From Our Own Correspondent
An old poem (but still relevant).
From our own correspondent
we have received this report;
there are scenes that the viewers
might find too upsetting.
If you can’t bear to see
the suffering and misery
caused by this bloody conflict,
then cover your eyes.
You’ll be spared the sight
of the dead and the dying
but the pain of those victims
who survived the carnage
won’t simply go away
because you blot out
the gruesome vision.
It won’t do to be blind
to their piteous plight.
Covering your eyes
will prolong the agony.
So let’s drop the blindfold
and witness reality.
We mustn’t be inactive
and let the wars fester.
We have to expose those
who supply money and arms
to men whose main aim
is death and destruction.
They are just as guilty
as the fanatics who fight.
© Luigi Pagano 2015
Powerful writing, Luigi. Sadly, there’s no easy solution to the problem.
There is no easy solution, Gerald, because there are too many self-interests involved starting with the supply of weapons to all the factions of this never-ending conflict. The sale of arms to unstable countries for ‘defensive purposes’ must stop so that they can’t fall into the hands of rebels of ‘many causes’,
Bearing witness brings with it a responsibility. Whose is the greater, the correspondent’s or the viewer’s? You’ve given us a lot to think about in this thought provoking piece. Glenn
A 64,000 dollars question indeed Glenn. Obviously – to me anyway – everybody has a responsibility not to turn a blind eye to the situation.
The correspondent (i.e. the media) must responsibly and without bias report what is happening and not foment unrest by taking sides; the viewer’s response is somewhat limited as he is in a sense a passive observer but his responsibility lies in expressing his outrage by representations to the press and politicians.
And so it goes on, while those ‘can’ do nothing and those who ‘cannot’ feel the pain, heartbreaking. Very good write. Sue.
A tragic situation indeed, Sue.
Luigi x