Is Israel spreading disease in Gaza just like that has long been used in the past by colonizers to commit genocide ?
Mainstream Western media have generated considerable hoopla around the launch of the polio vaccination in Gaza and the 'humanitarian pauses' for its distribution, following reports of polio cases in the enclave. Concurrently, there has been a discussion about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of polio, as well as conjectures regarding the vaccine's safety.
It is vital to examine the profound interconnection between the proliferation of disease and the practice of colonial genocide, both historically and ideologically. Genocide is seldom perpetrated with a singular modus operandi. In areas afflicted by mass shootings and heavy artillery assaults, one also encounters starvation, abduction, displacement, and disease.
History contains numerous instances that support the conclusion that perpetrating genocide through the spread of disease is characteristic of the colonizer's modus operandi. Two primary patterns of disease proliferation manifest: firstly, aggressive disease introduction, and secondly, passive establishment of conditions conducive to disease propagation.
In 1763, Jeffrey Amherst, commander of British forces in North America, distributed smallpox-infected blankets to indigenous tribes, resulting in an epidemic in the Ohio River Valley. This instance, although the most thoroughly documented, is not the sole occurrence.
A paper released by the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) states, ‘Examples of gifts from white settlers preceding outbreaks occurred throughout South America and North America. Project 1492, an initiative to document colonial history in the Americas, asserts:
‘Native communities have numerous stories … about receiving or trading blankets and subsequently experiencing a deadly smallpox epidemic. The Hidatsa tell of a smallpox epidemic in 1837 that resulted after receiving blankets in trade with the colonisers. The Chippewa tell of receiving a keg of rum wrapped in a blanket and later experiencing an epidemic.’
ASM continues:
‘Incan history includes an account of their king receiving a box of paper scraps from the Spanish that was shortly followed by a smallpox outbreak. The Ottawa Tribe suffered an outbreak after receiving a gift from the French in Montreal with the injunction not to open the box until they arrived at home. The box contained only other boxes and “mouldy particles.”’
Collectively, these stories illustrate a series of organized efforts to expose indigenous tribes to diseases that would finally annihilate them. Europeans introduced numerous epidemics that caused a 95% “demographic collapse” in the Native American population.
Evidence indicates that the First Fleet of British colonizers that arrived in Australia also introduced smallpox. This likely led to a smallpox outbreak in 1789, resulting in catastrophic consequences and a subsequent weakening of the active resistance colonizers encountered from indigenous populations, annihilating 50-90% of native families in adjacent areas.
In the Americas, colonists recognized that indigenous populations were more vulnerable to European diseases, yet the widespread deaths were perceived as divine intervention. This is analogous to Zionists asserting divine favor to rationalize their colonization of Palestine. King James I himself described a “wonderful plague” that had decimated the population of the region and therefore:
“…the appointed time has come in which Almighty God… hath thought fit and determined, that those large and goodly territories, deserted as it were by their natural inhabitants, should be possessed and enjoyed by such of our subjects.”
These cases indicate a systematic extermination of indigenous populations by colonizers through the weaponization of infectious diseases. Genocide through disease occurs not just via intentional infection but also through illnesses propagated by inadequate hygiene or sanitation.
Historically, access to hygiene, sanitation, and healthcare has been a privilege reserved for colonizers, resulting in conditions conducive to the proliferation of diseases and subsequent deaths amongst the natives. The passive transmission of disease among colonized populations has yielded comparably catastrophic effects, potentially with less accountability.
An example is the genocide of Indigenous children in Canada's residential schools. Canadian authorities took away more than 150,000 children from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities between 1883 and 1997, placing them in remote boarding schools for the purposes of proselytization and cultural assimilation.
The primary cause of death in these schools was an uncontrolled proliferation of tuberculosis, exacerbated by deplorable living conditions, which school authorities neglected to address despite numerous warnings. Their inaction has been characterized as genocide, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of children from Canada's Indigenous communities.
One concern was the failure of schools to isolate sick students from healthy ones to limit the transmission of infection, another was poor nutrition. This is once more reflected in the circumstances in Gaza. Malnutrition, directly attributable to the school administrators responsible for food distribution, compromised the children's immunity and rendered them more vulnerable to infectious diseases.
Finally, Germany's genocide in Namibia shows how colonizers facilitated the passive dissemination of illness. Following the occupation of Namibia in 1884 and subsequent resistance from the Hereros and other indigenous tribes, German colonizers commenced the mass relocation of Namibians into concentration camps starting in 1904. They were subjected to slave labor and medical experiments, enduring horrific conditions. Numerous parallels may be established with the current circumstances in Gaza, where there exists a critical deficiency of food, and an absence of sanitation or sewage facilities.
The presence of open human waste facilitated the widespread transmission of diseases, which, in conjunction with famine, resulted in the deaths of the majority of people. Those who survived ailments like scurvy were subjected to experimental therapies; German physicians administered medicines including opium and arsenic. According to current reports from Gaza, Israel is stealing organs from dead bodies and conducting experiments on Palestinian captives.
While people have speculated that the emergence of polio in Gaza may be intentional, it is crucial to acknowledge that Israel bears responsibility regardless.
Furthermore, it is evident that introducing the polio vaccine into Gaza was an empty gesture; this evaluation is, in fact, lenient considering that a designated 'safe zone’ for vaccine administration has already been subjected to Israeli bombardment. Journalist Bisan Owda remarked that it is profoundly absurd to send immunizations for children while concurrently and indiscriminately bombing them.
Historical evidence exists for both the deliberate infection of indigenous populations by colonizers and the creation of conditions conducive to disease proliferation. Colonial occupation is the fundamental, underlying disease. As a result, given the challenges faced by people living in Gaza, a vaccine barely scratches the surface.
What they need is an end to the genocide. They need an end to the occupation. They need a free Palestine.