They say a New Year has come, the calendar indicates it, the facts and figures confirm it, the good wishes of friends verify it, but I see nothing new about the New Year; 2009 is in full swing, and it most assuredly has come out swinging with all the traits of yet another annus horribilis, if not worse! The 60-year-old plight of the Palestinians has flared once again with the ruthless bombardment of Gaza by the Israelis. The world condemns the merciless killing of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, leaving the rest without water, electricity, food or health care, yet the world watches in a humourless stupor unwilling or incapable to put a stop to it. It is apparent that the siege of Gaza is a well calculated and deliberate attempt, not only to wipe out the forces of Hamas, but to punish the civilian population that voted them into power. "It is part of human nature to hate the man you have hurt!" (Tacitus, circa 55-120 AD). Israelis lament the death of a dozen or more of their citizens which is indeed regrettable. The wanton loss of life, any life, especially the innocent, diminishes us all, and we do regret it. Our hearts go out to their loved ones, as we also lament and mourn for them. Why then does no heart go out to the thousands of Palestinians who are buried by their grieving families day after day after day? Even the television news commentators dispense with it as a mere statistic, while reporting on the profound sorrow for the Israeli victims. Is it because the world has become numb to the death of so many Palestinians, or is it because they have now become the world's subhuman race that matters little or not at all? Can the invasion of Gaza silence its people forever? Is Israel alone to blame? One is forced to point fingers at the leading powers who speak of fairness, justice, and democracy, and act like the oppressive, imperious, pitiless, conquistadors. They think nothing of occupying, invading, pushing, and bullying those who do not submit to their will. They only speak of mercy and humanity but show little evidence of either. There was a time following WW-II, when those very countries who had newly founded the United Nations, vowed that whatever happened, would never happen again to any member of the human race. Yet despicable acts of inhumanity continue to occur in every corner of the globe. Is it because our humanity diminishes with every passing year? Though it is hard to move away from such a major crisis, there are many other crises the New Year faces. The global economic crisis looms fiercely over 2009, overshadowing hopes of security, let alone prosperity. As it is with almost all else, the financial meltdown started in the US back in the middle of 2007, spreading to the rest of the world in 2008. Stock markets have fallen, banks and financial institutions have collapsed, industries have closed down, unemployment has risen, and invariably poverty, hunger, and crime will soon follow. The governments of the wealthiest of nations have had to bail out their major industries and financial systems. So far, the US has been unable to control the economic downfall. Barack Obama's recent speech foretold of a dire and painful year ahead. What a happy New Year will that be with families losing their homes, business owners declaring bankruptcies, their jobless and homeless turning into street beggars, children sleeping on empty stomachs, and according to economists, the crisis has yet to hit rock bottom. Hunger is a sharp and powerful cry, and with food prices surging dramatically around the world, countries like Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Guinea, Mauritius, and Yemen have witnessed food riots in the New Year. Egypt, India, Cambodia, among others have suspended crop exports such as rice, in order to have enough to feed their own. Experts predict world food markets will be "locked into an inflationary spiral for at least four years, maybe even a decade or more!" Let us first survive this New Year before worrying about the decades to come; here we thought we were finally going to eliminate world hunger! Need we remind anyone in the Northern Hemisphere that we are in the middle of an extremely cold, dim and drab winter, and yet on 7 January Russia cut off its fuel supply to the Ukraine, and shut off pipes transporting gas to European countries under the guise of economic differences, but probably in protest of Ukraine's alliance with the European Union. Russia accuses the Ukraine, the Ukraine accuses Russia, leaving Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Turkey without gas for a few good hours. Upon reaching a new agreement, gas flow was resumed, leaving the world wondering if a frighteningly familiar old image of the Soviet Union and its negative policies has been awakened. We pray not! 2009 is already laden with enough problems, crises, and conflicts and we certainly do not need to add to them. Wars between major and minor countries are being waged in at least 3 continents; will the Middle East conflict provide the major threat to world peace? With the Gaza crisis, economic crisis, food and fuel crisis, and the Russia crisis, not to mention moral and human crises, all we seem to have to look forward to is the coronation (Freudian slip here!) inauguration, of Barack Obama, the man who will become the first black president of the US on January 20th. Should we all not rejoice as racial and class barriers are finally crashing down, proving that any and every man is equal to any and every other man. It is indeed a historic and happy event when a black man resides in the White House, but is he the right black man? Most of his fans believe that the future President will make everything better, as one of them expressed on television, "he will pay my debts, buy me a house, and guarantee my car payments." In his words Obama himself said "it will get worse before it gets better" and there you have it! The more things change the more they stay the same. Still, can we help it, if we all wish him well, wish that he will mend all ills, and buy each American citizen a car and a house? Can we help it despite the bleak picture which 2009 presents, if we wish each other a Happy New Year! Out of the crooked timbre of humanity No straight thing can ever be made Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) By Lubna Abdel-Aziz
