A Syrian refugee and doctor I met in London last week told me, with immense sadness, that Western governments and systems, once widely admired in the East and South, had lost all credibility and trust. “It’s finished,” he said. “That respect is gone. They did not learn anything from the Iraq and Libya wars. Then they left Afghanistan for the Taliban, and didn’t care about the people. Now they do nothing to stop the genocide in Gaza. That is the worst. They talk good and do bad. I can’t believe in them any more.” Me neither.
I remember watching How the West Was Won in 1962 in my old hometown, Kampala, Uganda. It was an epic about generations of a white American family vanquishing and “civilising” America. We young ones whooped, cheered on the cowboys, booed the “Indians”. Hollywood’s US was brave, pioneering, vast and a temple of liberty, the “greatest nation on earth”, the first to free itself from the claws of Britannia. This was the year Uganda became independent.
The Cold War was playing out. Superpowers were hyperactively interfering in African politics, but the Americans were far more effective and seductive operators. The CIA arranged for the overthrow of socialist African leaders while America funded the arts and student publications, so that they could be seen as the good guys.
We protested against the Vietnam War, empathised with civil rights campaigners, but carried on believing that North America and Europe were places of freedom, fairness and equality with an unshakeable commitment to law and human rights.
Iraq first shook up that (perhaps blind) faith. An illegal war was mounted in spite of mass anti-war demonstrations by global citizens and warnings issued by respected transnational bodies. International law was disregarded with deplorable carelessness and disdain. Western values, we learnt, were bendy and morally expedient.
But it is in Gaza that the West’s credibility was finally lost. Governments on our continent and in North America have defied the rule of law, undermined democracy, fundamental freedoms, and betrayed the principles of feminism and anti-racism.
Let’s start with democracy. Polling has shown most British people and millions of Europeans want a ceasefire. Our leaders in Britain, both the Government and main Opposition, do not heed this will of the people. Worse still, armed interventions in the Red Sea have been embarked on without any parliamentary votes.
The death toll in Gaza is rising; half of Gaza has been smashed. Israel is denying food and water to many. Starvation and lethal illnesses are spreading. The UN and other human rights organisations are disregarded, and at times maligned. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. And I believe the current Israeli government is behaving like a terrorist state.
But, as the acclaimed Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei told Sky News this weekend: “In universities, in the media, political sector, everywhere – you cannot talk about the truth.” In an interview with The Art Magazine, he elaborated: “There was a prevailing illusion that the West embodied greater freedom of speech and press, portraying itself as a society with minimal censorship.
“[But] censorship in the West manifests itself more subtly within the framework of so-called democratic politics … Criticism and dissenting thoughts that diverge from the established values and corporate interests are often subjected to censorship to varying degrees.” His show at a private gallery in London was cancelled after his tweets about the horrendous war and US backing for Israel.
On to feminism. I know many women of all backgrounds are marching every week to register their dismay, indeed horror, at the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians. But where are the voices of our most vocal feminists? Too busy banging on about biological womanhood? Here are some bloody facts: menstruating girls and women in Gaza have no sanitary towels; thousands of mothers are giving birth out in the open, without care or medical assistance; babies are born dead or die soon after; according to Gazan authorities, Israeli actions have killed around 11,000 children. The sisterhood says nothing. Why are these victims not part of our cause? Because they are Arab? Sickening isn’t it?
You might think none of this matters, that the West is still the best, but remember that your rights, your democracy, are also being burnt and slashed. Censorship and illegitimate state control has been used to curtail environmentalists, de-colonisers, anti-racists and unions for a good while. Gaza has revealed the extent and depth of the encroachments. And portends the end of the West as we have known it.
After Gaza, the West will never regain its moral superiority
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07.02.2024
A Syrian refugee and doctor I met in London last week told me, with immense sadness, that Western governments and systems, once widely admired in the East and South, had lost all credibility and trust. “It’s finished,” he said. “That respect is gone. They did not learn anything from the Iraq and Libya wars. Then they left Afghanistan for the Taliban, and didn’t care about the people. Now they do nothing to stop the genocide in Gaza. That is the worst. They talk good and do bad. I can’t believe in them any more.” Me neither.
I remember watching How the West Was Won in 1962 in my old hometown, Kampala, Uganda. It was an epic about generations of a white American family vanquishing and “civilising” America. We young ones whooped, cheered on the cowboys, booed the “Indians”. Hollywood’s US was brave, pioneering, vast and a temple of liberty, the “greatest nation on earth”, the first to free itself from the claws of Britannia. This was the year Uganda became independent.
The Cold War was playing out. Superpowers were hyperactively interfering in African politics, but the Americans were far more effective and seductive operators. The CIA........
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