U.S. Elections

Then, on the 1st of November, I sent the below message to the same groups. You wouldn't believe the replies I got! From love letters to hate mail. See for yourself...

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Madrid, 1st of November 2004

Dear friends,

Just like I am eager to share with you the imminent arrival of our second daughter in only a matter of days, I am equally concerned (and spending a lot of time thinking about) the fate of others, especially those who were born into less fortunate circumstances.

I have been bothered by the amount of negative energy we are bombarded with these days. There's so much sadness and violence on the news. And so much distrust on the streets. More than I remember to happen at any other time. Yet I think much could change this week, as we look to America to cast their vote for what invariably will greatly affect us all, all over the world.

There's something every week. This week I have been surprised (a better word might be aghast) by the first study into Iraqi civilian casualties since the start of the war in that country. There hadn't been any reliable statistics in this field (surprisingly, nor the occupying army nor the Iraqi interim government collects this data), but now an independent study has finally published its results. Earlier estimates had been anything up to 20,000, but this new study, the only one to date (they went door to door checking death certificates in a large sample of neighborhoods all across the country), has now established a minimum figure of 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed, although it was said this number is probably closer to 200,000. Many of them were children and even babies.

This is simply tremendous. Let's think about this for a while. We can leave aside the facts that Iraq was not involved in 9/11 and that there were no weapons of mass destruction. That leaves the only argument still probably valid, and the only one still used by the Bush administration, that the world is better off without Sadam Hussein. True, but incomplete.

This is a utopian hypothesis, useful for political purposes but separated from reality. While it is true that Saddam Hussein belongs behind bars, the world at large is by far worse off since the war in Iraq. To start, I can tell you that MY world is worse off. And mine seems irrelevant compared to those 100 to 200 thousand civilian casualties, and their families.

Even in the event that the world would have been better off (which it is clearly not, unless you only watch Fox News), we need to seriously ask ourselves: what is a 'fair' price we are asking the Iraqi citizens to pay for OUR security? Besides of course the more urgent question whether these deaths have really translated into a more secure world, or not.

As far as the first question is concerned, I have been very impressed this year with the effect the Madrid bomb attacks of 11-M have had on our collective state of mind. In all of Spain, the aftermath of this cowardly event is still very much alive every single day. The final death toll was 192, and more than 3000 wounded, some very seriously. I have a good friend who lost his sister in the attacks. She was just entering one of the trains when a bomb exploded pretty much in her face. Not knowing this at the time and not having heard from her, my friend spent the entire day looking forher, checking lists in hospital emergency rooms all over the city until, 14 hours later, he finally found her at the morgue installed in the Madrid congress center. I see him regularly and, despite having become a father recently (an event we thought might change his outlook on life for the better), he remains in deep grief, full of hatred and very angry. I don't blame him. Today, more than seven months later, he is clinically depressed, on Prozac, and just about managing to deal with his day-to-day reality.

This made me think a lot of the effect any single innocent death has on just about any family or group of friends. My friend, his parents, his sister's husband, other relatives and friends... their world collapsed to change forever. And that's only one person dead. This in turn made me wonder about the amount of grief and hatred which must exist in Iraq. Even if we take the low figure of 100,000 civilian deaths, then we are probably talking about two to four million family members and close friends directly affected. Not to mention the wounded, which might be five or tenfold. Which logically explains the tremendous amount of anger and opposition (whether violent or not) to the occupying forces.

With this argument, I am leaving the answer of the first question (what price do we expect to pay the Iraqi population for our security?) up to you. This is a moral matter, which each person will have to decide for her- or himself.

Secondly, all of this trouble, the 1000+ American casualties, the 180 billion dollar price tag... and is the world really a safer place? Or are they just telling us that it is? Well, just think of the things we have now which we didn't have one year ago: we have live decapitations on the internet (one a week on average), we had the world's first Europe-based terrorist attack by Muslim extremists (this is significant because of Europe's traditional position in the Middle-East crisis), we now have a continuous threat of credible terrorist attacks (leaving aside 9/11, which is unrelated to Iraq and attempted to deal with in the Afghan war, there were never this many credible threats until we started the Iraq war), we have tremendous economical pressure, job losses and sky high oil prices, and, most importantly and sadly, we have created an environment in which xenophobia and racial hatred against Muslims has multiplied tremendously.

And the benefits, where are they? Anyone who thinks they are safer now than, say, three years ago, is fooling themselves. War doesn't create safety, it never has. War creates hatred. And hatred creates the need for revenge. And revenge, by its very nature, is unsafe... The answer to the second question (do we have a more secure world?), in my eyes, seems clear.

Now, above all, and like everyone, I want peace and security. But I want this for everyone, not just my family, my town or my country. I believe that we all deserve this in equal terms all over the world. And besides, I know Iwill be safer if everyone is safer. The more hatred we create against us (this is how this all started in the first place: why did 9/11 happen?), and the more poverty we allow to exist, the more unsafe the world will be.

But how do we get security? To me, the relationships in the world are like relationships in any situation (say at work, or in your church). Safety and security are a matter of trust, and trust is a matter of respect and dialogue. As long as we go around like modern-day cowboys terrorizing people ("here's the West, fixing the things which are wrong in your country"), we will halt any opportunity to create security. It's so simple that a child can understand it. Which makes me wonder why the Bush administration can't.

Friends, I believe that we are on the wrong track. We are responsible for having created an environment of hate and mistrust, by destroying entire countries rather than just the perpetrators. As such, we in the West, through our violent actions, are directly responsible for the hatred we are so surprised to be confronted with.

For those who are allowed to vote in this matter on Tuesday: if you are truly concerned about your safety, and that of your family, not to mentionof our fellow world citizens in many other parts of the world, then I urge you please to not vote for those who think a valid foreign policy is focused around armed conflict. Please, in name of many on the other side of theAtlantic (recent poll: some 85%), who are also directly affected by your vote, please do not vote for George Bush. Four more years in office will undoubtedly destroy what little is left of a possibility to mend the gaping wound in the world left by his administration's actions. If you are confused, or maybe you don't want to vote Kerry, fine, simply don't vote. But please, voting for George W. Bush is voting for the ongoing destruction of the civilized world. Please don't let that happen. America will not be the nice and safe place I came to enjoy so much in the late 80s and early 90s until there is a serious change in foreign policy. Nor will the world while Western allies go around killing people. The sooner a change of U.S. president, the sooner there will be a safer solution.

Sometime during this coming week our second daughter will be born. Somewhat of a coincidence is that she will carry the name of the sister of my friend, the one who was a victim of Madrid's 11-M bombings. I don't want her to grow up in an environment where we teach our children that violence is the solution to conflict. If you are voting on Tuesday, you can help me achieve that.Violence is the easy solution, but not the moral one.

I am (very) open to discussion.

For a better world, as always.