The orders came dressed as mercy, but they felt like a verdict. No combat, no firefightsâjust desks, databases, and the cold hum of fluorescent lights. Markets rallied. Politicians smiled. Cameras caught the razor wire only in the background. The mission was branded humane, efficient, bloodless. But every form signed, every file closed, pushed someone closer to an unmarked flight, a silent departure, a family split in the dark. In this new theater of war, success isnât counted in lives saved, but in cases âprocessed,â planes filled, and budgets balanced. The numbers look clean. The conscience does nâŚ
They arrive in formation but disperse into cubicles, converted gymnasiums, and hastily built processing tents. Their uniforms, once symbols of defense against foreign threats, now blend into the background of detention centers and holding facilities. They are told they are only there to supportâno arrests, no raids, no physical contact. Yet each keystroke, each verified document, each completed checklist becomes another cog turning in a machine that decides who stays and who disappears onto a manifest.
Outside, the country applauds âorderâ and âcontrol,â comforted by charts that rise and fall in the right direction. Inside, a mother rehearses her story in a language she barely knows, a child counts the days by meal trays, and a soldier stares at a screen, wondering when âjust paperworkâ began to feel like complicity. Between prosperity and pain, a question lingers: if suffering is hidden well enough, does anyone still feel responsible?
