This is the face of genocide. The parallels between the genocide being committed against the Indigenous people of Colombia and the people of Gaza are stark and harrowing. In Colombia, the government and armed entities have employed tactics ranging from low-intensity conflict, such as paramilitary groups, to armed forced displacement, to create an environment of fear and suppression for Indigenous peoples. All of this is done with the aim of driving the population away from their ancestral lands and to consolidate power in the hands of the Colombian state.
The same tactics are being used in Gaza, where the Israeli government has employed a relentless onslaught of violence, economic deprivation, and military aggression in the form of air strikes and ground operations. The situation in Gaza is so dire that the United Nations has reported that, without urgent and immediate intervention, the territory could soon reach a point of 'no return'. The Israeli government continues to carry out oppressive measures in order to meet its agenda of occupying and controlling the Palestinian people.
Given this context, it is no surprise that the people of Colombia and the people of Gaza have both been subjected to indiscriminate violence and brutal oppression. The government of Israel has accused the Palestinian people of terrorism and even targeted children in its military campaigns, while in Colombia Indigenous people's rights to their land was denied in the name of "development" and "security". In both cases, the people have been denied their basic human rights and subjected to inhuman conditions simply because of who they are.
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The atrocities being committed against Indigenous peoples in Colombia and the people of Gaza are a tragedy of our time, one that cannot continue to be ignored. In order to bring an end to these injustices, it is essential to recognize the systemic and structural violence used to sustain them, and to speak out against them.
