We know that ‘remembrance’ is very much an activity which disregards the grief of anyone other than people in the West, writes Afroze Fatima Zaidi [photo credit: Getty Images]
For people of conscience today, few things are more exhausting than the hypocrisy of Western imperial powers. As Remembrance Day came around on 11/11, we already knew that all the associated rhetoric would ring hollow. At the same time, the US and UK continued to arm Israel and share responsibility for its genocide.
This hypocrisy was reinforced when these two countries launched a military attack on Yemen on the very day that Britain and America mourned and honoured their war dead.
The reason for this attack? The Houthi’s ongoing support for the occupied Palestinians in their resistance against Israel’s genocide.
According to Al Jazeera, the US and UK “have repeatedly carried out strikes on Yemen since January to stop the Houthi rebels from attacking Israeli-linked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea. In July, strikes in Hodeidah province killed at least 16 people.”
Clearly, supplying weapons alone is not enough. Failing to intervene over Israel’s blockade on aid, its campaign of forced starvation, and its ethnic cleansing in the North of Gaza is not enough. These two die-hard allies of Israel must further prove their allegiance by bombing one of the poorest nations in the world.
Yemen is a country that has already been devastated by the Saudi coalition-backed civil war for over a decade and has been teetering on the brink of famine. It has been described as the poorest country in the Middle East and one of the poorest in the world. For global superpowers to flex their military muscle upon Yemen in support of Israel’s genocide is beyond unconscionable.
But similar to repeated instances of military aggression from the US and UK in the past, this particular attack taking place on Remembrance Day was shocking but not surprising. It reinforces several truths that have now become undeniable.
Firstly, there is no length Israel can go to, no depravity or violation of human rights and international law it can commit, that will cause the UK and US to withdraw their support.
Rather, they are so brazen in their supremacy that they think it acceptable to kill people in a foreign country on a day when their own respective countries remember the harm caused by war.
This should serve as evidence that any discussions around negotiations for a ceasefire, diplomatic solutions or peacemaking are utterly meaningless. The US and UK, along with Israel’s other allies, have made clear that their claims around peacemaking efforts cannot be believed because their support for Israel is demonstrably unconditional.
How the West whitewashed Remembrance Day
The second truth reinforced by this attack is that white, western lives are given greater value than those of Arabs, Muslims, or people from the Global South in general.
In Western Europe as well as Canada and Australia, the symbol of the red poppy denotes grief and empathy specifically for European (white) military personnel.
Related to this, we know that ‘remembrance’ is very much an activity which disregards the grief of anyone other than people in the West.
A recent example of this is when a high school in Ottawa, Canada caused outrage after playing an Arabic song about peace for its 2024 Remembrance Day commemoration.
Canadian media immediately sensationalised the move, objecting to the playing of a ‘Palestinian protest song’, and the principal has since issued an apology. The contempt for the Arabic language and for any association with innocent Palestinians serves to demonstrate as clearly as ever the limits of what Remembrance Day is and is not. In light of this, apathy or disregard for civilian casualties in Palestine, Lebanon, or Yemen is not at all surprising.
Finally, and this one won’t sit well with the liberals — it’s important to note that this attack took place while Biden was still in power.
Following the US presidential election, we have had a week of ominous threats where pro-Palestinians who didn’t vote for Kamala Harris would now get to see ‘how bad it’s going to get’.
But what the people making these threats don’t realise is what pro-Palestine voters have known all along the war machine that is the United States of America will carry on its imperialist mission regardless of whether it’s the Democrats or the Republicans who are in power.
Over the past few weeks — and with the blessing of the Biden/Harris administration — Israel has ethnically cleansed the North of Gaza. Its blockade on even the most basic aid has created a famine so dire that eight international NGOs have said Israel is failing its legal obligation to provide humanitarian relief, not just under international law but also according to US law.
In response to this failure, the US could, at any point, decide to end its supply of military aid to Israel. Instead, it chose to bomb one of the few forces trying to put a stop to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The message is clear: they bring out the poppies to mourn their casualties of war, but their commitment to war will forever remain entwined with their white supremacist, colonial agenda.
Afroze Fatima Zaidi is a writer, editor and journalist. She has a background in academia and writing for online platforms.
Follow her on X: @afrozefz
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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.
