The Year of Disruption

Islamic State, Ukraine, Russia revanchism, Boko Haram, Ebola, Iraq and Syria: why 2014's deadliness caught us off-guard

Former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Apocalypse Now: Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City in July
Apocalypse Now: Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City in July

We might be living in the so far most peaceful country in human history, however the year which is coming to an end will be remembered as one of the most violent and volatile in recent years

Processing and making sense of the news we are fed on a daily basis through our TV sets, phones and PCs is no easy task, as separating the good guys from the bad guys is not as easy as it once was and the definitions of terrorism are changing as quickly as the border lines between Iraq and Syria.

Going through the list of terrorist attacks in 2014 is a stark reminder of the deterioration of peace levels in the worlds and the revolving allegiances of terrorist groups and states.

Gruesome images of slaughtered and dismembered bodies and the complexity of on-going conflicts could understandably lead to apathy. Especially when one could easily get distracted looking at photos of Kim Kardashian’s bottom of watching the interminable trickle of ice bucket challenge videos.

At a glance, it is easy to determine who the enemy is. Muslims, ISIS, Syrians, Iranians, Russians and so on, or at least that is what Western media outlets would have us believe. But things are much more complicated. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the Syrian civil war and the Israeli occupation are just three explains of complex realities which cannot be taken out of their historical and geographical contexts. 

 

However, beyond hidden agendas and the ability to process information, which is routinely presented as fact, 2014 could be unquestionably termed as the year of disruption. 

Unsurprisingly ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, the Taliban and al-Shabab were behind most of the turmoil and deaths in 2014, but this year will also be remembered for an increase in ‘lone wolf’ attacks in which individuals reacted to the West’s battle against radical Islamist movements by launching attacks at home. 

This year alone there have been a series of attacks in Australia, Canada, Belgium and the US by Islamists responding to calls from ISIS to kill non-believers. 

But blaming terrorism on religion alone is short-sighted and hasty. 

The rise of ISIS and the turbulence in the Middle East were facilitated by the US and its former President George W. Bush’s fixation with exporting democracy, a policy which to a certain extent was perpetuated by incumbent President Barack Obama. 

In addition violence and unrest stemming from political conflict, inequality and the struggle for economic dominance in Ukraine, the Middle East, North Africa, Honk Kong, and America highlighted the fragility of peace and the rule of law, including countries which we might have considered as immune to such strife.

Europe

In what must be the most turbulent year in Europe since the end of the Kosovo War, the clash between Ukraine and Russia has re-awakened the spectre of the Cold War. 

Months of protests in Ukraine climaxed when demonstrators clashed with police in February, killing more than 70 people and leading to the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Subsequently the Ukrainian government made way for a new administration but the nationwide violence and a heterogeneous opposition movement made up of democrats and extreme far-right parties were the prelude to the conflict with Russia. 

Early in the year, unidentified pro-Russian militias began popping up in Ukraine’s Crimea region and in March, following a referendum which was not recognised by many, Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula and claimed it as part of Russia. 

In September, a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 298 passengers was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all on board and kicking-off a pathetic blame game between Russia, Ukraine and the US. 

This was the final push for a country already on the brink of war, and fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels escalated in the region, prompting the US and the EU to impose economic sanctions on Russia, which has led to an economic slump in the country, now made much worse by the oil price slump.

But with the biting winter closing in and Russia and the Western allies engaged in a geopolitical war over the control of resources and economic dominance in the region, a peaceful solution needs to be brokered before a humanitarian disaster strikes. 

Middle East

Unlike Europe, the Middle East is not known for the high levels of peace. The brutal civil war in Syria – now entering its fourth year – has spawned an equally ruthless conflict in Iraq and reminded the world of the long-lasting plight of invisible people such as the Kurds and the Yazidis.  

Although ISIS began its rise in early 2014, the world started to take notice of the ferocious militant group when it went on a bloody tirade through Iraq in June, toppling city after city and forcing more than 1.7 million to flee. 

In a matter of months ISIS has grown into one of the biggest threats in the world. The well-funded group led by the enigmatic Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi aims at creating a caliphate spanning across Iraq, Syria and beyond.

In an unprecedented propaganda offensive, ISIS launched a massive online campaign aimed at spreading fear and recruiting Westerners. 

The cold blooded murder of American and British journalists and activists by hooded jihadists and the massacre of minorities in Iraq and Syria led to the US launching an airstrike campaign against ISIS fighters.

Also, in December we were also given a stark reminder that the US’s former sworn enemy, the Taliban, is alive and kicking following the slaughter of 132 schoolchildren in Pakistan.  

However, with allegiances in the region changing on a daily basis and with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf countries playing a dangerous game in clandestinely funding terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other countries while participating in the US led attacks against ISIS it’s nigh to impossible to tell how peace will be achieved. 

The same can be said of the eternal conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Once again the Israeli aggression confirmed that the fertile lands which previously provided people with olives, zaatar and an identity have turned into fertile land for inequality, violence and death.

Palestinian leaders and politicians – like their counterparts in Israel and the rest of the world – might be corrupt and hawkish, but the Israeli bombardments and incursions into Gaza only reinforce the spirit of a besieged people.

Since the end of the Israeli military operation in August, which killed over 2,000 Palestinians, attacks on Gaza continued on a daily basis and this has led to increased retaliatory attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank. 

Despite US secretary of state John Kerry’s efforts to keep the peace talks on life support, both parties, especially Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seem unwilling to make any concessions making any peace solution a distant dream for all citizens of all classes in Israel and the occupied lands. 

Africa

Closer to home, the situation in Libya in 2014 has gone from bad to worse, with most Maltese and foreign citizens in the oil-rich North African nation having to flee the violence which has gripped the country.

Having two parliaments, two governments, two prime ministers, hundreds of militias and tribes involved in an armed conflict and Islamist militias claiming control over vast territories, everything is pointing towards a split and at best a federation of autonomous regions. 

Following the advent of the Arab Spring in 2011, Tunisia is the only beacon of hope in the turbulent region, with two pivotal elections in the last few months paving the way towards a full democracy, which involves parties from all ideological backgrounds, including moderate Islamists. 

Ideally, North African and Midde Eastern countries go down the same route, however the rest of the world cannot expect citizens of these countries to take ownership of a Western blueprint of democracy. 

The only certainty is that the counter-revolutions following the Arab Spring and social change in the wake of political and institutional vacuums left behind by dictators will take a very long time to take shape. 

Another shocking event in 2014 was the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, by the radical Islamic group, Boko Haram. 

In May, the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls began to spread on Twitter, raising the world’s awareness of the mass abduction. However, to date, the majority of the girls remain missing and the spate of attacks carried out in Nigeria by Boko Haram and other groups go largely unnoticed by the rest of the world. 

2014 will go down as an annus horribilis for Africa, with the deadly virus of Ebola causing havoc in Western Africa.

More than 85 cases of Ebola were reported in Guinea in March, marking the spreading of an outbreak that quickly spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. The surge would eventually become the largest Ebola epidemic in history.

It all started frightening people in April, with some 90 cases of Ebola reported in Guinea but as the virus swept West Africa, the death toll continued to rise due to porous borders and poor health care conditions. 

Meanwhile, the virus spread to the US and Europe, inciting international panic and confirming the vulnerability of the world and the huge disparity in health care in rich and poor countries.

Following the spread of Ebola, countries took notice of the desperate situation in West Africa and the huge inequalities and governments stepped in to help contain the virus in the region.

Americas

However, many rich countries such as the US and Britain were put to shame by the smaller and very poor Caribbean island of Cuba, which despite being under a punishing embargo for over 50 years sent hundreds of care workers to West Africa before the World Health Organisation issued an urgent call for help in the struggle to contain the disease. 

Then in December, the US and Cuba took the first step in patching diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by the Vatican.

With hundreds of thousands of second and third generation Cuban migrants in the US having softened their views on their homeland and the Castro brothers, it was inevitable for the US government to soften its stance and finally start talks on removing the blockade. 

The end of the Castros’ hold on Cuba is long due but if the island wants to prosper and keep its extraordinary record of social justice at home and solidarity abroad alive, it shouldn’t allow the spirit of the 1959 revolution to die.

2014 also was a timely reminder of racial inequality in the US. Hours after 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black, was shot and killed by a white police officer, hundreds took to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri to protest. Brown’s death and the violent protests triggered an old debate about racism in America. Despite having a black President for the first time ever, racial inequality in America still exists and the dream which drove Barack Obama to win office in 2009 remains a dream to this day.