Worthy lives

First, it was Ariel Sharon’s dramatic announcement to pull out of Gaza, then Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat’s illness, making it necessary for him to leave his virtual imprisonment. It is a strange confluence of events that seems outside the power of man – American, Israeli or Palestinian – to direct and dictate.

There was a time when leaving Gaza would have been unthinkable for hardliner Sharon. That is why it came as a shock when he made the announcement. But as others warned this may be the step backward that he is making in the final assault to secure Israel’s territory. Whatever his motive is, the uncanny timing raises questions.

Did he know that Yasser Arafat was sick and wanted to steal the thunder from the announcement or at least blunt any avalanche of sympathy for the Palestinian leader? If he did not know, this was a shrewd move, and the act is not altered as a concession to the other side. Equally symbolic to Palestinian watchers is the shoveling of cars and other debris to make way for the ailing Arafat who was flown to Jordan and then to Paris for medical treatment. It is said the burned cars and debris served as a protective blockage in case Israelis forced their way into Arafat’s headquarters. Its removal can also be considered symbolic, like the breaking of a wall. If perhaps, imperceptibly some progress is being made towards peace in the wartorn region but it is not the handiwork of man. "We win the wars we did not fight and the peace that was never signed ushers in a golden age," said an earlier historian of Israeli-Arab relations.

Henry Kissinger in his book, Does America Need a Foreign Policy? also wrote on this seeming impossibility of compromise or of signed agreements to bring peace, He cites former President Clinton’s disastrous attempt to end the war during his term. The conflict, by its very nature is not resolvable either by setting borders or expectations of a sudden conversion to peace after a signed agreement, Kissinger said. It will not happen that way, the acknowledged American foreign policy guru adds. The heart of the conflict is Israel’s wish for a homeland based on a Biblical claim and at the same time to bring an end to Jewish persecution in their countries of exile. Arabs and especially Palestinians are not prepared to accept this at the sacrifice of their own cultural, religious and territorial patrimony.

He thinks the conflict will end when both sides are exhausted physically and psychologically. That may be at hand. Sharon’s departure from Gaza and Arafat’s illness augur a possible acceptance of coexistence. But how that coexistence will be defined or how long it will take to effect is difficult to predict. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s suggestion of a single nation becomes relevant but like other agreements it cannot be enforced. It can only grow from a realization by both Israelis and Palestinians themselves that they will just have to learn to live with each other. That was how apartheid in South Africa came to end.

* * *

I was honored to have been one of those invited by the Saudi ambassador to join other non-Muslims to a get-together at the embassy to mark the start of Ramadan something like the Christian’s Lent. Oftentimes, much of the misunderstanding between peoples, whether it is about religion or politics can be avoided by contact, by knowing each other and recognizing share values. More and more Filipinos today are becoming aware of Islam not only because thousands of Filipinos now live and work in the Middle East. Occasions like the gathering at the Saudi Embassy are a reminder that we can be friends even if we come from different religions.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic year. Muslims regard it as the holy month of the fast (saum) and is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Koran enjoins all adult Muslims to fast during Ramadan as it were to’cleanse the soul’ and remind them to "cultivate piety". It also commemorates the month during which Muhammad received the first of the Koran’s revelations.

Originally I thought that Muslims were incommunicado during the Ramadan so I tried not to call them during this holy period of fasting. My friend, Gamal N Ahmed of WICS (World Islamic Call Society) laughed when I asked him if they worked during the fasting period mindful that fasting can weaken a person. Of course, he said. During Ramadan, they fast each day. It begins at dawn and ends at sunset. During the fast Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink or smoke. At the end of the fast and before they retire each night, they pray together as a community reciting long passages from the Koran. According to the Muslims, the night between the 26th and 27th days of Ramadan, on which the first revelation occurred, is called the Night of Determination, The Koran teaches that this is the night God determines the course of the world for the following year. The day after the end of Ramadan is called the Fast-Breaking and is celebrated with special prayers and festivities not unlike the Christian feasts of Easter and Christmas as well.

* * *

Like most Filipinos, my family and I will join the trek to the cemeteries where our loved ones are buried. We do this year after year and it is a commendable ritual that sharpens our solidarity with the generations before us. But the remembrance of loved ones who have died before us should be more than just visiting cemeteries or remembering the dead. It is also about the living to ask: "What is life for?" The celebrations tomorrow would be more meaningful if we were to use the occasion to remind us to dwell on the meaning of death and the space the question should fill in our lives. I am not referring to mechanical religion or the acceptance of answers passed on without questioning. The consciousness of our mortality should be a humbling antidote to our daily excesses. In a very profound way, it should make us think whether we are living worthy lives.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]