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Valuing Ukrainian over Gazan lives is morally indefensible
Regardless of nationality, faith and creed, we must unite to uphold international laws and protect civilian lives in war, wherever it occurs in the world.
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Ground crew load humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza onto an Indonesian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on April 9, 2024 at King Abdullah II Air Base in Zarqa, Jordan. (Courtesy of the Indonesian Air Force/-)
On April 9, the eve of Idul Fitri, the Indonesian Air Force conducted an airdrop of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
In practical terms, this aid was just a drop in the ocean of horror and deprivation to which Gaza has been reduced lately. However, this gesture carried great symbolic value for the people of Indonesia and for me as their president-elect: It was a message of shared grief and pain, of solidarity and support, to our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
Over the past six months, we have watched in horror as Gaza and its people have been subjected to a harsh campaign of collective punishment in violation of international laws and norms. We had hoped and prayed that at least during the holy month of Ramadan the suffering of Gaza would stop, but it did not.
The holy month felt very different this time for Muslims all over the world. There was grief in our hearts because we knew what our brothers and sisters in Gaza were going through. They are in our minds, our hearts and our prayers every day.
Ever since Oct. 7, 2023, I have heard arguments that try to support the war in Gaza as a justified reaction to the attack by Hamas. What happened that day was horrific. I truly feel for all those Israelis who lost their loved ones. But I cannot even begin to see how the events of Oct. 7 can justify what has been happening in Gaza ever since.
How could I? How can anyone justify the killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, the overwhelming majority of whom are women and children? How can anyone justify the level of destruction and the famine and deprivation to which the innocent people of Gaza have been subjected, in a campaign that billions around the world believe has broken every international law and convention protecting civilians in times of conflict?
I say this as a Muslim. I am the proud president-elect of the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. The people of Gaza are our brothers and sisters in faith. However, I say this first and foremost as a human being: You do not have to be Muslim to feel the pain of Gaza, and you do not have to be a Muslim to feel outraged at what is happening there.
