World of Politics with Harry McGee

When I was studying English in University College Galway in the 1980s, one of our prescribed texts was The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

The story was about a steamboat captain, Marlowe, travelling upriver through the very difficult terrain of the Congo in the late 19th century to meet a man named Kurtz, who had a legendary status as a trader and inspirational figure.

As reflected by the title, the journey was savage and gruelling – and Marlowe witnessed scenes of cruelty, indignity and slaughter that were overwhelming and unedifying.

When he finally came to meet Kurtz, it became quickly obvious that the trader had become completely mad, either from malaria or from the experience of what he had done, and become, in Africa.

And the one phrase that Kurt did utter, when pressed, has become so celebrated and memorable, that it has almost become the stock description of any of the wars fought in this century, last century, or any century.

“The horror. The horror.“

Every time I turn on the television or radio to catch the news, or scroll through social media, or read any news story, mostly it is about what is happening in Gaza.

Months ago, I thought it could not get any worse. But it has. Every day brings new lows, bleak new pictures from the dystopia of the 2020s. It has become so extreme that the only words I can find to describe them are the ones uttered by Kurtz.

Every day people are dying not only from the unrelenting Israeli onslaught – they’re also now dying from malnutrition.

This week Hamas released pictures of two of the Israeli hostages who are still alive. Both looked emaciated, nothing more than skin and bone. The video footage was shot in the tunnel system under Gaza, presumably the hostages have been kept since being taken on October 7, 2023.

Israelis acted angrily at the condition of the men. But are they blind? The majority of the population of Gaza are equally malnourished and are also emaciated.

The war has been a horror show from the start. What may have been justifiable for the first few weeks – that is Israel‘s right to defend himself after the October 7 massacre –quickly turned into an overreaction, then a massacre, then a genocide.

Over 60,000 people have been killed. Hundreds of thousands of people have been injured, some of them maimed for life, having lost limbs, or having their innards blown out or having suffered serious head injuries.

Pictured: Thousands of hungry people make a desperate attempt to access food for their families, amid starvation and dire humanitarian conditions across the Gaza Strip. Photo: UNRWA