Dear President Obama

Salam Ramadhan.

Baru-baru ni Alumni MISG telah mengeluarkan satu kenyataan berkaitan tragedi di Gaza, ditujukan kepada President Obama.

Berikut adalah kenyataan rasmi tersebut buat tatapan semua.


July 20, 2014

Dear President Obama,

I am writing on behalf of the Alumni of the Malaysian Islamic Study Group of US and Canada. We are a grouping of graduates of US and Canadian universities who were members of the Malaysian Islamic Study Group of US and Canada.

When you were elected the President of the United States of America, we shared the joy of Americans in seeing its first black president. Not only did you break the race barrier, your message of change inspired all of us.

We had high expectations that your presidency will bring a new era in global politics. In particular, we had hoped that your presidency will be able to achieve what had eluded your predecessors i.e. peace in the Middle-East. Unfortunately, as you reach the middle of your second term as president, this goal continues to elude you.

The past few weeks has seen violence of disproportionate scale being unleashed by the Israelis on Palestinians in Gaza. If the Russians decide to invade and retake Alaska or the Mexicans decide to invade and retake Texas, I am sure Americans in these states will not simply cower and submit to the invaders. They will take up arms and fight against the occupiers. I am sure they will be called freedom fighters and not terrorists. This is the same thing that has been happening in Palestine. 

People who were born free have been incarcerated in a massive prison with little to hope for. When people have no hope, they have little to lose by resorting to violence. The disproportionate Israeli response is not going to bring lasting peace to the Occupied Territories. The bitterness among Palestinians will persist and future generations will continue to choose violence simply because they have no other viable option. When life is filled with despair, death becomes an attractive choice.

At the time I write this letter, more than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza. Almost a third were children. How many more have to die for the conscience of the President of the United States of America to be moved into doing something? It is pointless to look back a few years after your presidency and feel that perhaps you should have done more. The dead will remain dead in spite of your regret. 

Mr. President, the time to do something is now.

Perhaps our letter to you is wishful thinking. Even though the US is the strongest country in the world now and is led by intelligent people, its position and inaction when it comes to Israeli aggression simply defies common sense. 

Is it too much to put our hope on you? Or should we just succumb to pessimism about US leadership on this issue and your unwillingness to do the right thing at this critical moment? If you are able to share the concern and fear of Israeli mothers every time a Hamas rocket flies into Israeli, why are you not able to empathize with the Palestinian parents who have to struggle every day to ensure their children gets decent nutrition and education? Why can’t you feel the desperation of Palestinian parents who have to shield their children with their own bodies every time an Israeli shell lands in Gaza? And think of the many Palestinian women who have been widowed by Israeli actions who are no longer certain of how they are going to feed their children or the Palestinian children who see no hope in their future? Imagine Michelle, Natasha and Malia living in these conditions? Will you remain silent?

Sincerely,
Yunus Tasim
Vice President
Alumni of MISG US&Canada



Jangan lupa doakan mereka di Gaza sepanjang Ramadhan ini.
Bantuan dan sumbangan anda masih diperlukan.
Jangan simpan maklumat mengenai Gaza, sebarkan kepada kawan-kawan dan kenalan.