Michael Shapcott
Toronto StarOctober 1, 2001
In death, as in life, the harsh truth is that some people count for a lot more than others.
On Sept. 11, an estimated 7,000 people died in three horrific incidents in the United States. That same day, an estimated 27,000 children under the age of 5 died from preventable causes, including starvation and diseases, in countries around the world.
The attacks in New York City, Washington and Pennsylvania received daily, sympathetic coverage in the media and elbowed almost everything else off the global political agenda. The children died in obscurity, mourned only by family.
The United States government has committed $40 billion so far in its campaign to avenge those who died in their country. The U.S. is summoning its NATO allies and other countries to commit massive resources, as well.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Special Session on Children, which was to begin Sept. 19, is postponed. There are no world powers that believe the horrific death toll among children is important enough to commit time and resources at this point.
No one should belittle the tragedy of deaths in the United States. Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and colleagues are mourning their losses. And we can all share in their grief.
The violent acts that led to those deaths must be condemned. And the individuals who committed those crimes should be prosecuted and punished before a competent, international tribunal. There must be justice for the victims in the US.
But what about the global tragedy of children? It didn't end on Sept. 11. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released its report, State Of The World's Children 2002, on Sept. 13. UNICEF grimly notes that more than 10 million children under 5 will die during 2001 — that's more than 27,000 deaths every day of the year.
The cruel calculus that decides some deaths count more than others and therefore must be avenged is being used by US President George W. Bush to build support for what he is calling the first war of the 21st century. Before taking up arms, please remember the sad, blood-soaked history of war in the 20th century.
There were more than 250 wars and more than 110 million war-related deaths during the 20th century, according to authors Ruth Leger Sivard and Lora Lumpe in their study, "World Military And Social Expenditures 1996." Civilians accounted for half of those deaths in the first half of the century. By the 1970s, three-quarters of all war-related deaths were non-combatants. In the 1990s, the UN has estimated that up to 90 per cent of war-related casualties were civilians. Military officials and weapons manufacturers point to "smart bombs" and "surgical strikes" as the new warfare, but innocent civilians are squarely in the sights.
In the last decade of the 20th century, 2 million children were slaughtered, 6 million injured or permanently disabled and 12 million left homeless because of conflict, according to UNICEF.
War is clearly bad for children and their families. Not just because they are victims, but because diverting global resources to war leaves less money and political attention to development programs that will build a just and bountiful peace. A just peace for all is the best guarantee that crimes against humanity, such as the attacks in the US, will not be nourished in a world steeped in disparity and injustice.
In addition to the 10 million children dying from preventable causes every year, the latest UNICEF report finds that about 150 million children in developing countries suffer from malnutrition. More than 100 million children, most of them girls, don't have access to the most basic education.
Every one of those deaths is preventable. Access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation, good food, basic health care (including medicine), education and shelter in a safe and peaceful environment — these are the basics denied to far too many of the world's citizens, but not because the planet cannot afford to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and take care of our children.
Private markets and government officials, which control the resources and the decision-making processes in most parts of the world, have made deliberate choices that deprive children and their families of the fundamentals. Those policy and program decisions lead to death as surely as crashing an airliner into an office building.
UNICEF and many global non-governmental organizations have developed practical and affordable plans to end the monstrous daily death toll among children and their families due to poverty and other social ills. The Global Movement for Children and the Say Yes for Children campaign set out key principles for action and goals for change.
In many places, local communities have moved beyond writing the program and are implementing solutions. The world is full of good ideas and worthy projects, but they are starved of resources. Powerful people won't pay attention and now the United States has started beating the drums for war once again.
There are important choices to be made. Another war will only lead to more civilian deaths on a planet where the graveyards are already full. Canadians should demand that our politicians choose peace, justice and development as the best response to the killings in the United States. Bring those suspected of causing the deaths, or aiding in the campaign of terror, before a competent international tribunal for a fair trial and proper punishment. And focus the resources of our planet on meeting the basic needs of all the world's people instead of siphoning money into private markets and growing military spending.
In the name of those who died in the United States and those who continue to die throughout the world, this would be the finest legacy.
Michael Shapcott is a long-time housing and homelessness advocate. He is a research associate at the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto.
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