From the fight against Ebola to the war on ISIL

Shahrvand newspaper belongs to the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran. “The paper that promotes Iranian volunteerism,” reads a sign that rests permanently next to the logo of the paper which deals with questions like healthcare and the environment and highlights them more than other dailies.

What comes below is the translation of part of an opinion piece by Nader Sedighi – a researcher – which appeared in the paper on September 20:

At a time when the United Nations Security Council calls an Ebola outbreak in West Africa a “threat to international peace and security” and health has become an all-important concept capable of raising global alarms, one should wonder why the world institutions still insist on imposing inhumane sanctions against the security, welfare, dignity and healthcare of Iranian citizens!

Never before have threats to the healthcare of a nation come in the same equation as threats to the security of citizens. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionists at large are a tangible example in which threats to healthcare and security meet.

At wartime, Gaza in its entirety, including its people, trees, farms, mosques, schools, hospitals, children and women came under attack by one of the most powerful militaries in the world. During the ceasefire, like the residents of a refugee camp – or a big prison – Gazans were subject to blockade and gradual death, something that reminds one of Nazi concentration camps.

From the perspective of Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, when in a “state of exception” a nation suffers “collective punishment” ordinary life becomes similar to life in a refugee camp.

Under such circumstances, the government fails to remain responsible for the health of citizens. Instead, an outside force will dominate the everyday life of citizens and take over, through effective means of sanction, the right to spare or kill people who are suffering under sanctions.

If sanctions against Iran run their course as they have been initially designed by the Zionist lobby, they will simply turn our dear homeland – Iran – into a big refugee camp. As long as sanctions persist, and the so-called options remain on President Obama’s desk, we [the Iranian nation] experience more difficulties than those of Palestine.

[…] America’s simultaneous fight against Ebola and ISIL is an indication of its clear understanding of the security challenges associated with globalization.

The negative effects of sanctions and the inevitable impact of them on the healthcare of Iranian citizens reflect the dark side of America’s understanding of the world challenges when it comes to security.

How is it possible to make a transition from the dark understanding that America has in the field of security to a clear insight into present developments of globalization?