In the 2005 Woody Allen film, “Match Point,” a retired tennis pro marries into a wealthy family. In order to protect the opulent lifestyle he becomes accustomed to, he then murders his pregnant mistress. Although he initially struggles with guilt, he justifies the murders as necessary protection. The film is a commentary on the faintness of morality when confronted with the preservation instinct.
Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian aid organization faced a similar examination into the ethics of preservation, as its hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz was hit by an American airstrike on Oct. 3. The organization is reeling as they seek to understand how this could have happened as war-zone hospitals are afforded protection by the Geneva Convention. The 2015 attack is considered the largest loss of life by airstrike to Doctors Without Borders.
The Pentagon admitted to inadvertently hitting the hospital during the operation, and President Obama extended his condolences to victims, calling it a “tragic incident.” The United States military confirmed an airstrike at 2:15 a.m., and explained that the strike was intended for those “who were threatening the force.”
Condolences, however, are cold comfort to the medical staff and patients of this hospital. Doctors Without Borders reported a total of thirty deaths, including thirteen staff members, while twenty-seven staff members were injured. The bombing continued for 30 minutes after both the United States and Afghan militaries were informed by telephone that the hospital was being bombed. During the attack, the organization frenziedly contacted the United States military and NATO in order to stop the attack. Their first communication with the military occurred four minutes into the attack, and they continued contact for over an hour. This did nothing mitigate the damage or halt the attack.
These staff members at the hospital were essential in Kunduz as there is little medical care in the area, which is overwhelmed by fighting. Medical staff worked constantly, and were attending to four hundred patients during the week of the air strike.
The military has not provided detail into the strike, and only explain that this was a counterattack to Taliban aggression. Doctors Without Borders rejects the idea that the airstrike could have been a mistake, and is requesting an independent investigation. The coordinates of the hospital were known by the United States military, and the director of the organization, Chris Strokes, asked during a press conference after the attack, “Did our hospital lose its protected status in the eyes of the military forces engaged in this attack, and if so, why?”
The airstrike brings about larger questions of the codes of conduct in war zones, especially after the Paris attack by the Islamic State. In the face of terrorism, violence and extremism, do the treaties in place no longer hold weight? Are countries who fear for the safety of their citizens allowed to unilaterally decide on military strikes, regardless of collateral damage?
U.S. presidential hopefuls continue to weigh in on their strategies to battle the growing insurgency and extremism of the Islamic State, and provide their strategies to mitigate this danger. British Prime Minister David Cameron recently spoke about the world’s fight against the Islamic State, as France, Britain, Belgium and the United States look to attack terrorism with military action.
It is important to remember that as a nation, citizens support the treaties of the Geneva convention. This set of international humanitarian laws is set up to protect the innocent, specifically the women and children residing in these highly volatile areas, and voters should demand that their executive leadership honor the organizations that do this difficult aid work. Humanitarian aid workers should not feel threatened that countries can take matters into their own hand. There are rules and regulations to acts of war. Decisions based in fear, anxiety and blind pronouncements cause very real injury and harm, most likely to innocent victims, too weak and too small to be taken notice of the jingoist justifications to these attacks. In addition to the victims, a nation no longer bound to their own laws and regulations become casualties themselves, casualties to fear, panic, and anxiety.
Doctors Without Borders has created a petition asking for an independent investigation as to the reasons behind the airstrike of the Kunduz hospital. They are essentially responding to this devastating attack with a request for accountability among all parties involved. See the link below to review and sign.
Woody Allen ends his film with the lead character getting away with the murder, with a bit of luck on his side. In a dream sequence, the murdered victims confront him, and he responds in kind, “It would be fitting if I were apprehended and punished. At least there would be some small sign of justice, some small measure of hope for the possibility of meaning.”
• Natasha Samuel is a freelance writer from Baltimore, Maryland. She has written for Men’s Fitness, NationSwell and is currently working on her first book project.
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