A new year has begun, usually a time for optimism about all the things we are going to change and achieve through all those resolutions (which will be broken by February!).
However for the people of Gaza the New Year is not bringing hope or optimism, but a continuation of the troubled situation between Palestine and Israel. While both sides clearly believe that they are justified for their actions, many innocent lives are being lost.
Diplomacy within the region is a fragile concept, with ceasefires continually broken and the world divided over who is right and who is wrong. International leaders have been eager to comment on the situation in Gaza, and a cynic could say that it gives these leaders a good opportunity to improve their image as world leaders. The Public Affairs cogs have been rapidly turning, providing interviews and press conferences as a platform to express opinions.
One only has to look to the thousands of demonstrators who turned out across Europe calling for an end to the violence as a measure of public opinion. However, as is often the case, within such a volatile region the merits of diplomacy are often forgotten or, at best, placed firmly on the sidelines.
The situation is Gaza has helped me to gain some new perspective. With people complaining that our economy is weak and the fear that we may not be able to afford the luxuries we have become so accustomed to, it is easy to lose valuable perspective. However, when you so sit back and take a look at the world around us and what is happening in it, suddenly our year ahead does not look as bleak as we are being led to believe.
Although a sombre beginning for many, I hope 2009 proves all the sceptics wrong.
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