Norwegian doctors call for investigation into weapons used on Gaza
BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b170 (Published 16 January 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b170All rapid responses
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It is certainly true that the 'world's favourite quotation' is
normally attributed to Edmund Burke. However, it is evident that Howard
Marsh did not read my BMJ rapid response of four years ago, where I
pointed to John Stuart Mill as the true originator of these perspicacious
words. [1]
In the context of the recent vicious assault on the people of Gaza,
it is clear that while good men have looked on and done nothing ... many
bad men have been more than able to compass their ends.
Sadly, the democratic State of Israel has let its moral compass go
wild. [2]
Those guilty of war crimes must now be made accountable: true justice
is a good thing. The leaders of both sides should not be allowed to get
away with murder: good medical men must do something to prevent this
devastating conflict from erupting again. Please act now ... through
Amnesty International. [3]
[1] Re: The rank weed and snake oil salesman. 21 December 2004
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/329/7474/1066-f#89709
[2] Tzipi Livni "declared yesterday that the military offensive had
"restored Israel's deterrence ... Hamas now understands that when you fire
on its citizens it responds by going wild – and this is a good thing."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-cabinet-
divided-over-fresh-gaza-surge-1332024.html
[3] Gaza: alleged war crimes must be investigated.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11503
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Wasn't it Edmund Burke who said 'All that is necessary for the
triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'?
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The Norwegians and the French are organising groups of Doctors to go
to Gaza through Egypt, but they aren't letting other nationalities join
the respective groups to minimise complications. Does anyone know of a
group of British Doctors going to Gaza and how we can get in touch with
them if we want to go? Or is anyone else with a Britsh passport
interesting in getting a group together? Please contact
lellyfair@gmail.com if you know anything.
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Alex Wonner writes a curious response to the news that Israel may
have been testing dense inert metal explosives (DIME) during their
offensive on Gaza - as reported by a Norwegian doctor working at the al-
Shifa hospital in Gaza City. While reading Wonner’s extraordinary letter,
I was reminded of the words of John Stuart Mill, who, in 1867, during a
rectorial address, said,
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men
should look on and do nothing”.
Though obviously battle scarred, Alex Wonner is a good man and a hard
working doctor. And yet he exhorts other doctors, in war torn areas of the
world, to look on, keep their mouths closed and do nothing but their jobs
... while, all around, evil men do triumph.
Interestingly, during the same address, as rector of St Andrews
University in Scotland, John Stuart Mill also said,
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do
no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion.”
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My sympathies are with the defenceless people of Gaza who are
subjected to the most heinous war crimes of modern history. There were
reports of white phosphorus being used but it appears that the world has
not started to comprehend the extent of monstrosity displayed by the
Israeli Army. I commend the courage of Professor Gilbert and Professor
Fosse and hope that there plea is taken seriously.
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It is sad to see just one child, one woman, one man suffering from
the
stupidity created by human beings. I think that every doctor involve in a
conflict should not make any "political" comment about anyone. If he wants
to
do politics then he should have chosen another career. Wars bring always
sadness and miseries that will last beyond our lives.
Memories will never erase atrocities committed during any war.
I have spend 15 years working in South Africa, dealing often with
stabs and
terrible gunshots (AK47). There are more people dying everyday from stabs
and gunshots in SOUTH AFRICA than in GAZA. Do we hear that in the news?
NO
Have you ever seen doctors making comments? NO
Do you know how many farmers have been killed in South Africa since 1994?
Probably more than 2000-2500! Have you ever heard anything in the media?
NO
How many murders a year in South Africa (not talking about the rapes!)?
Probably more than 35 000 murders a year! Have you ever seen that anywhere
else? Hard to find and certainly not in GAZA!
Have you seen the Norwegian doctors going and help the South Africans? NO
There is nothing wrong to go and help the population in distress but
a doctor
should remain a doctor and avoid making comments. Millions of other people
are making comments anyway and they are all the same and won't change
anything. While people at the UN try to get a "deal" , the massacre goes
on.
It's a war.
We just need to do our work. It's our choice. I had enough of fixing
drunk
people with stabbed heart, gunshot abdomen etc,... so I left the country
for a
while because myself was feeling more and more insecure. South Africa is
not
the safest country in the world! Not to mention the thousands of people
dying every day from AIDS.
Others do carry on. They are more brave than me. If you don't like it,
don't go
there. If you go, then do your job and close your mouth.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Wonner
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Bend it like Barack
In 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, while explaining his principles of
non-violence, used these words,
"When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and
when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember
that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the
gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no
way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize
the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice."
On April 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama, speaking on the 40th
anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, declared:
"Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it
bends towards justice. It bends towards justice, but here is the thing: it
does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put
our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice...."
Bent justice is a bad thing: let us hope that President Obama changes
things for the good ... and bends our dark yesterdays into bright
tomorrows … and a real peace in the Middle East.
Competing interests:
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