OPINION | 2024 will be remembered as year of brutal wars

As the month of November begins today, we are reminded that we are in the last stages of what turned out to be a year. History will remember 2024 for destructive attacks in the war-torn areas of the world.

This year, will be remembered as a time infamy, that will haunt the lives of those who carried out heinous crimes against the whole of humanity. Across the mutilated landscapes of the war-ravaged areas, innocent civilians were killed and massacred daily, in an orgy of violence that defies description.

The scope and depth of these brutalities are acts of barbarity unprecedented in the annals of human relations. Savagery is condoned, bloodshed is accepted, discrimination is sanctioned by those in power, humiliation is undertaken with glee, destruction of property becomes enshrined in law, displacement of innocent civilians becomes an edict. Horrific acts of slaughter and mutilation unprecedented in the history of the human race are covered up by a grossly biased global media.

These grotesque acts are not only a violation of international law, but are also tantamount to war crimes, under international criminal court laws. No important participants were punished for these heinous crimes. The reaction of the participants are draconian, dehumanising and epitomises the essence of their brutal policy of massive force. The ruthless and bloody slaughter of innocent civilians lays the foundation for the world to see the true nature of their determination to rid millions from geographical areas.

The stomach-churning photographs and gruesome details exposed the double standards and hypocrisy of the outside world. The reaction of the world community is truly astonishing, in its feeble response. It symbolises and embodies the horrors of brute force.

It is our moral obligation to honour the memories of those who perished and those who survived them. How can refugees survive and progress when they live under the fearful shadow of the world's powerful military killing machines ? Millions of refugees have become forgotten people. All the pain, sorrow and hardships over the past years have not moved the conscience of mankind. The world must bear witness to the enormities of the savagery inflicted on helpless people.

Surrounded by total horror, peaceful refugees anticipating their own deaths appealed to humanity not to forget them. They have become defenceless victims as powerful nations enact ethnic cleansing. Brutal tactics have now replaced diplomacy as an instrument of intimidation.

History will remember these killings as a date that will live in infamy. There is no memorial, monument, plaque or sign indicating where the global victims of these grotesque massacres are buried. One of the most dangerous attributes of our times is our penchant for selective memory, and that selectivity is on full display as we remain unmoved at the plight of innocent civilians in many parts of the world.

Every day people are being murdered, lives being terminated by 21st century high-tech weaponry , instead of being embraced. We must not forget that hatred is an epidemic worse than any deadly virus.

Remembering acts of brutal obliteration reminds us not to forget and to fight every vestige of hatred and prejudice with uncompromising determination.

• Araie is Sowetan reader.