By Kgalema Madopi
Edited by Imaan Moosa & Tasmiyah Randeree
Through turmoil, the fight for a just world is rooted in all of us.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
This phrase was popularized by English author Edward Bower Litten in 1893 and posits that communication is far more effective than direct military violence and power. Litten highlights the countless casualties that physical war has inflicted on the world, not only in relation to people but the environment, too.
The largest instigator of environmental damage is human activity, as we know — fueled by a desire to dominate each other, the magnificent creatures that walk this earth and our mother, Nature, and all her reign.
For decades, mankind has justified reasons for combat and terrorism. To date, perhaps the most tragic and superfluous war is the one against the Earth.
The natural environment has historically been a location of violence. Through efforts to immobilize, the environment has been used as a pawn to cripple communities and societies around the world.
We are nature’s greatest threat.
All wars waged across history have devastatingly impacted both people and the environment, both of which are intrinsically connected to preserve all forms of life and each other.
I wrote this article with a burden of guilt.
The Earth, as we see it — fractured and strained — is collateral damage. It is the casualty of disruption, chaos, anger and hate that is bred in our souls over generations and denies us the spirit of community.
The spirit of war revels in this.
The rules of war are guided by principles of humanitarianism, as they should be, yet war (and in some instances, state-sanctioned terrorism) has detrimental impacts on the environment.
The impacts of war are not only through the action of the war itself but the preparation of resources that are used for manufacturing and testing, such as training grounds and weapon testing facilities, where spaces are disintegrated for evaluation of the feasibility of war.
Direct impacts include bomb and blast damage to settlements, rural and urban landscapes and communication networks, ecosystem destruction, wastage of machinery and equipment of war that does not enrich the environment, and the destruction of resources for the manufacture of war equipment.
The indirect impacts are the most problematic because of their long-term assault on nature. The aggressive construction of settler housing enforces overutilization of environmental resources, land abandonment and degradation, the loss of wildlife and their habitats, and excessive consumption of water (termed “water apartheid”).
Most notably, as stated in an Al Jazeera article published in 2019: “Aggressive use of water for agriculture – much of it run by illegal settlers in the West Bank – has led to the depletion of aquifers and a sharp decline in water levels in the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.”
The humanitarian crisis which has resulted from apartheid Israel’s occupation of Palestine is particularly horrific. One that questions the definition and value of humanity.
Al Jazeera states: “Countless reports by the United Nations and other organizations have documented in detail how and why the main culprit is Israel, its violent assaults on Gaza, and its merciless siege.”
Untreated sewage is making its way to the oceans. This unkind sight is due to the fact that many treatment plants are not operational and Palestinians in Gaza are being denied infrastructure under Israeli occupation.
There is no alternative to the disposal of sewage, a sad and destructive means to ‘control’ the issue. While this may temporarily ease the burden of solutions, it creates a new problem which is the contamination of water, a resource vital to the survival of life.
Gaza has been unable to develop proper waste treatment facilities because of restrictions. This has caused the improper disposal of waste by incineration which contributes to the pollution of air and land.
Israel also uses herbicides and chemicals to degrade the land used for agriculture by Palestine to cripple food sources in the area. This is known as ecoterrorism.
“The chemical it uses most often is glyphosate, which has been proven to cause cancer. According to the Red Cross, these activities not only damage Palestinian crops but also contaminate the soil and water,” reports Al Jazeera.
While this literally takes food out of Palestinian mouths, the long-lasting impacts of chemicals on the land endangers the environment as a whole due to soil erosion.
Ethnic cleansing and forced displacement have resulted in the displacement of many Palestinians who have had to relocate. These victims of war flee their communities in pursuit of safety, in the prospect of a better life.
Yet, we cannot ignore the connection between overpopulation and the over-utilization of land and resources. As victims of war are displaced, more land has to be distributed to accommodate refugee camps, which creates further strain on the environment.
The cost of government-backed war should be painstakingly considered, bringing to heart the conversation of environmentalism. The direct and indirect effects of physical force on the environment displays an acute sense of negligence and disregard for all living organisms in the pursuit of power and domination.
Without the Earth, none of us has a leg to stand on. We do not have a place to call home or, for some, a place to terrorize or an enemy to fight, because life itself would be obsolete.
War and state-sanctioned terrorism have left a long-lasting legacy on the environment, breeding insecurity over the fate of natural life.
One has to ask, is it worth it?
War does not only affect those who are being targeted but those who have declared it.
The equation does not add up. As a global community, we should actively work together to denounce the atrocities wrought by the painstaking annihilation of human and animal life.
We have a history of restoration that highlights society’s capability for peace and unity, restoring our natural world and preserving and protecting generations to come.
Comentarios