Ignorance to Insight: Ties Between Privilege and Awareness

There is an overwhelming privilege that comes with ignorance. When indifference is faced with the suffering of others, the unwillingness to speak truth to power builds. We see people act solely based on emotions without being challenged to tell the truth. Thus, there is a privilege in not having to acknowledge your own blindness. 

In the past few months, the ongoing genocide that continues to escalate in Palestine has begun to mobilize among the youth population around the world. Why do I use the term genocide, especially considering the controversy surrounding this word? 

According to the United Nations (UN), genocide is a “crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.” This definition is the status quo under which we operate and fabricates our understanding of rules of war. It is based solely on a Euro-centric, white serving and western dominating belief that in itself contradicts the harm committed against the Palestinian people. This definition dictates the semantics of this massacre under the conditions of white dominated organizations. It is a privilege to subscribe to these definitions so blindly—benefitting from colonial power—that it is detrimental to one’s understanding of the reality of genocide. In honesty it is not your people that this definition is dehumanizing and swallowing; it without question is an entitlement to a full extent. 

According to International Law the destruction of hospitals, schools, power sources, water supply, food and anything that is in place to sustain life are illegal under the rules of war and proves an intent to destroy. 

In using the UN’s definition we are contextualizing the basis on which people have taken sides. The question then becomes: Are we equipped with enough evidence to determine if genocide is happening? 

To directly target a hospital multiple times, including bombing around and inside—and in the news organization’s Al Jazeera’s words, “Medical workers in Gaza are under attack, as Israeli forces have deliberately shot and injured them while they were on duty,”—goes across the boundaries of a war crime which is still a violation of international law thus making it a genocide. Not to mention that “constant care”—the rule under international humanitarian law that a nation-state in “war” must take constant care to limit civilian casualties as much as possible— is required when armed conflicts escalate. 

This same logic goes for the lack of food and water that the Palestinian people receive. The aid that gets into Gaza is often expired, or filled with maggots making them unsanitary and unfit for consumption. The New Humanitarian says “children are eating grass to survive Israeli siege and food shortage” the article goes on to say that “young children have begun to die from dehydration and malnutrition” and that “500,000 people are on the brink of starvation.”  In addition to all this over 34,000 people have been killed, 15,000 being children and 2 million have been displaced. 

This evidence alone should warrant condemnation in inquiry. The totality of the circumstances is a combination of these things that warrant a claim of genocide, not one thing in particular. The dehumanization of innocent people prevents the acknowledgement of the privilege that comes with ignorance.

The results of U.S.-sanctioned violence, through the supply of powerful weapons to use on the Palestinian people have been intensified due to modern technology. Congressional Aid told AP News that the Biden Administration is “moving along on a $1 billion arms sale to Israel.” The article goes on to mention that Israel is receiving “$700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds.” On what grounds do we justify this? How can we rationalize labeling the Palestinian people as a global threat when they themselves are deprived of fundamental human rights? 

This particular conflict is unique in that people from within the conflict zone have the ability to report the atrocities that are taking place from their phones in real time. We are able to see the devastation and violence they are subjected too. Journalists such as Motaz Azaiza and Bisan Owda, a Palestinian woman who captures her life online, have taken over the internet in sharing their stories from their perspective. 

The loss of innocent lives has sparked many protests, speeches, and self-reflection as we understand the privileges of waking up in a bed, having access to clean water, and the ability to sleep without the sound of bombs outside. No matter what side of this war you find yourself agreeing with, there is no justification for loss of life. The ends do not justify the means in a case of genocide. 

The people of Gaza are without food, water, proper medical care, shelter, and a safe place to go. Having a water bottle is a privilege we fail to recognize; in Gaza it is currently illegal to collect rainwater. Perhaps we as a school can take this moment to be more intentional about examining the facts, thus elevating ourselves from the echo chamber of ignorance that creates privilege.