An new term surfaced a few months after the start of the military campaign against Gaza. Labeled WCNSF, it stands for “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This term is unique to Gaza, per insights from doctors like child health specialists. Normally, it is uncommon for physicians to treat a child who has lost their complete family. However, there has been nothing “normal” concerning the widespread destruction in Gaza, where complete genealogies have been wiped out and the number of children who have lost limbs exceeds that of anywhere else in the world. No sense of normalcy in many doctors coming back from a sea of ruins with testimonies of children being systematically aimed at.
Gaza remains a profound humanitarian disaster. Vital medicines and equipment are being blocked those in need, and international watchdogs contend that genocidal acts are ongoing. Authorities disputes these allegations, consistent with how it disavows everything it is accused of. But while grieving children who lost parents are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is a little heartwarming news: nothing is going to stop the international singing competition from advancing its stated mission of “unity and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to roll out a prestigious stage for Israel, even though a number of European countries have now pulled out in protest. And this, apparently, is what international harmony manifests as.
Eurovision, of course banned Russia from participating in 2022 over the “serious conflict in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza appears to be completely different.
Overlook the circumstance that Israel was criticized for questionable voting tactics last year in what seems to have been an bid to politicise Eurovision. Set aside the news that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza recently. Forget the fact that aggression from Israeli settlers and coerced removal in the West Bank have escalated. Forget the fact that global media are still prevented from independent reporting in Gaza. All of this, it would seem, should be seen as a barrier of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The contest marks seven decades next year – roughly two times the current lifespan of an individual in Gaza now. The show may go on, but it will likely never recapture the camp joy it once represented. An institution that was originally built on togetherness has now become a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
