It is difficult not to feel despair and powerlessness at this awful juncture. Millions in the world fought with all their hearts and minds to avoid the violence ensuing in Iraq. Inevitably, there is a deep and emotional void that has opened as the bombs fall.
Many will pray. Others will simply reflect. Countless numbers will continue to take to the streets. But all will worry over the scope and repercussions of the destruction to come.
We have seen dark moments before. Slavery, the Holocaust, the Vietnam War — man’s inhumanity to man is not to be underestimated.
In the fight against apartheid, we saw times that seemed like the world had come to an end. South Africa wept in 1993 in the wake of the assassination of Chris Hani. Violence clenched the country. The constitutional negotiations between the African National Congress and the National Party were broken nearly beyond repair. This was the lowest point of our struggle. But faith prevailed, as did the moral fortitude of average people to do what is right. With it, apartheid ended.
At this moment of deep anguish, it is important to recognise the reasons for hope and pride, both in the United States and across the globe.
Never in history has there been such an outpouring of resistance from average people all around the world before a war had even begun. Millions took a stand. This doctrine of moral and popular pre-emption must be sustained.
Countless nations, many of them quite impoverished, listened to the majority voices of their own citizens opposing the war. These governments opted not to take the huge sums offered to support the military effort, but instead chose to heed the sentiments of their citizens. This was a considerable step forward for democracy.
A first step to personal healing is to acknowledge the depth of the devastation that many of us feel. We should not pretend it does not exist. We must also look forward. The energies mobilised recently must not dissipate. They should be channelled and broadened.
This is the beginning, not the end, of heightened vigilance. With war, domestic civil liberties face their greatest threat. We must not squelch the right to protest under the pressures of patriotism.
If we want lasting peace and security in the Middle East, if we want international law to hold any meaning, we must begin to require that United Nations resolutions are applied uniformly across all countries.
In Iraq, we must watch to see that the promises for a truly functioning democracy are honoured, and that the long-term and expensive commitment for rebuilding is honored. — Inter Press Service
Desmond Tutu is former chairperson of the TRC. Ian Urbina is associate editor at the Middle East Research and Information Project in Washington