“War is a scandal to be mourned every day,” Pope Francis stated in one of his inspiring homilies at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. But what is the scandal of war? The thousands of innocent victims, those whose lives are taken away and irremediably changed by the cruelty of war? Indeed, these are big scandals! But there is more.
Even before considering the direct and more tangible effects of war, war already has a long list of injustices attached to it – the deprivation of people of their basic needs like education, food, housing and infrastructures for development, and job opportunities, among others. The billions invested in the arms trade are a crime against those who are deprived of their basic needs. Nations across the globe spend overwhelmingly for arms. The summary of the military expenditure presented by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) YearBook 2013 is appalling! It estimates the world military expenditure in 2012 reached $1.756 trillion; this corresponds to 2.5% of world gross domestic product (GDP), or approximately $249 per person in the world (www.globalissues.org). If the economic crisis forced many nations to cut back on all sorts of public spending, it certainly was not the case with military spending. The report notes, however, that a decline was felt in world military expenditure in 2012, but it was rather insignificant.
The scandals of war do not end there. The huge investments in weaponry are often the consequence of fear and are justified by the need for security and peace. However, security and peace among peoples can never be achieved by arms. Actually, the basic problems affecting the world today cannot be solved by the power of arms. There is no possible justification for what is evil, for what destroys, and for what makes millions of innocent victims. The scandal of “justifying” military interventions becomes all the more ironic when it is all done “for the sake of peace and security.” Can weapons and arms keep us secure?
It is good to bear in mind the huge profits armed conflicts make, either at a large or small scale. In fact, some $2.4 trillion (£1.5T) or 4.4% of the global economy “is dependent on violence,” according to the Global Peace Index, referring to “industries that create or manage violence” – or the defense industry. Could this be a justification for war? Not at all! The military might generate huge amounts but, unfortunately, they never reach the poor, the needy or even those who, in one way or another, have been victimized by armed conflicts.
The present raging conflicts in the world (from South Sudan, Central African Republic to Syria and in so many other places), the killing of people for a piece of land, racial hatred, and power grabbing, can never be justified. Instead, we should mourn the fact that there are still human hearts capable of such atrocities today, valuing their interests and ambitions above all else. The problem is that we have become so used to these atrocities, that they are now routine news for us – even to the point that they no longer scandalize us. Have our tears run dry? Our indifference and apathy toward such human tragedies are, indeed, the biggest scandal of all. And to fail to be scandalized by them is tantamount to denying our own humanity.
