Thinking about peace in times of war Opinions

French researcher Jean-Pierre Filiu begins his book on the history of Gaza by dedicating the souls of thousands of unknown people who died in Gaza prematurely, while they had a life they wanted to live, with their families in security and peace.

He adds:

Gaza is a crossroads of civilizations. Gaza is a space that is not a product of geography, but rather branched out from history, a history filled with torment and tragedy for a region to which the majority of the population fled in order to escape torment and tragedy.

Then he intercedes:

Yet, in this prison out in the open, lies the fate of the world. Therefore, the thread of history must be renewed, beyond devastation and sorrow. In anticipation of the future horizon, for the sake of Gaza, and for all of us; Because the fate of the world is what is symbolically at play in this piece of earth.

Likewise, Philo says in his book about Gaza – published more than ten years ago (2012) – that his days have not worn out, as the old Arabic expression says, or he still maintains his identity. The fate of the world is determined today by what is happening in Gaza. Despite the grief and destruction to which Gaza is exposed, a flame that opens to the future must be lit through dialogue, and through serious dialogue, without prejudgments or guardianship.

Filho admits that dialogue is no longer possible on the television panels of Western channels. However, it is necessary to speak about this historical juncture, which foretells the worst. He says: “The crisis is in its infancy, and is likely to ignite.”

Filio was in Morocco this week, where he gave a series of lectures in several cities. He spoke on the sidelines of the lectures, in side meetings, including a meeting he had with the writer of these lines, and he was overcome with grief over what was happening in Gaza, and when he found friends he had in Gaza who were no longer alive, he introduced them to it, where he lived for a while, and they opened their hearts to him, and he reported on their affairs. He bore witness to them, and also to the killing that spared civilians and defenseless people, and to the destruction that befell buildings and homes.

Jean-Pierre Filho is an expert on the issues of the Arab world. He lived in Syria, loved it, lived in Jordan and was attached to it, resided in Lebanon for a period and knew its affairs, and toured the rest of the Arab world. He mastered the Arabic language and penetrated the depths of the Arab world. He reads in Arabic and speaks it not to establish prejudices, but to understand and aid understanding.

He writes in French and English to extend his hand to a world he loved, to show him the pitfalls and the strengths of something he believes in, which is the common destiny, between the two shores of the Mediterranean basin, or between France and the Arab world.

The writer has a record of sober writings about the Arab world, some of which he wrote in English, which are useful in understanding what is happening in the Arab world, and carry a message of hope and a call for rapprochement between two worlds – namely: the Arab world and the West – that have often broken historical dates.

We must acknowledge that a researcher of Filliot’s caliber is not one of those who are accepted into Western television stations, or who attract the attention of decision-makers. Even if he had worked for a period in the foreign affairs of France, he would have been one of the wise voices who could convey his experience to decision-makers in the West in this turbulent circumstance and convey his vision. For the Arab world, which is experiencing an existential crisis.

Filho admits that dialogue is no longer possible on the television panels of Western channels. However, it is necessary to speak about this historical turning point, which predicts the worst. He says: “The crisis is in its infancy, and is likely to ignite.”

Things are worse than being attributed in assessing what is happening to the terrible disease represented by the rule of “double standards”, but rather to “sycosphingia” rampant in the West, and among those who shape public opinion, from a segment that refuses to see what it does not want to see, and fixes its eyes to see what You want to see it.

Even some Western universities, or major American universities, were not spared a kind of McCarthyism, or this feeling that constitutes an element of American political culture: Blame and shame.

However, in this uncertain circumstance, there is no alternative to dialogue. Bridges must be built. Because the fates of the two shores of the Mediterranean basin are intertwined, and because Enlightened France was a partner in the Arab Renaissance, and some of those who were imbued with its values ​​believed in a common destiny.

Of course, dialogue is not easy, and is almost impossible in the West in the current circumstance. But it is necessary; Because the region will enter a critical context, or in Filho’s words: the crisis is in its infancy, and it has barely begun.

Regardless of what was provided by Filho’s meeting with a group of researchers in Rabat, there is an urgent need for dialogue with rational people on the other side.

It is legitimate for the masses in the Arab world, and in the world, to express their anger as a result of the aggression against Gaza, but the decision maker must not give in to emotion, and he must prevail over reason.

But the decision maker, or politician in general, is immersed in the immediate event, and has no distance from what is happening; Therefore, the possible dialogue is with those with visions, those who take a distance from events, and combine knowledge with faith in a common destiny.

Needless to say; The world is not reduced to a ready-made picture, black and white, or “we are good” and “others are bad.” Things are more complicated than that, and the free people of the world have proven their obedience to the truth.

It is not easy to think about peace in times of war. But it is necessary, to avoid the curse of broken historical dates, through a dialogue conducted with those whom the French expression calls porteurs d’espérance.