Once trust collapses, societies become vulnerable to entrenched polarization, collective moral exhaustion

By Habib Toumi | Bahrain

MANAMA: The war in the Gulf and the Middle East has not fully settled. Missiles and drones may have temporarily disappeared from the skies, and military operations may have entered phases of hesitation or recalibration, but another confrontation has already assumed great prominence and ominous danger: the battle of narratives.

Today, every side involved in the war seeks to dominate the story. Each country endeavors to convince its own people, the wider region and the international community that it has achieved a decisive triumph, while its adversary has faltered, capitulated or failed to withstand the might of its military and strategic capabilities.

In modern conflicts, victory is no longer measured solely by shattered lives, territorial gains, destroyed targets or military casualties. It is increasingly measured by perception. Whoever controls the narrative often claims the psychological and political victory, regardless of the realities on the ground.

What makes this phase particularly alarming is the unprecedented sophistication of information warfare. The mechanisms used to diffuse information, misinformation and mal-information have become extraordinarily advanced and deeply invasive. Social media platforms, manipulated videos, anonymous digital accounts, selective leaks and algorithm-driven amplification now shape public consciousness at astonishing speed and produce narratives built on chimeras.

For ordinary people or those far away from the battle grounds, discerning the truth has become painfully difficult.

When the war broke out, the world watched missiles and drones crossing borders and skies. Now, societies are witnessing the relentless bombardment of competing narratives, many of them fallacious, emotionally manipulative and openly dismissive of logic or factual consistency.

The first victims of wars have always been innocent people: civilians, families, children, the elderly, locals and foreigners alike. But in this new phase of the war, another category of victims is emerging: populations overwhelmed by deception, misrepresentation and fabricated realities.

Artificial Intelligence, despite its enormous promise for humanity, has also become a dangerous instrument when flagrantly misused. Deepfakes, fabricated audio recordings, stage-managed videos, manipulated images and AI-generated propaganda now circulate with alarming credibility. Lies no longer need to be convincing; they only need to spread faster than the truth.

This creates a deeply troubling question: Is it humanity’s destiny to continue suffering even after missiles and drones fall silent?

If wars once destroyed cities and infrastructure, today’s narrative wars threaten something even more fragile: trust itself. Trust in facts. Trust in institutions. Trust in the media. Trust in human judgment.

And once trust collapses, societies become dangerously susceptible to entrenched polarization, deepening cynicism and a pervasive sense of collective moral exhaustion.

People retreat into ideologically sealed, like-minded silos, while opposing groups no longer merely disagree over events, facts or policies; they begin to inhabit entirely separate realities.

In such an environment, meaningful dialogue steadily disintegrates, and the prospect of collective problem-solving grows ever more distant.

The saying prevalent in several countries, “Tell me about the one I love, even if it is a lie,” captures a profound human impulse: the longing for emotional reassurance and psychological comfort, especially when confronting painful truths.

In matters of the heart, the solace of hearing what one wishes to believe, even if embellished or untrue, becomes more bearable than the cold weight of objective reality. It quiets doubt, eases insecurity and offers temporary refuge from discomfort.

This human vulnerability is increasingly exploited by those who manipulate the media and seek to assert their narratives.

The challenge confronting humanity is no longer confined to ending wars on the battlefield. It is also about restoring dignity amid the deafening noise of deception, resisting the manipulation of perception and reclaiming truth in an era increasingly shaped by manufactured realities and weaponized narratives.

The world may eventually succeed in rebuilding shattered cities and smashed infrastructure. Rebuilding collective trust, however, is far more difficult.

That may well be the most dangerous battlefield of all.

Too many people have been killed. Too many lives have been irreparably shattered. Too many families have lost their means of livelihood. Too many homes have been destroyed…

And behind every statistic stands a human being, a life shaken by grief, scarred by loss and overshadowed by uncertainty.

Read: Iran at War: Ancient Roots, Modern Conflicts

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Habib Toumi is a senior journalist. Based in Manama, Bahrain, he is also the Editor-in-Chief of The AsiaN English Edition 

Courtesy: The AsiaN, Seoul, South Korea

The post The Battle beyond the Battlefield first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Rinku Dutta

Whose corpse is this on the battlefield?

Hee kehnjo lash aa jang jey maidan ma.n*?

As the news media inundates our screens with a deluge of images of lifeless bodies in the deadly wars raging in the world, the late Tanveer Abbasi’s poem hammers the questions each corpse poses for humanity: Whose corpse is this on the battlefield?

Which side had more power?

Which, less?

Who bled more?

Who, less?

Who bore severe damages?

Who, fewer?

Who suffered heavy wounds?

Whose were lighter?

Who became bloated with hubris?

And who had to bow their head?

On whom rained more bombs?

And whose houses got razed?

On whose side more children were orphaned?

On whose side was the merciful god?

On which side there were fewer fires burning?

On which side there were lesser sighs?

On which side there was less pain?

And on which side less helplessness?

Whose corpse is on this battlefield?

Has his side won?

Or have they lost?

Has he become a martyr?

Or has he been dumped in hell?

Who was showered with blessings?

And who with curses?

No matter whether he has won or lost

This is my dead body

This is your corpse

It isn’t he who has won or lost

It’s you and I who have been defeated

Humanity has been defeated

And head-bowed stands Mercy

While political concerns were often reflected in his works, Tanveer is celebrated as ‘a poet of love’. He is revered as a Universalist and an uncompromising humanist

It is 24 years since Tanveer Abbasi’s passing on Nov 25, 1999, in Islamabad. Had he been alive Tanveer would have stepped into his 90th year on Dec 7 2023. Born as Noor Nabi Abbasi, a younger brother of the late irrigation and water expert A.N.G. Abbasi, he adopted the takhallus Tanveer as he evolved into an influential poet and literary figure. His compatriots in the Sindhi Adabi Sangat were stalwarts like Ibrahim Joyo, Shaikh Ayaz, Jamal Abro, Imdad Husaini, Ayaz Gul, Amar Jaleel, and Maulana Girami. Tanveer’s creative legacy includes the books Saajan Su.nhe Surth, Ragoon Thiyoon Rabbab, Hiye Dharti, Barira Bol, Jo Tanveer Chawe, Sij Tiria Heth, Doriya Doriya Deh and Je Mariya Na Maut.

A staunch non-conformist, Tanveer protested against the One Unit Scheme and also participated in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD). One of his poems that express his feelings against oppression is Jeeu Jhore.n Disaa.n.

Let me put some strain on my life

And see what happens

Let me play my chang (mouth harp)

And see what tune emerges

When I kept my feelings to myself

Nothing happened

Let me share them with you

Let’s see what happens then

When I pleaded for my life

My chang (my instrument, my voice) was taken away**

Let me risk my life

Let’s see what happens

**Tanveer was jailed for his participation in the MRD.

While political concerns were often reflected in his works, Tanveer is celebrated as ‘a poet of love’. He is revered as a Universalist and an uncompromising humanist.

Tanveer urges of every person:

Paras thee.n tu.n pehri

Poye chhue dis kedhi aas

Lohe-lohe me.n sone thienji

Aahe kedhi pyaas

First become a paras (a mythical alchemist’s touchstone that changes base metals to gold)

Then discover by your touch

How every piece of iron

Thirsts to transmute to gold

(How every imperfect human being thirsts for perfection)

Renowned Sufi singer Abida Parveen has sung and popularized some of Tanveer’s tender love poems like Aao asaa.n wat weho (Come sit with me). Tanveer asks:

Nihu.n nibhayoon k.nie nihbayoon

Heya hayati thori bhayoon

Fulfill the promises of love-

How to do that?

This life is too short!

Tu.n pardehi ma.n pardehi

Jithe jithe tu.n ma wayhi

Kayoon rihanyoon pyar kahanyoon

Uho asa.n jo dehu aa

You, an alien in a foreign land

I, an alien in a foreign land

Wherever you and I have sat together

Where we chatted and shared stories of love

That is our land, my dear

Progressive, modernist, Tanveer conceived of love as a dance between independent equals:

Nach me.n daera gol gol

Rock roll rock roll

Rock rock roll roll

We dance round and round in circles

Ba.nh chelh me.n na wijh

Hik qadam parteh khan

Hik qadam par bharo

Hik qadam poeteh

Don’t put your arms around me

Take one step to the side

Take one step to the other

Take a step backwards

Ma.n wana tokhey tu.n

mo.nkhay wan

Muhnjay samoon jay hujai.n

Poe bhi mo.nkhey ghol ghol

You like me

I like you

Even though you are in front of me

Still keep searching for me

Nach mein daera gol gol

We dance round and round in circles

Rock roll rock roll

Rock rock roll roll

Tho.Do*** tho.Do fasilo aa zaroor

Tho.Do waijho tho.Do duur

A little bit of distance is necessary

A little closeness, a little distance

Tanveer was a minimalist. He mastered the Japanese haiku style of poetry. Some of his best works are these miniature gems of word-paintings. My favourite one is about the ochre-yellow Acacia blossoms of the babur trees of Sindh.

Chhanio babura jo boor

Peelo theewo charo

Vanyana poye bhi duur

Scattered babur blossoms

Yellow, the dirt track

Yet a long way to travel (to the destination)

Tanveer’s picturesque haiku is a reminder, like Robert Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, that we cannot afford to stop and enjoy nature’s beauty for we have ‘promises to keep’ and ‘miles to go’ before we sleep, and miles to go before we sleep.

The world is going through a tremendous upheaval where the value systems that upheld civilizations are crumbling. At this critical juncture the voices of humanist poets like Tanveer Abbasi are vital towards steadying our bearings in the storm.

*.n is to designate the nasal pronunciation

***.D is to designate the sound in the word ‘tho.Dii’ (little, few)

_____________________

Rinku Dutta lives at the foothills of the Dhauladhar Range of the Lesser Himalayas in India. She has been a scientist and educator, occasionally writing about her experiences. ‘Exploring the Roots of Harmony: India and Pakistan Conflict Transformation’ is a monograph of a selection of her essays that is the outcome of a Scholar of Peace Media Fellowship that she received from WISCOMP (Women in Security Conflict Management and Peace, Foundation for Universal Responsibility of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, India). She won the Scientific Indian Science Fiction Short Story Contest (2008) for her story Aski’s Choice. Her poem ‘Monsoon Rain’ won 3rd Place in the SMS Poetry Contest, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Bombay (2006). Her recent poems were published in The Friday Times (Two Poems For Gaza). Her works have been published in journals like Himal Southasian, DesiLit, Newsline, and Hindustan Times. Rinku Dutta holds a PhD degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry jointly from Rutgers University and The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey.

Sindhi poems and their translations quoted in the text are by Dr. Sarmad Abbasi

The post Whose Corpse is this on the Battlefield: Remembering Tanveer Abbasi first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker is a TEFL Teacher, Poet, Journalist, Activist, and Freelance Interpreter/ Translator from Umbda Omdurman – Sudan. He also has been working as a debate leader discussing various topics in many English Institutes, Centers, Academies and Schools. He can be reached at: americanslang64@gmail.com

In the wild-land of despotism

Your bloody battleground is vying for dominion, the ruling

By way, bullets fly, hearing out-yell

Outnumbers race die from several walks of life

Humans against humans, brother against brothers

If you don’t tidy up matters into certainty

Then, the sagacity will stick around bleary

Those with influence in their muscles

Their garments are too pure while you are in penury

They devour steak behind big curtain

And others leave this world while they are going through to survive

And others unsettle to uncharted shelter

People’s virtue has changed to malicious movies since the fire shot started out in the bottom of citywide Khartoum

Illegal deeds have taken tragic events: Exploitation, robberies, murdering & inflation prevail on the land of dignity

As long as oppression remains

As long as simple blood is spilled

Species have gained to be slain and called you’re going to hell on earth

You hold your heads and shout, shout

No matter how long would surcharge of melancholy and agony foam you

In the wild-land of despotism

You will never be able to wink your eyes

Or to resist your hopes and dreams

Or to expose the smiles to innocent mankind

Or to pull through your luxury

Therefore, your destiny will be burnt into ashes, ashes

As you know, their deep inhuman had made the freshness of effused blood out from the trembling of life and assassination

Millions of souls never born once again……

One heart is still for love to grow as fragrance flowers are sufficient for harvesting wealth

And one smile is enough to express happiness

And one land is enough for all Sudanese citizens, citizens

To live together as one nation

To rebuild destroyed land into fascinating existing landscapes beauty

To mingle multi-tribes to the greatest united friendly people ever

To instill respect and intimacy

Uphold side by side strong foresight to

Your patriotism can create peace and love to build over again our beloved Sudan as a miracle & forgiveness

_______________

POET’S NOTE ABOUT THE POEM

The poem was written on Saturday 13th of January 2024. This poem captures that we still face many difficulties because of the lack of security in the country due to the security forces being occupied with the battles. We were faced with mobs on our way, other than the burden of travel and the different checkpoints by both security forces and Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has turned urban areas into battlefields. We raise our hands to God almighty and ask him to solve the problem of Sudan. Fighting since mid-April between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has plunged Sudan into chaos, with combatants occupying homes, looting property, and committing other abuses.

Also read: Grave situation prevails as armed conflict escalates across Sudan

The post In the wild-land of despotism – A Poem from Sudan first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Evaggelos Vallianatos

When I entered the Office of Pesticide Programs of the US Environmental Protection Agency in May 1979, I knew practically nothing about pesticides. Though I had taken classes in chemistry in college and had even written my first book about industrialized agriculture, nothing prepared me for the secrets I uncovered during twenty-five years of work in a bureaucracy designed and brought up to keep secrets.

My colleagues opened my eyes to the secret world of chemical sprays deceptively known as pesticides. They kept answering my questions and, more than that, they started giving me their memos, briefings, and scientific papers. They did not see much controversy in the “regulation” of pesticides. Most thought pesticides were necessary for farming.

In fact, EPA economists always defended pesticides, suggesting that without them food prices would go through the roof. Other EPA scientists like biologists, ecologists, chemists and toxicologists monitored those chemicals for ecological and health effects. They had read the pesticide law — The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act — and, some of them, were authors of regulations for their use on farms, lawns, homes, factories, and the natural world.

Who was going to object to the killing of “pests” like insects, rodents, fungi, and weeds?

It did not take me long to object to the use of pesticides, however. My knowledge about these chemicals increased rapidly. The writings of my colleagues and the discussions I had with them convinced me pesticides were more than pesticides. They are petrochemical biocides. They kill everything.

But there was something particularly insidious about certain farm sprays that were born about a century ago in the heat of WWI. The organophosphates Parathion and Malathion – for instance, are nerve gases related to chemical weapons. They are chemical weapons in diluted form.

I remember how EPA ecologists reacted to the news that parathion was killing honeybees in droves. They were very upset and urged senior officials to prohibit any more approvals of the deleterious nerve gas. The senior officials did no such thing. Honeybees continued to die from parathion poisoning for decades. EPA banned ethyl parathion in 2003. In 2015, the White House Energy-Climate Czarina and former EPA administrator, Carol Browner, announced the banning of methyl parathion on “all fruits and many vegetables.” Now, in 2018, honeybees die primarily from another version of neurotoxins, known as neonicotinoids, and manufactured in Germany.

Yet I don’t remember hearing EPA scientists connecting parathion and other neurotoxic pesticides to warfare agents. I found that strange because one heard of the horrible consequences they had in common: pinpoint pupils, sweating, convulsions, vomiting, asphyxiation, and death.

The military connection of many pesticides made their origins obscure and very difficult to decode. It was as if there existed a universal pact among experts in industry, academia and government not to question these extremely toxic compounds.

If Americans knew their food is contaminated by neurotoxic agents, what would they say and do? And how would the environmental movement act on the evidence of nerve poisons in conventional food?

According to Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, modern tear gas also operates in the same mist of ignorance and fear that surrounds neurotoxic pesticides. Tear gas is not a gas at all. By tear gas we mean groups of chemicals, which are lachrymatory agents. This in Latin means they cause tears. Popular tear gases include CS (2-chlorobenzylidene malonitrile), CN (chroroacetophenone) and CR (dibenzoxazepine) – irritants released as smoke, vapor or liquid sprays. Another tear gas is pepper spray or OC (oleoresin capsicum). This is an inflammatory substance triggering tears.

Feigenbaum chronicles the history of tear gas intelligently and with passion in her “Tear Gas: From the Battlefields of World War I to the Streets of Today” (Verso, 2017).

According to Feigenbaum, tear gas started its warfare career in August 1914 when French troops fired grenades filled with methylbenzyl bromide into German trenches. The effect was to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Tear gas forced the German soldiers to run out of their protective trenches, only to be mowed down by French machine guns. This was the Battle of the Frontiers. In April 1915, at Ypres, the Germans retaliated with chlorine gas. The war of asphyxiating gases was in full swing.

Daan Boens, Belgian soldier-poet lived through this nerve gas war. In 1918, he published a poem, “Gas,” in which he caught the barbarism of chemical warfare. Feigenbaum cites the poem:

“The stench is unbearable, while death mocks back.

The masks around the cheeks cut the look of bestial snouts,

The masks with wild eyes, crazy or absurd,

Their bodies drift on until they stumble upon steel.

The men know nothing, they breathe in fear.

Their hands clench on weapons like a buoy for the drowning,

They do not see the enemy, who, also masked, loom forth,

And storm them, hidden in the rings of gas.

Thus in the dirty mist, the biggest murder happens.”

Like the pesticide merchants and lobbyists, tear gas advocates have buried this murder. They, according to Feigenbaum, reject the effects of their product: tearing, gagging, miscarriages, burning of the eyes, blindness, and death. They paint the military origins and use of tear gases into oblivion. The result of this successful propaganda is that tear gas faces none of the prohibitions against chemical warfare agents. A straightforward war gas – tear gas – has become a peacemaker – Innocent of harm.

Feigenbaum laments in particular the difficulties she faced in tracking sales and use of tear gas:

“There are just too many secrets and too many lies. The international trade in tear gas is buried under bureaucracy and often classified beyond the reach of Freedom of Information requests. There are files upon files that have been shredded and burned, deleted, altered and falsified.”

That’s to be expected of a chemical warfare agent dressed in civilian clothes.

Yet Feigenbaum succeeded eventually in her task. Her book is a lucid history that puts tear gas on trial. She exposed the profiteers, scientists, military buyers, arms dealers, police suppliers and editors trying to put a humane face on a dangerous weapon.

Neurotoxic pesticides are connected to tear gas by neurotoxicity. They are also products of chemical warfare. They kill by nerve poisoning and asphyxiation. They should be banned.

As Feigenbaum sees it, in its civilian life, tear gas does more than killing. It is designed “to torment people, to break their spirits, to cause physical and psychological damage.”

__________________

Evaggelos Vallianatos worked on Capitol Hill for 2 years and at the US Environmental Protection Agency for 25 years. He is the author of hundreds of articles and 6 books, including “Poison Spring,” with McKay Jenkins.

Courtesy: Independent Science News

The post Tear Gas: From the Battlefields of World War I to the Streets of Today first appeared on Sindh Courier.