ISIS, Iraq Civil War and crisis,
Ukraine crisis, Taliban spread, Al Qaeda resurgence and FIFA World Cup 2014
celebrations: Humanity's paradoxes on swing with maximum display!!
Yes, it is.
Though the crisis hotbeds and the
World Cup heat are two different and unrelated issues, the timing is the devil
that pushes one to think on these lines, especially for someone who has much to
do with the flow of news elements in the global media and thus come to know the
developments mostly in the real time.
The information is always there,
looking for you. There is bad information and good information. And there is
information that is just given a pass. And there are elements that push you to
think.
FIFA World Cup is an event having
global fan base and is watched with rapt attention on TV broadcast across the
world, even in the countries where Football is not a rage, like India.
And the biggest event on Earth is
on. It is the time to celebrate its energy, motion and colours. And the fans
are doing that.
But the fans in Iraq, Syria,
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Ukraine are forced to face a different heat – the
heat of terrorism – with mounting toll of civilian deaths – as the global
powers keep on deliberating on options to check the spread of the militants
affiliated to some of the most terrorizing outfits.
ISIS or ISIL (Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria/ al-Sham/ the Levant) has taken over the large parts of Northern
Iraq including cities of Mosul (Iraq’s second largest city) and Tal Afar. They
had also taken Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown (just 150 Kms from Baghdad)
but reports say the Iraqi forces have retaken it. As reported, ISIS militants
have killed scores of civilians and captured soldiers while moving ahead in
Iraq. The run of brutal executions have been shown to the world by the ISIS
propaganda videos.
It is said the jihadist ISIS has
taken over the Syrian rebellion fighting against the Syrian defense forces. The
Al Qaeda offshoot, notorious for its brutality (something that made even the Al
Qaeda to disown it, as it is routinely said), has trained combatants among its
ranks and their run is spreading fast into the neighbouring Syria.
The following lines from a CBC
News report explain the horror ISIS is:
You only have to look at the
ruined towns northeast of the Syrian city of Aleppo to understand what happened
in Iraq's Mosul. The names of "martyred" fighters line the walls,
alongside invocations to obey Sharia law, through miles of crumpled buildings,
rubble and unexploded ammunition. "These people use different names, so if
one is defeated the other can claim victory," says Col. Mohamed Saleh of
the Syrian army as he surveys the wreckage of a factory in which 27 of his
soldiers were killed. "They call themselves ISIL, al-Nusrah Front, Deach,
but they are all the same." These very same jihadis — which the Syrian
forces have been defeating — are now surging towards Baghdad, some of them,
perhaps, the very same men who fought Bashar al-Assad's regime in northern
Syria.
(CBC News, June 16, 2014)
Taliban is on surge again in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Taliban factions are challenging the Pakistan and
Afghanistan governments with increased terror strikes as we have seen recently.
Karachi airport terror strikes or attack on Indian consulate in Herat are just
the front line much reported acts. They follow a stream of bloodbath that goes
deep. The threatening video and audio messages have increased in frequency,
sounding more chilling and menacing.
In Ukraine, dozens of Ukrainian
soldiers were killed in a separatist attack in the Eastern part of the country
demanding secession from Ukraine. Though Russia denies - the mystery around
‘Russia sending tanks to aid Kremlin backed separatists’ remains (as the BBC
reports). Today, Russia cut off the Ukraine gas supply putting the nation
even in more peril.
And amid all this, the World Cup
soccer fever is catching up. Over half of the world’s population is projected
to watch it unfolding over a month. The social media trends are rooting for it.
And this sense of joy is real. Human psyche needs some free, relaxing moments
and watching a challenging World Cup is a treat.
But this joy is clouded and
eclipsed by the sudden spread of Humanity’s ruin in many parts of the world
when your smartphone flashes the breaking news of a terror strike killing
dozens while your favourite player is speeding ahead to score a beautiful goal!
Humanity’s paradoxes on full
display!!
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com
