Earlier this year, there was a lot of attention for the bloody crackdown on protests in Iran – and rightly so. Many thousands of peaceful protesters were brutally murdered and even more were imprisoned. The violence and tyranny behind it were widely condemned in the EU, including in the Netherlands, often citing the Iranian-American human rights organization HRANA, which reported over 6,500 deaths last month.
Currently many Iranian civilians are being killed by bombs dropped by the U.S. and Israel in densely populated areas. The same HRANA now reports 1,245 civilian deaths, including nearly 200 children. Hundreds more casualties are still being verified. Beyond that, there are countless other victims -over 12,000 injured and more than 100,000 displaced.
Meanwhile, Israel has also killed hundreds in Lebanon, and Palestinians continue to be killed on a daily basis. Innocent lives are also lost in Iranian retaliatory strikes across the region. All of these are lives shattered by war.
The extensive and justified outrage over civilian casualties during the crackdown on protests in Iran earlier this year stands in stark contrast to the near silence surrounding innocent victims now. Political concern and condemnation remain largely absent.
Collateral Damage
This disparity recalls academic discussions of “worthy” and “unworthy” victims. When it is politically convenient, victims receive ample attention. When it is not – such as when two states allied with the Netherlands, rather than the Iranian government, are responsible – civilian casualties become a footnote. Collateral damage.
This is deeply problematic because it keeps the horrific reality out of sight – the mangled bodies, smoldering ruins, toxic air, fear, and despair. It remains abstract and sanitized. Yet this reality should motivate us to end every war as quickly as possible. Those who see this suffering understand that war is never the solution.
It is important to condemn the violence of the Iranian regime. It is equally important to condemn U.S.-Israeli violence, which also kills innocent people on a large scale. Consider the more than 165 girls killed on the first day of the war by a U.S. airstrike in the southern city of Minab. They, too, deserve our attention.
That is why it is crucial for the Dutch government to express its horror, push for an immediate ceasefire, and condemn the U.S.-Israeli war, which violates the UN Charter. It is deeply painful that the new cabinet has still not done so.
This article by Rolien Sasse originally appeared in Dutch in de Volkskrant.
