Naturally, most of it is talking about all the work that UNRWA does and how many people it helps. What is left unmentioned is why the Palestinians are still refugees, why UNRWA continues to exist even after it no longer should, and of course the more sordid side of UNRWA's history. Because we can't expect Americans to really understand what UNRWA is all about if we give them both sides of the story, I guess.
But the best part, as you will see, is this paragraph (emphasis mine):
"Contrary to a popular notion, Palestinians served by UNRWA do not exist on relief, except in severe crises like the war in Gaza. Most are poor, but the majority have become self sufficient. UNRWA education, health and other services have brought hope, dignity, and an escape from the most dire poverty for millions of Palestinian refugees, and have helped create a vibrant, productive, aspiring community....Indeed, UNRWA schools and services in the West Bank and Gaza are a buffer against joblessness, despair and extremism among refugees, 50% of whom are under 25, in an environment where unrest is a constant threat, pending a long overdue peace. "Okay, so let's go over this again: America is paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year to people who hate us and want us dead. We don't know where most of it goes, and chances are that quite a lot of it goes to people who want to kill Jews and often try. We never see any kind of return on our investment, and the best part is....they don't even need it?! Wow.
You know who else needs to escape dire poverty? You know who else deserves a vibrant, productive, aspiring community? You know who else need jobs and hope? Americans. Who unlike the Palestinians, don't spend their free time chanting "Death to America." Failing that, there are millions of poor, hungry people worldwide (including other Arabs) who need our money a heck of a lot more than the Palestinians do, who don't have a whole UN agency set up just for them, and they don't hate us.
Oh, and before someone tries to bring up US aid to Israel, we've been over it many times already. There is no comparison. And stop trying to change the subject.
I know that I may not be the most objective critic of UNRWA, but Mr. Wilcox's article fails to convince. Maybe what UNRWA does is important. It might even be necessary. But it sounds to me like he is trying to convince us that it is in America's interests to give all this money for no real reason to people who are not appreciative or grateful and not expect anything in return. Except for these fluffy, high-minded sounding values. Still, I though the above quoted phrases were quite revealing. Would you really want to be the one to tell a starving child in Africa, "I'd like to help you, but you see the Palestinians really need to help to fight despair, so...?"
BRAVO Zach. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI liked the post! If welfare for the Palestinians is so important, there is a good argument to be made that they should be taking care of their own people with their own money instead of asking others to do it for them. That is exactly the kind of habit UNRWA has failed to inculcate in the Palestinian Arabs who as rotten crybabies expect the world to do all the hard work for them while they can just sit back and collect the reward. Sorry, life's not like that anywhere on the planet. And people on welfare are seldom grateful to their benefactors - and its no surprise the Palestinians aren't.
ReplyDeleteYou just won't learn the above facts on the HP.