This post is in response to Alyson's post, but I couldn't add a video in my comment so I just am writing this as a separate post. I thought Alyson's post was an great perspective on the different uses of human shields in conflict. I found the BBC article the most interesting perhaps, since it acknowledged that both Israel and Gaza overtake civilian homes, thus reducing them to human targets. I had never considered that the use of a home transformed into a military target would fall into the same category as the type of human shields I have heard of/seen. I began searching for clips of human shields in the Middle East and I came across these two YouTube videos, which both show Hamas’ use of children as human shields. The first, is a 17 second clip, the second contains the exact same clip beginning around 2:15, but includes other human shield images and a larger message of Hamas’ abuse on children.
I think the second video falls in line with a sort of sensationalist media, it uses the abuse of children as another negative perspective on Hamas. It induces pity for these children, but the video is without background--for example the final image is of a young child crying with a fake rifle around his neck.
ok it's Iraq but it's interesting
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Here is a link to a blog put up by Morgan on a different Blog. There are a
number of entries that tie more to your topic than theirs. Enjoy.
15 years ago
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I thought that the videos were pretty interesting and that there were a number of images that could have just been used as propaghanda for the filmakers objecive. A lot of the scene could have been taken from any Arab country and put in there, and they feel just a little manipulated. I know Hamas uses buildings such as hospitals and schools for hiding in but Ive never heard of them hiding behind children. It would be a terrible crime but I think it makes us consider what has caused the Palestinian people to fight in at least these non traditional or even non accepting ways. IT also makes us wonder what are accepting ways to "fight" and what is terrorism? Where is the line between state sponsored terrorism an regular terrorism? Who can be the judge of this?
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