Canadian politicians silent on the Malalas of Palestine
Government wouldn’t even grant entry visas for wounded children of Gaza
Not all Muslim victims of violence are created equal.
That, undeniably, is the unstated view of most Canadian politicians and corporate media.
They won’t admit it, of course. But it’s true and this never acknowledged axiom was on display — for anyone willing to see — last week in Ottawa when Malala Yousafzai was belatedly granted honorary Canadian citizenship.
Malala is a remarkable young woman. Since an assassin’s bullet failed to silence her, she has become an eloquent symbol of the tangible power of peaceful resistance to ignorance, brutality and hate.
The 19-year-old Pakistani knows that she isn’t the first Muslim schoolgirl to be maimed, nor will she be the last to be hurt or killed by a bullet or bomb fired by the Taliban or by the West’s “good guys.”
So why has Malala been vaulted from obscurity and embraced by Western politicians and mainstream media, while the countless other dead and damaged Muslim schoolgirls in countless other places remain anonymous?
The answer to that instructive question, I believe, speaks to the appalling double standard and hypocrisy that is scarcely conceded or honestly confronted by the politicians and journalists who applaud themselves for applauding one Muslim schoolgirl.
No comments:
Post a Comment