Aylan Kurdi: The Deliberate Cultivation of Human Misery

                                                   Aylan Kurdi - the picture of Health

A couple of days ago a Syrian child was washed ashore in Turkey; one of a family of three, including his mother and brother who perished at sea while trying to make it to Greece. They were part of a desperate batch of refugees trying to flee internecine wars in their homeland of Syria. Unnecessary wars caused by the manipulation of weaker nations by the powerful. The same problem of refugee deaths assails the citizens of Libya, Mali, Somalia and the economic migrants of sub Saharan Africa. 

The nations of Syria and Libya were to large extent stable political and economic entities before the perennial meddling of the big powers in their internal affairs. The pattern of intervention is standard: weaken the military or defensive capabilities, ostracize the leadership and sponsor rabble-rousers with mercenary support to topple the government.  The only reason Syria has taken so long to succumb completely is probably due to Russian and Chinese help - something the west generally dislikes. As soon as weapons of mass destruction [chemical and biological] stockpiled by both Libya and Syria were effectively neutralized, the 'free world' moved in to eliminate the leadership of these countries through subterfuge. 

Three dominant 'forces of nature' cannot be ignored by nations in today's world, namely; oil, the dollar and the military industrial complex. The 'free world', whose members are the most influential of the G8 [G4 is probably more appropriate] use the weapons of economic power and military might to dictate the world narrative on war or peace. These nations hold all the aces, when it comes to sociopolitical thought, media control, education, scientific advancement, monetary policies and an avowed sense of supremacy that is almost mystical. Part of the real reasons Assad and Qaddafi became pariahs include attempting or threatening to use other currencies to shore up their economies in defiance of the mighty dollar and the US. In addition, Libya sits on top of a vast amount of liquid gold - oil. But his management of the oil industry was becoming too Hugo Chavez-like. Apart from the politics of oil and the dollar, war is probably the biggest business on the planet. Banks are the nexus while warmongering politicians and contractors are their footmen. The cost of vehicles, tanks, aircraft, arms, ammunition, rations, uniforms, etc, in a regular fighting force is enormous and lucrative for those handling the financial transactions that make it possible.  Those who lived in parts of Libya and Syria before the current sorry state, tell stories of modernity, stability and enviable welfare packages for the citizens. And yet, the 'free world' has managed to convince the other worlds that the leaders of these two nations were tyrants who needed to be destroyed. For all the propaganda against Middle Eastern dictators, the 'free world' keeps in power and habitually nurtures those it considers 'good dictators'. Through time-tested propaganda and veiled threats, the 'most advanced' nations on the planet went willy-nilly into Libya and Syria, directly or through surrogates, to create hellish conditions that has resulted in the destruction of the Kurdi family and countless others. 

One wonders why 'advanced countries' or 'world powers' in history are usually at the vanguard, when the world slides into infamy. The imbecility of the German nation which ironically harboured some of the best minds that dominated the arts, philosophy and scientific thoughts of the day, led to the deaths of more than fifty million human beings during the second world war. Today, inhuman policies, conspiratorial political alignments and the Saudi Wahhabi alignment with the 'free world' are causing unnecessary upheavals in the Middle East and other parts of the world. It does not make sense to create Islands of peace in a sea of misery. The ecstasy experienced by people with such distorted worldview is a temporary mania that history tells us afflicts only deluded human minds.

Though it is commendable to conquer space, build sophisticated cars, rails, airplanes and make fantastic scientific discoveries about the human body, it is probably more urgent and constructive to prevent the tragedy that befell Aylan Kurdi, his mother and brother. If humanity does not move away from the precipice of injustice and inequity, the plunge into the abyss will destroy both the 'free world' and the other worlds - the refugee crisis currently bedeviling Europe is just the beginning, because the poor and disenfranchised will not always be patient.

Part of the speech of Emperor Haile Selassie at the United Nations, in New York City, on October 4, 1963, is still relevant today; "...until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained…"

Aylan: dead and swept to shore