In the Babylon 5 episode, "Acts of Sacrifice", we are given another glimpse of the Centauri - Narn war with the Centauri ruthlessly firing on the Narn colonists, regardless of who was there - soldiers or civilians.
By a Narn Colony Planet:
Narn 1: Environmental controls hit.
Narn 2: Do we have enough power to jump?
Narn 1: Only if we go right now.
Narn 2: Prepare for jump.
Narn 1: I'm picking up a distress signal. It's one of the evacuation transports. It didn't make it out with the rest.
Narn 2: How many?
Narn 1: Seven hundred of our females and children. Centauri forces closing on their position.
Narn 2: Keep the jump point open as long as you can. And put us between the civilians and the Centauri Cruiser.
The transport escapes, but the Narn battleship is destroyed.
On Babylon 5, the situation is discussed:
Narn Ambassador: G’Kar: Five thousand of my people died in the battle you have just seen. The Centauri attacked without warning despite their promise not to strike civilian targets. Had our ships not arrived in time or made the sacrifice to save the civilians the Centauri would've slaughtered everyone: Females, children the old, the infirm, everyone, without cause.
Chief Garibaldi: I thought Londo was gonna make a rebuttal.
Captain Sheridan: He issued a statement saying his government didn't break its promise. He accuses the Narns of placing military targets within the civilian population in order to use their own people as shields. He also said the escaping transport contained weapons, not refugees.
G’Kar: That's a lie! These are atrocities! Surely you see that. You must see that!
Sheridan: G'Kar, everyone in this room knows too well that the first casualty of war is always the truth.
By a Narn Colony Planet:
Narn 1: Environmental controls hit.
Narn 2: Do we have enough power to jump?
Narn 1: Only if we go right now.
Narn 2: Prepare for jump.
Narn 1: I'm picking up a distress signal. It's one of the evacuation transports. It didn't make it out with the rest.
Narn 2: How many?
Narn 1: Seven hundred of our females and children. Centauri forces closing on their position.
Narn 2: Keep the jump point open as long as you can. And put us between the civilians and the Centauri Cruiser.
The transport escapes, but the Narn battleship is destroyed.
On Babylon 5, the situation is discussed:
Narn Ambassador: G’Kar: Five thousand of my people died in the battle you have just seen. The Centauri attacked without warning despite their promise not to strike civilian targets. Had our ships not arrived in time or made the sacrifice to save the civilians the Centauri would've slaughtered everyone: Females, children the old, the infirm, everyone, without cause.
Chief Garibaldi: I thought Londo was gonna make a rebuttal.
Captain Sheridan: He issued a statement saying his government didn't break its promise. He accuses the Narns of placing military targets within the civilian population in order to use their own people as shields. He also said the escaping transport contained weapons, not refugees.
G’Kar: That's a lie! These are atrocities! Surely you see that. You must see that!
Sheridan: G'Kar, everyone in this room knows too well that the first casualty of war is always the truth.
Israel and Gaza
Watching this episode again, I could not be struck by the propaganda war waged by Israel's ruling politicians justifying the murder of innocent civilians in Gaza - women, children, the old, the inform. It accusation is that Hamas uses the people of Gaza as human shields - just as the Centauri justify their bloodshed in Babylon 5.
The expulsion of journalists except for Al Jazeera means that independent verification of the atrocities committed against the population of Gaza can be countered as lies. They can say the stories are made up. But they made a mistake when - after bombs hit a church in Gaza - the Vatican sent Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa into the war zone.
Because he saw and reported the truth of what is happening.
We entered a place of devastation, but also of wonderful humanity. We walked through the dust of ruins, past collapsed buildings and tents everywhere: in courtyards, alleyways, on the streets and on the beach — tents that have become homes for those who have lost everything. We stood among families who have lost count of the days of exile because they see no horizon for a return. Children talked and played without batting an eyelid —they were already used to the noise of the bombing.
We entered a place of devastation, but also of wonderful humanity. We walked through the dust of ruins, past collapsed buildings and tents everywhere: in courtyards, alleyways, on the streets and on the beach — tents that have become homes for those who have lost everything. We stood among families who have lost count of the days of exile because they see no horizon for a return. Children talked and played without batting an eyelid —they were already used to the noise of the bombing.
Humanitarian aid is not only necessary — it is a matter of life and death. Refusing it is not a delay, but a sentence. Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm.
We have seen it: Men holding out in the sun for hours in the hope of a simple meal. This is a humiliation that is hard to bear when you see it with your own eyes. It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.
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