Snuffing out lives even before they start living.

As long as something is not directly affecting us, it just remains a news article for us.
Like the Israeli assault on the Gaza strip that has been going on for a week or more now.
With the tacit support of a country (the US of A for the ignorant) that claims to be the
upholder of democracy and all such good things in the world.

I am not saying even for a moment that the Hamas and other Palestinian groups are not
to blame for the developments. Both Israel and these groups have a role in this conflict
that has been going on for years, claiming innumerable lives on both sides. Ofcourse, with
Israel being powerful and also having the support of the US, casualties on their side are
much lesser.

Yesterday's newspaper (The Hindu) had this photograph in their 'International' section.

Photo courtesy : The Hindu dated 6-Jan-2009.

Three cute kids, who could as well have been photographed sleeping, if not for the telltale
evidence provided by the bandages and other hospital stuff in the picture. Three civilian
lives (minors at that) snuffed out for no fault of theirs. Heck they would not even know
anything about the conflict and why they had been targetted.

We have the United Nations which is supposed to intervene in such situations, but then all
it takes to stop them in their tracks is a veto by any of the 5 big boys in the Security Council.
And when it is Israel in the picture, we know that the US will use its veto to stop any action
against their ally. It don't matter whether Israel is pounding the whole place with shells,
killing more civilians than the Hamas terrorists that they are actually targetting.

When will this ever end ?