Redefining Victory: With Its Many Forms
Through the lenses of Gaza’s recent events
Victory is when the hero defeats the villain, but have you noticed that in real life, the hero rarely beats the villain? And ironically the villain never truly defeats the hero either…
So is there no victory in life, no victors?
Certainly, there is!
But just like growing taller makes us see things differently, growing up we realize that things like victory are not limited to just what we saw in movies.
Victory is a shapeshifter — it takes different forms depending on the context and situation.
First Form:
It’s no use denying that ultimate victories, like the ones we see in movies where the hero completely beats the villain and ends the evil, do exist in life. But realistically, we don’t see this type of victory often. And it usually lasts for a period of time, short or long, then a new issue arises.
Other than this obvious victory, there are many other ones that are often overlooked.
Second Form:
A form of victory, is when the strong party doesn’t win, and when the weak one doesn’t lose. This holds true because if a party has all the power, resources and means to win, yet still fails — it loses. While on the other hand, if the weaker, the less powerful party who is at the disadvantage doesn’t get defeated — it wins.
This type of victory can be seen in the events that has been happening in Gaza. Where despite the genocide and relentless bombing, people there are not abandoning their land and are still fighting to protect it with their lives. Additionally, this victory is seen in the presence and increase of the resistance groups that fight for their land with their slippers and normal training sweatpants against the Occupation’s soldiers who have all forms of weapons, training and money.
Third Form:
The third type of victory is when one party achieves its goals despite the loses. When goals are set and achieved no matter what the cost is, it is called a victory. Since the purpose and reason for whatever happens is achieved. Many people say that the events following October 7th and the ceasefire in Gaza right now are evidence of the resistance’s failure and defeat. But according to this indicator of victory, this conclusion is totally wrong. Most, if not all, of the goals for starting October 7th have been achieved despite the great loses and the inhumane reaction of the occupation.
One key reason behind the events of October 7th, was to send a message to the Occupation that the resistance will not allow the occupiers to demolish Al Aqsa Mosque — a plan they were set to execute soon. And indeed, through this act of resistance, it became clear that there are people fighting for this important religious landmark.
Another goal of October 7th is to free Palestinians held captives in Israeli prisons. Many of whom have over a 100 life sentences for just exercising their right of self defense or protecting their land. These people’s only way out of their hell in these prisons are by an exchange agreement. Which is happening these days in the ceasefire, with many Palestinians seeing the light and meeting their families for the first time in decades, almost every week now.
Another goal of October 7th which has been achieved, was to show the world the reality of the Occupation forces and to reignite global awareness of the significance of the Palestinian conflict and fighting for it. The achievement of these goals and many others prove that Gaza and the resistance are the winners, despite the great loses and sacrifices.
To add on the second form of victory, victory is when a person fights to show the truth and indeed shows it even if the price for that is their death, just like I’ve mentioned in another post about heroes, where I’ve defined a hero as someone who sticks to the truth no matter what. The person who dies for the truth and their death leads to people seeing this truth, is the ultimate victory. Since their goal is still achieved, their sacrifice is not in vain. A person who gives their life to reveal the truth or fight for a cause — is a victor and their sacrifice is a victory when their goal is fulfilled.
Contemplating the events happening around us and seeing their historical contexts can tell us a lot about the concept of victory and its forms. Despite the infrequency of ultimate victories, there are many other forms of victory and partial victories that can be noticed. It’s also important to note that these smaller victories are what lead up to the bigger ones, the ones we’re used to seeing in books and movies.
Draw strength from past victories and look for signs of victories and triumphs like these to keep moving forward;
and remember,
ألا إنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
“Victory from Allah is surely near” and in a different translation “Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.”
-Surah Al Baqara
Thank you for reading!
