A new acronym came to light a couple of months into the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Referred to as WCNSF, it means “Injured child with no living relatives”. This term is unique to Gaza, per insights from doctors like child health specialists. Normally, it is rare for doctors to treat a child who has lost their complete family. However, there has been absolutely nothing ordinary about the devastating conflict in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been obliterated and the number of child amputees exceeds that of any other place in the world. No sense of normalcy in scores of doctors coming back from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being systematically aimed at.
An Unimaginable Crisis Despite a Announced Cessation of Hostilities
The Gaza Strip continues to be an utter catastrophe. Essential medical supplies are being blocked those in need, and international watchdogs assert that atrocities are continuing. Officials rejects these allegations, consistent with how it denies everything it is accused of. Yet as grieving children who lost parents are now enduring frigid conditions in makeshift tent camps, there is a piece of uplifting information: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from advancing its declared purpose of “togetherness and artistic sharing.” Eurovision will continue to extend a blood-red carpet for Israel, even though several European countries have now withdrawn in objection. And this, we are told, is what international harmony resembles.
Eurovision, of course banned Russia from taking part in 2022 due to the “grave situation in Ukraine”. But the crisis in Gaza is treated differently.
A Double Standard
Forget the fact that Israel was accused of irregular participation methods last year in what appears to have been an effort to politicise Eurovision. Forget the fact that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza on a recent Sunday. Neglect the data that aggression from Israeli settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have surged. Forget the fact that foreign reporters are still denied independent reporting in Gaza. This entire context, it would seem, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Show Goes On Against a Backdrop of Staggering Tragedy
Eurovision marks seven decades next year – nearly twice the current lifespan of someone in Gaza at present. The show may go on, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that once promoted togetherness has devolved into a cynical way to whitewash war.
