The term 'humanitarian crisis' serves as a veiled shield,
concealing those accountable for human suffering. The deliberate omission of
the responsible actors and factors deflects attention away from addressing the
fundamental issues at play.
The question posed by Patrick Gathara about whether labeling
the situation in Gaza a 'humanitarian crisis' masks the lived reality echoes in
my mind. Sponsored posts inundated my social media during the 'giving season,'
soliciting donations from various humanitarian organizations, with an
overwhelming focus on the so-called crisis in Gaza.
A total of 39 posts from 13 NGOs and UN organizations were
saved, revealing the limitations and problematic nature of the term
'humanitarian crisis.' The majority, 34 of them, spotlighted Gaza, while four
remained vague about the location, and one addressed South Sudan and Somalia.
The recurrent appearance of these ads in my feeds for weeks
shed light on the euphemistic nature of the 'humanitarian crisis,' avoiding the
identification of the causes of Palestinian suffering and discouraging actions
aimed at addressing those root causes. The erasure of the perpetrator is
evident in the 34 ads centered on Gaza, where the term 'Israel' is notably
absent.
Even Oxfam Canada's lone ad, urging people to sign a
ceasefire petition, refrains from mentioning Israel. These ads sidestep the
historical context of the conflict, evade political power dynamics, and
oversimplify solutions by emphasizing aid as the remedy for Palestinian
hardship. The ads predominantly solicited monetary donations, portraying aid in
paternalistic terms that foreground the moral subjectivity of the viewer as a
helper.
Common themes included images of infants in incubators,
children amidst the rubble, families in makeshift shelters, and empty grocery
store shelves. However, crucial details such as the displacement of
Palestinians, the interruption of their water supply, the identities of those
acting violently against them, and the reasons behind these actions are conspicuously
absent.
Palestinians, when given a voice, usually only testify to
their hardships. The context is framed by the humanitarian organizations,
defining both the problem and its proposed solutions. This pattern extends to
ads unrelated to Gaza, such as a UNHCR Canada video depicting African women
without specifying their location.
The Save the Children ad, referring to children
"deprived of their childhoods due to hunger," neglects the structural
violence at play, including unfair trade policies, debt, austerity, extractive,
and land and labor exploitation. The ads inadvertently misdirect action by
perpetuating a simplified narrative of savior and victim.
While UNICEF Canada implores viewers to "help us reach
more children and their families caught in the Gaza crisis," the
underlying causes, including perpetrators and those complicit, are obscured.
The term 'humanitarian crisis' reduces the complex situation to a moral fable,
detached from historical and political contexts.
Acknowledging the International Court of Justice's ruling
that the crisis is potentially a genocide should prompt more comprehensive
responses beyond providing necessities. The illusion of a
political-humanitarian divide crumbles when major donors freeze contributions to
UNRWA, implicating citizens like me in the Gaza crisis.
Despite this, the humanitarian fable maintains a narrative that distances the suffering of Palestinians from individuals, framing involvement as a charitable choice rather than a moral and political imperative. A potential way forward is exemplified by Oxfam Canada's shift in advertising and messaging. A sponsored ad on their Instagram page called for signing a ceasefire petition instead of monetary donations.
This
shift, coupled with a move towards addressing the root causes, including
Palestinian self-determination and ending Israel's illegal occupation,
signifies a departure from the euphemistic cover of 'humanitarian crisis.'
While providing immediate aid remains crucial, abandoning the euphemism becomes
imperative to pave the way for essential political actions addressing
underlying injustices.
