I Can’t Understand this World

Elio Delgado Legon

HAVANA TIMES — I must confess that in spite of there only being three months left until my 81st birthday and having spent the second half of my life tied to the news, I am still worried about the world’s current situation and vehemently wish inequality ends and that I don’t have to see any more images of useless wars.

Similarly, I don’t want to see any more people removed from their natural habitat in order to be able to save their lives at the expense of a huge suffering that I can’t put into words; of extreme poverty in countries which have been exploited throughout history by those nations which are today the most powerful and developed, at their expense precisely, and even of marginalized groups within these very developed countries. I repeat, I must confess that I can’t understand this world I’ve had to live in.

I can’t understand what an organization of nations does, which should be called Ununited Nations instead of United Nations, because, while one of its members tries to establish itself as the owner and guide of the world, and a group of countries that belong to the same exploitating clan sing in chorus and others receive a few crumbs for their subservience, many nations suffer from poverty which is brought on by the extraction of their riches by multinational companies belonging to developed countries. I also don’t understand why colonial enclaves, such as Puerto Rico and the Western Sahara, still exist in the 21st century.

The fact that coup, illegitimate and corrupt governments who only create suffering for their people are supported today, when bloody dictatorships were supported in the past which cost the lives of thousands of people and disappeared just as many, is something I also can’t get my head around. And, on the other hand, legitimate governments, chosen by their people and who work strenously in the interests of their citizens’ wellbeing, are attacked and attempts are made to overthrow them in any way possible, having to face destabilizing actions and economic, commercial and financial blockades, as well as sanctions meant to bring about changes in the government, just because the Imperialists don’t like them.

The country which has dropped atomic bombs on open cities (which caused the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and had consequences which have lasted decades), the same country which has waged dozens of useless wars where millions of people, the majority of whom were civilians, have perished; for example, the Korean and Vietnam wars (the bloodiest and most merciless) where all kinds of weapons banned by international law were used, not to forget Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, just to name a few more. The same thing has been attempted in Syria where they first encouraged an armed uprising of the oppostion and then supported this same opposition and terrorist groups, who have destroyed the region and led to millions of displaced persons.

I repeat, I can’t understand how that country wants to stand up as the judge of the entire world and has never been punished for its acts of villany.

It doesn’t make any sense that the country to hand over nuclear weapons to South Africa’s racist regime and who supported them with all kinds of weapons so they could act as Imperialism’s police officer in Africa, where it took over Namibia and tried to do the same thing in Angola should be the judge and jury. The same country who gave nuclear weapons to Israel and maintains this country with large sums of money and weapons so it can serve as its police officer in the Middle East. Likewise, the US has supported Israel’s evil acts of villany ever since 1967 when they invaded Palestinian and Syrian lands and have waged a genocide against the Palestinian people and created a great hullabaloo because North Korea has run nuclear tests (which are for defense purposes) because it feels threatened by constant military maneuvers near its coasts.

It’s hard for me to understand why developed Western nations, with the US at the head, believe Russia to be an enemy and haven’t stopped approving sanctions against this country, which hasn’t dropped atomic bombs on anyone, which hasn’t waged wars against any other country, which doesn’t have military bases around the world, which only wants to work and continue making progress in peace.

I can’t understand how the government of the most developed country in the world can refute the hundreds of scientists who say climate change is real and what man can still do to prevent a catastrophe which can end life on Earth.

I can’t understand how billions of dollars are spent every year on weapons to kill and destroy, while millions of people continue to die because of starvation and a lack of medical attention and, in some cases, a lack of water. I also don’t understand why there are still millions of illiterate people and children without access to education in the middle of the 21st century, while there are enough resources to change this state of calamity.

I have so many questions that I still can’t find an answer to, but I can’t keep going on and I believe that I have laid out enough here to justify why, at 81 years old, I still can’t understand this world.