On June 7, 1494, the two biggest powers of the time, Spain and Portugal, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided between them newly discovered lands outside Europe.
The Pope in Rome then blessed this agreement, which sliced the world into two halves; the old world with all that it contained, including people, mountains, land, water and air, was the property of the king of Portugal; and the new world with everything in it belonged to the king of Spain.
This agreement blessed the killing of the defeated, confiscation of their wealth and the violation of their honour. Based on it, Spain sent fleets to control South America, where many massacres took place. Massacres proudly recorded by the victor while forgotten by the conquered people.
This led to the extermination of a large percentage of the indigenous population through sickness, hunger, and subjugation. They were removed from history and the world map by the force of arms. They had to leave their homes and settle in mountains until they were mostly eliminated. Their descendants got their rights only in the late 20th century after some of them came to power in some Latin American countries.
In the East, where Portugal possessed the entire ancient world, carnages that are difficult to describe took place. Like Spain, Portugal used the Inquisition in large parts of the world while it evangelised people by force or burned them alive, even killing them in ways that can be devised only by a demonic mind. This occurred in the coast of Africa, India, the Asian archipelago and the Gulf region.
This story has been repeated several times throughout history; most recently after the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, which divided the Arab world into its currently known states. Several state models were negotiated until the two aforementioned individuals chose one that satisfied them and their greedy governments.
The massacres that took place after the Sykes-Picot weren’t as bad as the massacres of the late 15th century. However, the wars that the region experienced afterwards and never-ending conflicts have claimed the lives of many people. Citizens of many countries suddenly found themselves under emergency military rule without their consent. Random borders were created that divided families and tribes, forming odd newborn countries.
I won’t give examples but the Arab Spring occurred to fix a mistake that was made 100 years ago. The tragedies, wars, bloodshed and humiliation we have seen are similar to the experience our ancestors went through 500 years ago.
I wonder sometimes, how long will we remain vulnerable to interference? And what is the way out of our weakness?
It is difficult to determine the road map out of the humiliation that we are currently suffering. However, some have decided that the best ways are fighting, forcing and demonstrating strength, as done by some regimes. But this method is not accepted by the general public because its consequences will definitely worsen their lives.
After trying hard, I was able to watch “Though the unbelievers are averse”, broadcast by the local government. It is a clip that is extremely hard for me to watch; I was covering the television screen to avoid looking at some scenes, which I felt were too insensitive. I wondered why was it broadcast and what was the benefit from it? Is it to spread terror? Maybe!
It is clear that the youth indulging in violence reached the state of desperation waiting for the world and their rulers to reach out to them and look after them. They chose to express their anger and discontent in this bloody way as if it is a message of death sent to the world: “You either stop messing with us or we will mess with you.”
It is difficult to control a group that feels it has been oppressed for many decades and to try to convince it by saying that there is no need for violence when it feels that it is a victim of violence. At this stage, I really don’t see any alternative except real reform that will wean away those who have embraced violence or are going to adopt it. However, the world has decided on its own way to resolve this issue, which is like a closed circle burning from within.
