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CH 14: Missing empathy of the sufferers

I came to know that the most agonizing experience for humankind, prior to me, was World War II. Millions perished, countless suffered, and entire countries were ravaged. Individuals from a particular religious sect were subject to systematic persecution, torture, humiliation, and sent to death camps for just belonging to that faith. Given the terrible suffering they had gone through, I would have expected their ability to empathize to be on the higher side.

Hence, I could not understand how they could kill more children in a week of May 2021 with bombs than I was able to do in months with infections. I also could not understand the logic of acting in self-defense when it was mostly innocent children, harmless women, and elders who paid the price with their lives. These innocents were not a match for the overwhelming military superiority of their rivals whose casualties due to the rocket attacks were around one-twentieth of the other side. During the 11 days of attack, 112 died infected by me, while 219 people, almost double – including 65 children, 35 women and 16 elderly – were killed by bombings. You have again proven yourselves to be more brutal and deadlier than I have been.

However, I was inspired again when people across the world came out in the streets during lockdowns in support of humanity, including people from their own faith who joined the protests as they spoke from their heart and conscience. It is this enduring human spirit and goodness that has been one of my best discoveries during this epic journey. Similarly as bombs fell on a country left orphan by politicians most of whom shed crocodile tears, while children, women, and elderly flee and die, it is the ordinary people who took to the streets.

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