斷水斷糧的加薩無餓莩 Gaza does not believes in hunger
There are contradictory pictures and news reports that we are accessing. One depicts the devastation in the Gaza Strip resulting from the bombardment by the Israel Defense Force. Observing this, along with other embargoes imposed by Israel, readers would likely conclude that the daily life of civilians is a disaster, especially with disruptions in water supply and medicine availability for weeks.
On the other hand, despite living under the threat of bombardment, the people in Gaza appear healthy and well-fed, unlike those who have gone without food or water.
Both news reports are true. What is happening there?
An article by Edward Nicolae Luttwak, a senior advisor at CSIS, explains my puzzle: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) might bear some responsibility. UNRWA was found after the model of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), an institution founded shortly after the end of World War II in Europe and China.
The difference f the two institutions lies in the fact that UNRRA camps in Europe played a role in quelling post-war dissatisfaction and dispersing ethnic groups seeking to recover their claimed lost territories by the swift relocation and on-site settlement of refugees under "Spartan-like" conditions.
However, in UNRWA camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, is provided a comprehensive, high living environment that surpasses the local Arab residents did. These camps additionally offer a diverse diet, a well-established educational system, an excellent healthcare system, and even eliminate the once-prevalent harsh labor in the wilderness. As a result, Palestinian refugee camps are no longer "spots to escape from immediately" as in the post-war Europe but have become "enviable residences." With further assistance from Arab countries, UNRWA has actually transformed from "fleeing civilians" into "lifelong refugees," giving their children, in turn, refugees. Through its activities spanning fifty years, UNRWA has successfully established a imaginary "Palestinian Refugee country."
Despite having fixed the dissatisfaction of 1948, UNRWA sustained the obsession of refugees for recovering the virtual lost territories. The presence of UNRWA itself has deterred Palestinian refugees from settling locally and suppressed their inclination to migrate, as UNRRA did.
Furthermore, by gathering Palestinians in refugee camps, UNRWA has led young refugees to enroll in armed organizations either voluntarily or forcefully.
Devoting humanitarian relief efforts should thus be a career with deep insight and wisdom, aligning with the teachings of Buddhism for long-term care.
我們正在接觸到一些矛盾的圖片和新聞報導。其中一幅描繪以色列國防軍轟炸所導致的加薩地帶的災難。觀察這一點，再加上以色列實施的其他禁運，讀者很可能會得出結論，平民的日常生活是一場災難，特別是水供應和藥品供應的中斷已經持續了數周。另一方面，儘管生活在轟炸的威脅下，加薩的人們看起來健康而且飲食充足，不像那些已經餓了或喝不到水數周的人。
這兩種報導都是真的。那裡發生了什麼事？
CSIS的高級顧問Edward Nicolae Luttwak的一篇文章解釋了我的困惑：「聯合國巴勒斯坦難民救濟暨工程署」（UNRWA）可能要負一些責任。
UNRWA是根據二戰後不久在歐洲和中國成立的「聯合國善後救濟總署」（UNRRA）的模型成立的。
這兩個機構的區別在於，UNRRA在歐洲的營地主要是以「斯巴達式」的嚴格條件，平息戰後的不滿情緒、分散安置尋求通過快速遷徙企圖恢復失地的民族、就地安置難民等方面發揮影響力。
然而，在黎巴嫩、敘利亞、約旦、約旦河西岸地區和加薩地區的UNRWA營地，提供了一個全面的、高水平的生活環境，超越了當地阿拉伯居民的水平。這些營地還提供多樣化的飲食、完善的教育體系、卓越的醫療體系，甚至消除了曾經在荒野中普遍存在的嚴苛勞動。因此，巴勒斯坦難民營不再像戰後歐洲某個時期的「立即逃離的棲身之地」，而是變成了「令人羨慕的住所」。在阿拉伯國家的進一步援助下，UNRWA實際上已將「逃難的平民」轉變為「終身難民」，並反過來使他們的子女也成為難民的下一代。
透過跨越五十年的活動，UNRWA成功地建立了一個虛構的「巴勒斯坦難民國家」。盡管它解決了1948年的不滿情緒，UNRWA仍然維持著難民對虛構失地的恢復的著迷。UNRWA本身的存在已經阻止了巴勒斯坦難民在當地定居的意願，並抑制了他們遷移的傾向，就像UNRRA一樣。此外，UNRWA將巴勒斯坦人集中在難民營中，反而引導年輕難民自願或被迫加入武裝組織，如Hamas。
致力於人道主義援助應該是一個深刻洞察智慧的事業，正如佛教教義所描述的「悲智雙運」那樣，才能顧及長期目標。
