The Eurovision Song Contest Was Once a Whimsical Delight – Yet It Has Become a Calculated Tool to Whitewash War.
A new initialism surfaced several months after the start of the intensive bombing of Gaza by Israel. Known as WCNSF, it means “Wounded child, no surviving family”. This acronym is unique to Gaza, according to health professionals including paediatricians. Normally, it is unusual for medical staff to attend to a child who has seen the death of their entire family. But, there has been no semblance of normality concerning the devastating conflict in Gaza, where whole bloodlines have been wiped out and the number of children who have lost limbs is greater than that of any other region in the world. No sense of normalcy in scores of doctors arriving back from a sea of ruins with reports of children being systematically aimed at.
A Hell on Earth In Spite Of a Reported Truce
The Gaza Strip continues to be a profound humanitarian disaster. Vital medicines and equipment are being blocked those in need, and international watchdogs have stated that violations are still being committed. The Israeli government rejects these accusations, consistent with how it denies everything it is implicated in. But while grieving children who lost parents are now suffering from the cold in temporary shelters, there is a piece of uplifting information: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from continuing with its stated mission of “unity and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to roll out a welcoming platform for Israel, despite the fact that at least four European countries have now boycotted in dissent. And this, we are told, is what global togetherness manifests as.
Eurovision, of course excluded Russia from participating in 2022 due to the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. However, the situation in Gaza appears to be entirely distinct.
A Double Standard
Forget the fact that Israel was accused of irregular participation methods last year in what seems to have been an effort to manipulate Eurovision. Set aside the news that a young child was reportedly killed in Gaza on a recent Sunday. Neglect the data that settler violence and coerced removal in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Forget the fact that foreign reporters are still denied independent reporting in Gaza. All of this, it would seem, should be allowed to get in the way of Eurovision’s self-proclaimed spirit of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds Against a Backdrop of Staggering Tragedy
Eurovision turns 70 next year – almost double the average life expectancy of someone in Gaza at present. The event will proceed, but it will never be able to restore the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that initially championed harmony has devolved into a cynical way to sanitize military aggression.
