Dialogues of Naguib Mahfouz:

Demonic violence

By Naguib Mahfouz

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When we met this week the novelist didn't give me a chance to ask what was on his mind. Mahfouz started talking right away, commenting on the violent incident that happened recently on a beach in Gaza.

Mahfouz: What is all this violence that permeates our lives? What is all this blood being shed everywhere? What happened on that beach in Gaza was harrowing by all accounts. How can anyone fire at unarmed civilians who cannot be involved in any military act? These were just families spending some time on the beach. They were fired at, killed just like that, as if their lives meant nothing.

How did this happen, and what are we doing about it? Do you imagine that the UN secretary-general called for investigation into this matter? Where are the major powers, those protectors of human rights -- the powers that formed an international committee to investigate the death of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri? How come they have nothing to say when dozens of women and children are assassinated on a beach in Gaza?

Human life is sacred, whether it is the life of a prime minister or an ordinary citizen spending time on the beach with his family. The life of every boy and girl killed in this disgraceful incident is just as important as the life of a senior official. Where is the conscience of the world? If the conscience of the world is asleep, we must wake it up. We barely notice what is happening around us. Our press has handled the affair as if it were insignificant, whereas it is a major escalation of violence.

Human life apparently means little to some people. Intimidation has turned into a policy, one that doesn't distinguish between the military and civilians, between those who wear explosive belts and those who lay on the beach with their children. Violence dominates every single confrontation. Oddly enough, we're the ones being accused of violence and error. Every Palestinian and every Muslim is seen as a suspected terrorist.

This recent incident guarantees the continuation of violence, because it helps create a new generation of people who one day may be described as terrorists.

This girl that appeared on television screens wailing over her father's body, what will happen to her when she grows into a woman? Will she forget this action, or will it dominate her view of life, of others, and of the future of the Arab- Israeli conflict? How will this girl bring up her children? What will she tell them about their enemy? Indeed, what will she tell them about their brothers in the Arab world?

What happened in Palestine wasn't an isolated act, nor was it uncommon in this region. Unfortunately, it is happening elsewhere. The escalation we now see in Iraq indicates that the crisis in Iraq is far from over. Violence is increasing from one day to the next.

Have we run out of prudent persons able to put reason back into our lives? I am not talking of a return to the negotiating table -- this has become a distant prospect. But what we need now is to urgently stop this demonic sequence of violence and bloodshed.