CARIBBEAN JOURNALISTS AND THE MIDDLE EAST WAR; REPORT PLEASE!

IT BREAKS MY HEART, especially at this time to see the bodies of any child whether from Israel or Gaza, a soldier from Israel or a child from Israel is AS PRECIOUS as a child from Gaza.

So I am confused. Or am I? What I am more confused about is the apathetic approach by our journalists in the region to this story and second and third generation Arabs or Jews using the "excuse" that it doesn't matter cos they are Catholic or some other religion. The fact is, I am British and if I was in another country, 20th generation or not, I am not about to bury my head in the sand and pretend. Worse, the reporters will not ask anyone in our communities and Muslims and Jewish folk co-habit nicely...though I am told otherwise. Barbados has Mosques and the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Western Hemisphere and most Arabs do indeed attend the Catholic churches here and profess Judaism, though most are from the Syrian and Lebanese communities.

The United States has historically backed Israel and the EU, US and Israel have determined that Hamas is a terrorist group. HAMAS is Arabic, and is an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia" , has been elected by the people of Palestine, they are known for good social programmes - schools, medical facilities and so on and as we speak students have just stormed my embassy (The British Embassy) in Tehran. They left peacefully after storming the "joint".

It seems ridiculous to elect a group known to the world as a terrorist organization, that group controlling the entire Gaza area then to put yourself (since they control all of Gaza) in the position of being blown to smitherineens by the IDF. The IDF and HAMAS are mortal enemies and therefore the people upon electing HAMAS may have put themselves at the mercy of HAMAS at this time. I am still wary and confused about the apparent disproportionate attacks from the IDF including the ramming of a boat carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. A US Congresswoman discussed this on CNN. Over 375 dead in Gaza to 14 dead in Israel speaks of incredible fighting power or something else. Is Hamas the right group to run Gaza, if the world deems them a terrorist group?

What is going on?

I am asking a question. I am not from the Middle East nor have I academically studied Islamic/Jewish relations at Kings College, UK or anywhere else. My MA is in an altogether different area but I am a journalist and I seek first to understand BOTH sides of this argument, politically, socially, culturally and economically. I have friends who are Jewish and I have friends who are Palestinian (the ones I have now are all for peace but many Palestinians want the recognition of a state called Palestine) and when last I checked, they are blood relatives but this war goes way back to when I was a child! I remember stories my Dad's knee that he told me about Arafat ( a man he admired for demanding recognition of Palestine as a state and not for any terrorist activities or alleged ones), just as he did about the then Leaders of Israel and their sense of self-determination and culture and strong belief in Judaism and the persecution they have suffered.

So is it a matter of who is right or wrong, or is a matter that we need an imminent and permanent ceasefire! Is right or wrong even an issue?

When will it end?
How will it end?

Is HAMAS a terrorist group or a resistance group and is this a matter of semantics? I don't know, you tell me. Educate me on this, because a new President is taking the reigns at the White House and he is inheriting this war as well. As far as my discussions go with especially Palestinians, they are not too sure that anyone cares? The Israelis say Gaza started it; the Palestinians say the IDF started it?

What matters to me is that I do not want to see the body of a six year old child wrapped in a Palestinian or Israeli flag. That, quite frankly, is all that matters, that life is preserved and that common sense, diplomacy and a willingness to agree to disagree if need be, continue but a sustainable ceasefire is a must.

One last note: The internet is primarily run by the West, expect most of your research to show the Western viewpoint. This is an empirical fact straight out of my MA studies in Mass Comm, hence my request for education from sources other than the US, UK but from journalists and bloggers and others representing the voices of both the Israelis and Palestinians. I am fed up with war - war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Genocide in Darfur, riots in Athens,bombings in London, Mumbai, Madrid, Bali...the list is endless.

Tell us what is really happening! As my friend former diplomat Dennis Jones said, "one man's freedom fighter, is another's terrorist". This war is ages old. It may never end!