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Picture this. You are playing on a beach, the sun is shining and you can
see the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean. Your friends are by
your side and you are enjoying the moment. Suddenly something
explodes behind you. The force throws you to the ground and life is
taken away from you in the blink of an eye.
This is exactly what happened to four boys aged 9 to 11 from the
Bakr family living in Gaza. They were cousins playing football on the
beach just like any other day. One shell was dropped by Israeli forces
on a fishermen’s shed and the other was dropped right beside them.
They were rushed to hospital, but it was too late. The Israeli military
claimed that the target of the strike was the Hamas terrorist
organisation, the largest Palestinian militant group that opposes
peace with Israel. The deaths of these four boys is only one of many
examples of civilians finding themselves trapped in armed conflict.
The inhabitants of war-torn countries have no rights. CNN
reporter, Karl Penhaul, was told by locals in Gaza that the previous
night, the Israeli Air Force dropped down pamphlets telling them to
leave because they were going to bomb these areas the following
morning. Despite it being good that Israel gave the civilians warning
of their attacks, it does not make the situation right. One man
leaving with his family said he felt like they were already dead.
Civilian homes are treated like Lego blocks that can be rebuilt just as
quickly as they are torn down. The truth is, that when the bombs hit
and homes are destroyed, people will have nowhere to go and
nothing left.
Conflicts in Gaza have resulted in more than 3,000 people dead.
Not only Gaza, but during the decade-long war in Afghanistan, it
was estimated that at least 21,000 civilians were killed. The number
of civilian casualties in Pakistan was as high or even higher with the
death toll being from 20,000 to 50,000. The Iraq body count
estimated that as a result of direct war violence starting in early May
2014, at least 133,000 civilians were killed. These statistics show
howmerciless war can be and also how urgently the civilians of these
countries need to make their voices heard.
One of the doctors in rural Damascus, Syria, said that ‘it’s like a
terrifying nightmare that just keeps going on and on. You live
everyday as if it’s your last because you might die any second’. The
conflict in Syria is between the government and the rebels, again,
leaving innocent civilians in the firing line. The Syrian government
Civilians
in Armed
Conflict –
Speech
Angela Yan
Orator of the Year
Highly Commended
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