When will it all end?

I concluded my article last week on the Israel-Hamas War by asking when will it all end? Since then, something else has happened to which I apply that same question: ‘When will it End?’. That something has to do with two more homicides in St Vincent within three days, taking the toll for the year up to 49, with still 39 more days left in the year. Of course, I am not expecting the homicide rates to reach a zero point, but what I am hoping for is a large reduction in numbers. The latest one was allegedly committed by a 14-year-old boy. I am not aware of the circumstances under which this happened, but the victim was also a young man. This does not appear to be drug or gang related. And it brings me back to something to which we need to pay more attention, that there are a multiplicity of causes behind these climbing crime rates.

It is obviously a societal problem. Was this 14-year-old still in school? Without knowing the circumstances that led to that killing it is only possible to generalise. But even then, one thing stands out to me is the issue of conflict resolution. I have personally seen too many situations where in even minor arguments the solution adopted was to rush for a weapon or to begin a fight. While we can point to possible deficiencies in the Police Force, and it is always easy to do so, but what tools do they have in hand? And here I go further and state a point that I believe makes it easy for potential criminals, the fact that not many persons are found and charged. It leads them to believe that they could get away with committing murder. Tackling crime involves a multiplicity of things but we have to ensure that this pattern does not imbed itself into our culture. So, while we search for the tools and means of arresting this trend, we have also to focus on long term solutions, which should start in the schools with means of addressing the issue of conflict resolution. One that always stand out is the matter of poverty. One of the on-line newspapers stated that the 14-year-old accused was among six minors charged earlier this year with stealing from a shop. Doesn’t this tell a story?

Some of the recent murders happened in Layou. Is there a connection between them? An unnamed person in an interview with Searchlight said that in speaking to news reporters he would normally use his name but in this case refused to do so. He considers the situation in his home town of Layou out of control. He seemed to be suggesting a link with other murders in that town, which in some way also involved the murder of two construction workers at the Sandals resort, one of them just outside the school in Buccament. Hopefully the police would have made the necessary connections, so we look forward to them being able to make a break, at least in the Layou cases.

THE ISRAEL-HAMAS TRUCE

The news that greeted me this morning is that there is a truce in the Israel-Hamas war, a truce facilitated by Qatar and Egypt with Israel. It involves a four-day pause in fighting, not a ceasefire as most of the world had been seeking, that is apart from the US and Israel. This will be followed by Hamas’ release of 50 women and children held by them in Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israel’s jails. For every additional hostage released, the pause was to be extended by one day. On humanitarian grounds, hundreds of trucks with medicine and fuel were to be allowed into Gaza. During that period, Israel is supposed to stop all military attacks into Gaza. It will be some hours before we begin to see any movement on that front.
While we should welcome this, we have to face the fact that it has come some 47 days into the attack on Gaza during which time 14,000 persons were killed, including thousands of children. Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced, hospitals have been destroyed, as have schools and other places where the people had been seeking refuge. The US has been accused of being complicit in what are clear cases of Genocide, supplying Israel with arms and most likely will continue to do during the pause in fighting that will allow Israel to restock. Will the occasion be used to bring about a real ceasefire and move toward an end of the war? Certainly not! The Israeli Prime Minister said that the war will not end until Israel has achieved its objectives. Its major objective is to destroy all of Hamas. Nikki Haley who is emerging as the Republican most likely to challenge Donald Trump has called on Israel to finish Hamas. Finishing Hamas, if at all possible, will only end with other thousands of Palestinians being killed and most of Gaza destroyed.

With a Truce rather than a ceasefire being provided, I expect that protests around the world will continue. I must compliment Belize for its decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel while the rest of CARICOM is left with its usual platitudes, calling for a ceasefire and continuing to support UN Council resolutions and to call for a two-state solution. Why not take the position that Belize has taken? Once the hostages have been released, the expectation is that the attack on Gaza will intensify, with the possibility that neighbouring countries will be dragged into the war. Netanyahu might also expect another hug from Biden!

•  Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian