Middle East violence a result of injustices

TERRORISM is a show of inhumane ferocity that will never be able to solve conflicts among human beings.

Only reason and love are valid means of surpassing and resolving disputes between people. No situation of injustice, no feeling of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such an aberration.

The blind violence we are witnessing in Lebanon is the result of injustices and imbalances that create conditions favouring a desire for revenge.

When fundamental rights are violated, it is easy to fall prey to temptations of hatred and violence. Nonetheless, we must keep in check our base impulses and work together to build a global culture of solidarity that restores hope in the future to the young.

We must raise our prayers for an immediate ceasefire to the fighting in the Middle East, for humanitarian corridors to be opened in order to bring help to the suffering people and for international leadership in new efforts to open negotiations that may lead to a lasting settlement.

The Lebanese have the right to see the integrity and sovereignty of their country respected, the Israelis the right to live in peace in their state, and the Palestinians the right to have their own free and sovereign homeland.

Paul Kokoski

234 Columbia Drive

Hamilton

Ontario

Canada L9C 3Y9