Hamas faction of Palestine. Israel warplanes strikes everything in Gaza, blind-eyes drops the bombs not only to Hamas office but also to civil residences. And everybody in the world including Indonesia tells everything, thought they could resolve it by this and by that, raids on demonstration across the world, burning Israel national flags, burning Bush effigy, while people of Palestine dying!

I learned from my previous company that whenever the trouble occurs, just refrain to seek and point-finger who is fault. Restore the operation as quickly as possible in order to run the business back to normal. Afterward, we could search more carefully the root cause. That was the key principle from which I learned from.

Now, Gaza is under fire, casualties has already reached more than 500 lives, of which were the civilians and innocent people. Is it necessary to discuss the land history, the broken truce, where are the missiles coming from, why the attacks happens, why Israelis so aggressive, why Hamas stubborn and do not want to step back, who launch the rockets first, who offensive and who defensive, where is Ban Ki Moon, why UN Security Council looked powerless to stop the war, why US always backs Israel, why Obama silent???

Everybody condemns Israel since it looked so excessive, aggressive and being reckless towards worldwide voices to stop the attacks. I do so, not because I am in Hamas side, but it merely for the sake of humanity. Natural feelings always tend to protect the inferior against the superior, no matter who they are. They are just human being, like me, like us. I just could not let myself look at the terrible situation, where tearful father carrying his boy’s body to the grave, where a little girl crying before her mother’s dead body in the middle of ruins and billowing smoke, where children hide fearful with their innocent gaze. I felt so desperate looking at the wounded screaming, groaning, dying, while no medicines, no paramedics to help them.

The most important and crucial point right now is to stop the fighting by anything, not to blow the fire by idea of physical jihad to the zone. Are we trying to become heroes by doing jihad carrying a weapon there? Are we sure they need jihad like this? The Palestine people right now need a basic aid such as foods, medicines, shelters, and paramedics. I glad some of our humanitarian volunteers went there to disburse all of those things. Wish it is not political motivated. However, besides such materials, moreover, Palestinian need a moral support to convince them that the world cares and they are not alone, like in Dubai that my friend wrote in his email – they were asked by UAE government to pray in mosques, in churches, in everywhere for peace in Gaza.

Unfortunately Indonesia, the most moslem population country in the world, celebrated new year’s eve as usual: with fireworks, with blowing trumpets, with parties, no sign of sincere sympathy, isn’t it?

***

Serpong, 6 Jan 2009
Titus J.

related story: Will Peace be Keen to Come?