I was ill with Covid recently and was fortunate enough to have my son staying with me. As I live by myself, it would have been difficult to manage without his help during the time I was ill. How vulnerable and fragile we are, even though we often don’t like to admit it.

This made me think of our need for the solidarity of others when we are ill, infirm, sad, lonely or extremely ancient. On a personal level most of us are lucky enough to be able to count on someone to help us, at least momentarily, in our need. The majority of human beings seem to be able to feel solidarity for others on a personal level. Solidarity means putting yourself in the place of others. It means acknowledging their needs and trying to do something to alleviate their suffering or dire circumstances.

But what happens to this solidarity for the victims of war? Then the solidarity of some becomes blinkered. Let us take the example of the Hamas-Israeli war. How can some people only feel compassion for and solidarity with the suffering victims of the side they ‘support’? The systematic destruction of civilians, the majority of whom are women and children can surely have no condoning, whatever the political situation. There can be no one-sided solidarity, no turning of a blind eye to the extreme suffering of the vistims ‘on the other side’. There can be no excusing of any means that justify the end. There can be no going to churches praying for the triumph of the aggressors on whatever side you think deserves ‘to win’. What hypocrisy!.

When I think of the civilians in Gaza often deprived of basis needs like water,electricity, medical assistance, many on the point of starvation and many just preferring to die, who have no one to comfort them in their extreme necessity, then my heart shrinks in horror and sadness. How easy it is for some in their comfortable homes to pontificate about the rights of some, the lack of rights of others, how war is necessary for self defense,etc,etc. Let them spend just one day in the rubble of bombed homes, watching whole families die. Would they not feel just a twinge of compassion? The same compassion felt for those killed by Hamas and their hostages? And here we mustn’t forget the different scale of destruction and death.

If that compassion and solidarity cannot be felt, then we are no better than our cavemen ancestors and our reptilian brains predominate. If it wasn’t for the support and help I have received from kind family and friends now and over the years, I would be tempted to curl up into a ball and wait for it all to be over.

My gratitude to the peacemakers and the truly compassionate of this world. They are the courageous ones, the truly strong ones who can rightly be called evolved human beings. Isn’t it time the rest caught up?