Hearts and minds

We live in an age where learning about destruction caused by wars doesn't necessarily take us into digging war logs or archives. News papers here in Pakistan mostly have a dedicated column for Iraq, Afghanistan and more recently; Waziristan. Terrorists, coalition forces and more occasionally civilian deaths make most of the headlines. Roadside explosives, bridges, hospitals, schools and marketplace related destruction and violence by small armed groups along with search and combat operations by regular armies are all that fills every read.

Collateral damage and rare targeted assassination of enemey combatants; makes world leader break their silence, every now and then. But the cold blooded routine goes on.

I have had a rare glimpse of life in war, as a ten year old. Enemey air planes would sometimes find their way inside the country. Sirens would go on, immediatley lights would be shut off and gas masks would be put on.

But these recent wars are different. In post aeriel bombardment scenario, the dust has never settled. Nobody seems to either win or lose. Enemey doesn’t have a regular army marching on drum beats, infact this street combat is often refered as guerilla warfare. Tactics are often miscreant’s brainchild or sometimes it is an over whelming use of force resulting from an army running short on patience because of an ever illusive target living among civilians.

The scale of destruction often refered as oil supply disrupted, schools blown out, bridges exploded etc. might be worth reporting from a journalist’s point of view.

But the children, girls, women, boys, men, and old ones living those streets are my concern here in this writing. The people living in wars. Not just flesh and bones, but their existence of non tangible dreams & aspirations, emotions, fears, which no MAN on earth can ever get an estimate of. That plain is the real battle ground. The slogan of winning hearts and minds has been translated into an abusive tragedy of humanity for many witnesses and survivors of war.

It’s been 20 years since the first gulf war, but I can still remember her tone as my mom comforted me in one of those nights. Siren had gone on and we slipped into darkness as she spoke “don’t you worry dear, me and dad will always be around. Otherwise, be strong and take care of the other children”.

Every time I read of a drone attack somewhere in Pakistan, her words always renew its meanings.

After almost a decade since these pointless wars were first raged, the world has not only failed to eliminate the threat, but generally mankind has lost the virtue of his most iconic strengths; that is to talk, debate, negotiate, resolve and reach agreements.

A famous economist/writer said the following lines

“The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem; it is generally employed only by small children and large nations”.