TERRORISM AND NONVIOLENCE

BY Arun Gandhi

Understandably, after the tragedy in New York and Washington DC
on September 11 many have written or called the office to find out what
would be an appropriate nonviolent response to such an unbelievably inhuman
act of violence.

First, we must understand that nonviolence is not a strategy that
we can use in a moment of crisis and discarded in times of peace.
Nonviolence is about personal attitudes, about becoming the change we wish
to see in the world. Because, a nationÕs collective attitude is based on
the attitude of the individual. Nonviolence is about building positive
relationships with all human beings Ð relationships that are based on love,
compassion, respect, understanding and appreciation.

Nonviolence is also about not judging people as we perceive them
to be Ð that is, a murderer is not born a murderer; a terrorist is not born
a terrorist. People become murderers, robbers and terrorists because of
circumstances and experiences in life. Killing or confining murders,
robbers, terrorists, or the like is not going to rid this world of them.
For every one we kill or confine we create another hundred to take their
place. What we need to do is to analyze dispassionately what are those
circumstances that create such monsters and how can we help eliminate those
circumstances, not the monsters. Justice should mean reformation and not
revenge.

We saw some people in Iraq and Palestine and I dare say many
other countries rejoice the blowing up of the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon. It horrified us, as it should. But, let us not forget that we do
the same thing. When Israel bombs the Palestinians we either rejoice or show
no compassion. Our attitude is they deserve what they get. When the
Palestinians bomb the Israelis we are indignant and condemn them as vermin
who need to be eliminated.

We reacted without compassion when we bombed the cities of Iraq.
I was among the millions in the United States who sat glued to the
television and watched the drama as though it was a made for television
film. The television had desensitized us. Thousands of innocent men, women
and children were being blown to bits and instead of feeling sorry for them
we marveled at the efficiency of our military. For more than ten years we
have continued to wreak havoc in Iraq Ð an estimated 50,000 children die
every year because of sanctions that we have imposed Ð and it hasnÕt moved
us to compassion. All this is done, we are told, because we want to get rid
of the Satan called Sadam Hussein.

Now we are getting ready to do this all over again to get rid of
another Satan called Osama Bin Laden. We will bomb the cities of
Afghanistan because they harbor the Satan and in the process we will help
create a thousand other bin Ladens.

Some might say Òwe donÕt care what the world thinks of us as long as they
respect our strength. Ò After all we have the means to blow this world to
pieces since we are the only surviving super-power. Do we want the world to
respect us the way school children respect a bully? Is that our role in the
world?

If a bully is what we want to be then we must be prepared to face
the same consequences as a school-yard bully faces. On the other hand we
cannot tell the world Òleave us alone.Ó Isolationism is not what this world
is built for.

All of this brings us back to the question: How do we respond
nonviolently to terrorism?

The consequences of a military response are not very rosy. Many
thousands of innocent people will die both here and the country or countries
we attack. Militancy will increase exponentially and, ultimately, we will
be faced with another, more pertinent, moral question: what will we gain by
destroying half the world? Will we be able to live with a clear conscience?

We must acknowledge our role in helping create monsters in the
world and then find ways to contain these monsters without hurting more
innocent people and then redefine our role in the world. I think we must
move from seeking to be respected for our military strength to being
respected for our moral strength.

We need to appreciate that we are in a position to play a
powerful role in helping the Òother halfÓ of the world attain a better
standard of life not by throwing a few crumbs but by significantly involving
ourselves in constructive economic programs.

For too long our foreign policy has been based on Òwhat is good
for the United States.Ó It smacks of selfishness. Our foreign policy
should now be based on what is good for the world and how can we do the
right thing to help the world become more peaceful.

To those who have lost loved oneÕs in this and other terrorist
acts I say I share your grief. I am sorry that you have become victims of
senseless violence. But let this sad episode not make you vengeful because
no amount of violence and killing is going to bring you inner peace. Anger
and hate never do. The memory of those victims who have died in this and
other violent incidents around the world will be better preserved and
meaningfully commemorated if we all learn to forgive and dedicate our lives
to helping create a peaceful, respectful and an understanding world.

Arun Gandhi