Eurovision Was Once a Whimsical Delight – However It Has Become a Cynical Way to Gloss Over Warfare.
An new initialism came to light a few months after the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Labeled WCNSF, it stands for “Injured child with no living relatives”. This acronym is unique to Gaza, according to health professionals like paediatricians. Typically, it is unusual for doctors to care for a minor who has been bereaved of their whole family. However, there has been no semblance of normality about the genocide in Gaza, where complete genealogies have been eradicated and the number of child amputees exceeds that of anywhere else in the world. No sense of normalcy in scores of doctors arriving back from a devastated terrain with testimonies of children being deliberately targeted.
A Living Nightmare In Spite Of a Reported Truce
The Gaza Strip continues to be an utter catastrophe. Essential medical supplies are being blocked those in need, and international watchdogs contend that violations are continuing. Authorities rejects these allegations, consistent with how it denies each claim it is accused of. But while young survivors are now enduring frigid conditions in temporary shelters, there is a piece of uplifting information: apparently nothing is going to stop the Eurovision song contest from continuing with its declared purpose of “togetherness and cultural exchange.” Organizers will continue to roll out a blood-red carpet for Israel, even though a number of European countries have now pulled out in protest. Since this, it seems, is what global togetherness manifests as.
Eurovision, of course excluded Russia from taking part in 2022 over the “unprecedented crisis in Ukraine”. Yet the conflict in Gaza is treated differently.
A Double Standard
Forget the fact that Israel was alleged to have used irregular participation methods last year in what appears to have been an effort to politicise Eurovision. Set aside the news that a toddler was allegedly fatally struck in Gaza just days ago. Neglect the data that settler violence and systematic expulsions in the West Bank have increased dramatically. Disregard the condition that global media are still blocked from unfettered access in Gaza. This entire context, evidently, should be permitted to obstruct of Eurovision’s much-touted ethos of unity.
The Pageant Proceeds Amidst Profound Human Cost
Eurovision turns 70 next year – roughly two times the average life expectancy of an individual in Gaza at present. The broadcast will air, but it will likely never recapture the whimsical pleasure it historically embodied. An institution that was originally built on harmony has transformed into a cynical way to whitewash war.
