Dehumanising conflicts

In a world rife with conflict, it's easy to forget that behind every territorial dispute, every geopolitical standoff, there are real people - men, women and children - whose lives are shattered by the violence. The tragedies of Kashmir, Ukraine and Palestine are not just about lines on a map or the strategic interests of powerful nations, they are about human beings who have been reduced to mere statistics in a global game of power.

Take Kashmir, for instance. This is where nationalism sets in making it easy for people to be blinded by the call for sovereignty. But what about the Kashmiri families who continue to live in constant fear of being shot at any time from curfews, check points? The world is used to hearing the Kashmir issue as a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, but where is the concern for the number of lives taken, the number of homes burnt, the number of futures snuffed out?

Or consider Ukraine. The media focuses on the NATO enlargement, Russia's actions, and the military equilibrium in the continent. But hidden behind this epic is the story of Ukrainian families being separated because of the war, children living in the ruins of their homes, and a whole country that has lost and is displaced. The war in Ukraine has turned into a symbol of the struggle between the two different worlds, but what is the price of that? When did the fate of the ordinary Ukrainians cease to be of any importance to the geopolitical interests of the major global powers?

There is Palestine where the conflict has been ongoing for several decades and the suffering of the people appears to be part of the norm. We read about the latest developments such as ceasefires, peace talks and territorial disputes but rarely do we get to read about the day to day life of people under occupation. The lives of people are lost, and the price is too high, but the leaders prefer to play the political game. Are we that numb that the cries of millions of people are just the noise in the background of the world where everyone is obsessed with dominance?

This dehumanisation is not a phenomenon that is restricted to the other nations but is evident even in our country. In Pakistan, politics is a very sensitive subject and the internal fighting between the political parties and power struggles tend to mask the actual effects on the people. The political crisis has contributed to the stagnation of the economy, increase in the rates of inflation and the decline in the quality of public services. Still, the emphasis is made on who is in control rather than on the suffering of the common people. The voices of the people especially those of the marginalised are lost in the political noise.

In the case of Balochistan for example, the dominant discourse is security and sovereignty, with little concern for the lives of the people. The Baloch people suffer from violence, displacement and economic marginalisation and are perceived and treated as a mere security threat rather than as human beings with rights and worth. The humanity of the people is erased by the state's narrative of counterinsurgency and a human crisis becomes a question of space management.

Thus, the question that arises is: where do we proceed from here? How do we regain the lost humanity in these conflicts? The answer is simple: one has to change his/her perception. It is time that these conflicts are no longer seen as simple issues of territories and struggle for power but as human problems. It is important to remember that these conflicts not only involve statistics and ideas, but people, and they do suffer.

This is why it is high time that we called for a change in the way we resolve conflicts: a change that puts the humanity of the people involved above the sovereignty of the states. Thus, it is only possible to interrupt the cycle of violence and create a new culture of justice and compassion. And that is where the struggle is not only for the ownership of the land but for what kind of human beings we want to be.