|
|
May 9, 2008
Locked 'n' loaded in Tel Aviv
The gun culture is seen as a normal part of growing up in Israel.
BORHAN JIANG
I have travelled around the world, but there is no country like Israel. On Sunday mornings, sitting at a café in Tel Aviv's central bus station, all you can see are young men and women in uniform carrying their weapons going back to bases. Most tourists are amazed by the sheer amount of weapons they see on the streets, something considered normal by residents.
Take a closer look and you will see that not every weapon is the same, nor are their owners. Each weapon is different. Some have carrying handles, some have flashlights, some are old, some are new, some are made out of plastic and some are made out of metal. Each soldier is also different, their colorful unit shoulder tags, strings and berets tell people which unit they belong to and what kind of specialty they possess. Some soldiers wear their uniform as pajamas and others iron their shirt straight and tight.
Throughout history, soldiers everywhere have put effort into decorating their swords, bows or knives. Not just for the sake of art, but in order to make a statement and show one's character. However, none of these warriors of the past could have imagined that, in today's Israel, weapons would be part of youths' culture. Weapons take the place of the backpacks and sneakers worn in North America.
A soldier's personality is shown through his or her rifle. Soldiers with an antique model belong to either an armor or artillery unit - in battle, they will use their tanks or cannons, not their rifles, so they are saying, "The only reason I carry it is because I have to; I do not think I will have to use this old piece of junk." Soldiers with newer models are saying, "I am a first-line combat soldier; this is my pride and joy. I am cool because my rifle is the newest." Additional gadgets, such as sights or an extra tactical foregrip, become a statement telling everyone, "Look! I am different from rest of you guys."
Other than going back to their bases from home, these young troops carry their weapons while performing their ordinary daily routines; shopping, walking on the street, sitting down for lunch or even kissing loved ones. I once saw a young soldier using a laptop while drinking a latté – she held her rifle between her legs to protect it while drinking coffee and surfing the Internet. I also loved the sight of young male soldiers who carried their weapon in a sleeveless T-shirt, wearing sandals or sneakers with a big backpack: they don't look like they are going to war, merely walking on the sand of Thailand or waiting for a train in Burma. The whole picture is an oxymoron. Is he relaxing? Or is he is getting ready to fight? His outfit tells me he is relaxing but his loaded weapon tells me otherwise.
If rifles are a statement of youth, they are also a statement of machismo. But in a country where daring and courage is everything, the warrior ethos is unisexual. Even before the creation of this nation, both men and women fought side-by-side here, protecting their homeland. I once asked a young Israeli woman, with a rifle slung across one shoulder and her purse on the other, what was inside her purse. She said, "You know, the usual girl stuff, make-up, lipstick, tissues and my extra M16 magazine." In that moment, I realized that the Israeli saying was true, "If you are going to break a girl's heart, make sure to do it when she is not carrying her rifle."
Seeing those soldiers with their duffle bags, rucksacks and weapons, I was violently awakened from the peaceful illusion of Tel Aviv. This country is at war. After a few days of comfort in their homes, these youth – barely old enough to buy a beer in Canada – are going back to their posts, checkpoints, tank turrets, jeeps or the streets of Gaza. In contrast, most Canadian youth, including me, know nothing about self-sacrifice and giving some of their best years to serve their nation.
I know for sure that these young Israeli soldiers would prefer not to spend those three years in khaki, receiving less than a 40 buck monthly salary and dealing with dangerous terrorists or boring paper work. They would rather use that time to do whatever they want; travelling, working or studying, as young Canadians do. However, despite the hardship and dangers, every Israeli told me that he or she would do it again for their country.
Borhan Jiang is a Vancouver freelance writer.
^TOP
|
|
