Charles M. Schulz (famous for creating the cartoon character Charlie Brown) said, “Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night’.”

And Will Rogers said, “We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”

Well, after you’ve read this column, you too will be asking ‘What has gone wrong?’ and ‘Where are the heroes who will fix it?’

[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see this week’s print edition of The Cross Roads.’]

Earlier this year, the United States pulled all of its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, better known as UNRWA. The organization was created in 1949 to provide relief for more than five million registered Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Canada had cut off funding to UNRWA in 2010 because of its close ties to Hamas, but funding was restored in 2016 after the election. More importantly, now that the US has cancelled their funding, our government is giving another $50 million annually to UNRWA. This is a valid concern for Canadians, because in spite of the billions of dollars in international aid the Palestinian Authority has received over the past twenty years, the Palestinian people have little to show for it.

One of the top Palestinian human rights advocates, says the Palestinians have very little trust in their own leadership and stated there’s massive corruption and human rights violations at the hands of the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, he notes the international community is turning a blind eye to the corruption. His advice is, “The people who send the money, need to look into where the money goes.”

According to this human rights advocate, the Palestinian people’s prime concerns are survival and education for their children. They are worried about their own future, and aren’t thinking about the future of politics.

As a Canadian, I too am concerned for the future of Canadians. As a nation we cannot afford to play political games by sending money and not bothering to investigate as to where the money is going. It sounds commendable to say Canada is earmarking $40 million to go towards basic education, health and the livelihood needs of millions of Palestinians, especially women and children, but those are just words that are sent out through the media. The truth about where the funds actually go is a different story.

And where does the money go? This Palestinian human rights advocate says, “We have no idea where the money goes. No Palestinian has ever benefitted from it. There has never been a hospital, university or even kindergarten built.”

I’m reminded of the lyrics to an old song that goes like this: “Oh the games people play now, Every night and every day now. Never meaning what they say now, Never saying what they mean.”

This particular game is a costly one, and unfortunately the funds are being used to feed corruption. Once again there are petitions available on line which concerned Canadians can sign.

[/emember_protected] palestinian