How to explain the war in Gaza to small children

Nury Vittachi
Bangkok

Once upon a time, there was a family called Pal. They lived in a property which was hot and dusty, but they liked it, and had lived there for more than 2,000 years. Then one day, they had some visitors.
"We are the Izzy family," said the head of the new arrivals. "And we're moving in."
"What?" said the Pal family. "You can't do that."
"Yes, we can," said Izzy. "They said we could." The newcomers pointed to some heavily armed "minders" who were accompanying them. their names were Usa and Uk.
"Hi," said the biggest one. "I am here to tell you that Izzy and his family have suffered terrible trauma. They need a new home."
"I sympatihize," said Pal. "But this is our home, and it's very small. Why don't you give them space in your homes?"
"They want to live here, because their ancestors lived here," said Usa.
"But that's not fair," the Pal family objected.

There was an impasse. The wider community was called to adjudicate. The Izzy family said the issue could be boiled down to one simple question: "The Izzy family has a right to exist, yes or no?"

The giant Usa agreed enthusiastically: "Yes, we declare that the Izzy family definitely has the right to exist."
"Hang on," said a member of the Pal family. "The issue is not whether the Izzy family has a right to exist. It's whether they have the right to exist on our property."
Usa looked deeply shocked. "Outrageous! You're saying the Izzy family do not have the right to exist, so that automatically makes you a group of genocidal terrorists. Now you're in trouble."

The Pal family members were at a loss about what to do. They realized that they needed a powerful friend, too. They took the matter to court. The chief judge was a man named Yuen, sometimes spelt UN. Yuen talked to many members of the community, including Ms Asia, France and so on. They all agreed the situation was fundamentally unfair. Judge Yuen passed several edicts to make the situation fairer. But the Izzy family ignored these edicts, and were fully supported by Usa.

The Izzy family got bigger and stronger and tougher and richer. The Pal family got poorer and poorer. Years of unfairness and abuse resulted in the inevitable. One desperate, tormented member of the Pal family, a man named Hamas, couldn't take it any more. He went off the rails and started to fight back. In retaliation, the Izzy family unleashed a massive wave of violence. "Please stop," said the Pal family, after 900 members of their family had been killed.

Judge Yuen and most members of the international community called for the invasion to stop. But the most powerful member, Usa, told the Izzy family to continue the slaughter, explaining that the horrible injuries to the Pal family were all their own fault. "The Izzy family has a right to exist," Usa said. "And it has the right to defend itself."

And they all lived miserably ever after. It's a sad story, isn't it? There's just one way this tale can have a different ending. The new US administration needs to remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, forgotten by the old US administration: "There's only one way to destroy your enemy: Make him your friend."

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The writer is columnist and journalist.
Sunday Post, January 18, 2009, page 4.