I read an interesting article this morning entitled: A Light for the Future - On the Political Uses of the Dying Body. It might have been about prisoners awaiting execution or the politics of euthanasia, the difficult decisions that must be made about a patient on life-support, but instead it is about individuals who starve themselves, suicide bombers and self-immolators. The article, written by Costicia Bradatan makes the actions of these individuals heroic and I agree with him to a certain extent, for they stand above us mere mortals who cling to life as significant and instead, in their singularity and determination are willing to sacrifice their very being for what they consider a greater cause.
As much as I find it difficult to look at self-immolators, you have to admit that the spectacle of the body consumed by fire is remarkable and it seems to go to that part of us that believes that we are somehow cleansed by fire and water, age old symbols that permeate our psyche and religious rites. Some agree that the term 'suicide' is inappropriate for those who strap a bomb to their body, detonate it and kill themselves and innocent bystanders for they consider these people murderers, others perceive them as martyrs. As Michelle Maiese said, While suicide is associated with hopelessness and depression, the actions of the bombers are seen as a matter of heroism and honor.
The article, which highlights the different ways that people sacrifice themselves for what they perceive as the greater good, was made more intriguing for me since the writer speaks of the silence prior to and during the act of self destruction. The more I think about silence and the way it draws upon time, perhaps extending it beyond our usual understanding and experience, the more I think it is a portal to non-space and yet even in meditation in which the mind is quietened there is what we may conceive as inner space. Maybe those ready to sacrifice have already unhinged from the physical plane, otherwise how could they go through such horrific experiences? It has to be a case of 'mind over matter'.
Perhaps we secretly admire these martyrs (notwithstanding the fact that in the process of destroying themselves that they have an extreme affect on others who witness their death) for there is a long tradition, especially in Christianity in which martyrs were venerated because of their ability to endure torture and pain.
Bradatan speaks of Ghandi, but whilst I was reading I recalled the fact that many Afghani women self-immolate in order to free themselves from an oppressive husband or to escape from poverty, I also remembered Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008) a graphic account of the hunger strike and eventual death of IRA volunteer, Bobby Sand (Michael Fassbender) jailed in 1981 and the countless people in detention centres within Australia who are, as I write this refusing to eat and keep themselves alive. Surely this extreme act by people who are already desperate, who have fled oppressive regimes, hoping to make a better life for themselves and their family must be considered as they slowly destroy their body as the only way of speaking to a nation that appears unable to deal with its obvious xenophobia?
As much as I find it difficult to look at self-immolators, you have to admit that the spectacle of the body consumed by fire is remarkable and it seems to go to that part of us that believes that we are somehow cleansed by fire and water, age old symbols that permeate our psyche and religious rites. Some agree that the term 'suicide' is inappropriate for those who strap a bomb to their body, detonate it and kill themselves and innocent bystanders for they consider these people murderers, others perceive them as martyrs. As Michelle Maiese said, While suicide is associated with hopelessness and depression, the actions of the bombers are seen as a matter of heroism and honor.
The article, which highlights the different ways that people sacrifice themselves for what they perceive as the greater good, was made more intriguing for me since the writer speaks of the silence prior to and during the act of self destruction. The more I think about silence and the way it draws upon time, perhaps extending it beyond our usual understanding and experience, the more I think it is a portal to non-space and yet even in meditation in which the mind is quietened there is what we may conceive as inner space. Maybe those ready to sacrifice have already unhinged from the physical plane, otherwise how could they go through such horrific experiences? It has to be a case of 'mind over matter'.
Perhaps we secretly admire these martyrs (notwithstanding the fact that in the process of destroying themselves that they have an extreme affect on others who witness their death) for there is a long tradition, especially in Christianity in which martyrs were venerated because of their ability to endure torture and pain.
Bradatan speaks of Ghandi, but whilst I was reading I recalled the fact that many Afghani women self-immolate in order to free themselves from an oppressive husband or to escape from poverty, I also remembered Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008) a graphic account of the hunger strike and eventual death of IRA volunteer, Bobby Sand (Michael Fassbender) jailed in 1981 and the countless people in detention centres within Australia who are, as I write this refusing to eat and keep themselves alive. Surely this extreme act by people who are already desperate, who have fled oppressive regimes, hoping to make a better life for themselves and their family must be considered as they slowly destroy their body as the only way of speaking to a nation that appears unable to deal with its obvious xenophobia?
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