COMMENT: War is not a conversation of the past

Silence. Other than the blistering coldness, the twilight of darkness and the company of a mother’s son, silence is the only thing which accompanies the men sworn to isolation in a foreign land’s trenches. 

Death. It lingers in the air, in the fog, and clings to the bricks which once were so much more than the reminder of what once was a home. Amongst the march of broken men corrupted by trauma and a broken smile, the broken bodies of sons, brothers and fathers lay dismantled at the prey’s feet.

These are the scenes we associate with war. The black and white photographs we studied in school, and the painful stories scribed on the postcards in our grandparent’s chest of drawers.

However, why do we remember only the two wars of 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945? Is it not ironic that we live in a world of war, and yet obliviously and naively act as if it is a conversation of the past? To me, it seems that conflict is one of the conditions of the universe. 

When you look at the endless list of wars since 1914, it is understandable why somebody may become almost numb to the severity, fear and consequences of conflict.

It is a part of our world, and for many, a part of their lives. Maybe, we treat the two World Wars with greater respect, because they were the wars which affected this country the most. 

With the coverage of the war in Gaza, we have all become almost de-sensitised by the violence, but that does not make it any less real.

On Friday, the UN reported that nearly 40% of the 45,000 killed were children, despite Israel’s previous claims to minimise civilian casualty by using “precise munitions.” 

The poverty in Gaza is immense. Families have been displaced and forced to homelessness, and unemployment rates sit at 79.3% according to the UN.

Famine and disease plagues the streets as water, food, healthcare and education becomes no longer a basic human right, but instead an unheard privilege.

To many in the Western World, the conflict between Israel and Palestine seems like a modern issue, but in reality, we were just never taught the history even though the UK was partially to blame.

But again, the war we were taught about in school was solely World War One and Two, and the reason possibly why?

Britain seems to be the villain in most stories of war – the enabler. How are we supposed to teach people about these wars without threatening national pride?

In World War One and Two, the sacrifice and commitment of soldiers was a fight against a universal threat, whilst it seems we were the threat and the enabler for most other wars. 

34 wars since 1914. 34 wars spread across generations. 34 wars spread across countries and continents. 34 wars which have ended so many innocent lives.

My grandparents lived through the terrors of the second world war. My parents read of the conflict in Vietnam and the Falklands. I grew up in a world tormented by the War on Terror following ‘The Attacks on America.’

What war will my children see? How many wars will they see?