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The bell of man’s inhumanity to man does not toll for any one man. It tolls for you, for me, and for all of us."
Martin Luther King Jr
World leaders suddenly remember the United Nations when hostilities break out between countries. Ideally, the UN should be an active peacemaker at all times, playing a consistent and proactive role.
The four goals of the UN are:
To maintain international peace and security
To develop friendly relations among nations
To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems and
To act as the centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Currently, the world is in the throes of another war, and its gravity and horrendous manifestations are widely acknowledged.
What’s war, really? They say it begins in the minds of men. The key emotion driving modern wars is ‘hate,’ replacing the historical cause of ‘greed.’ If hate and greed are eliminated from human minds, wars could cease—wishful thinking.
For those living away from the theatre of war, understanding the situation requires following events closely with genuine concern. War is complicated and devoid of rules or protocols; the Geneva Conventions and human rights are often forgotten.
Chaos, anarchy, mindless cruelty, and endless suffering are inherent to war's lexicon, affecting not only soldiers who are at the forefront but also innocent people caught in the crossfire. Women and children become soft targets, and the sheer survival of individuals becomes uncertain. Benumbing fear and the agony of helplessness overpower these innocent people. Thousands get displaced, dispossessed, and thrown out of their homes. The sheer hopelessness of these people is too stark to even imagine.
The destruction of years' worth of progress is a sad sight to behold. The bombing of structures, residential buildings, roads, and bridges, and everything that symbolises progress and civilization, are reduced to rubble. Mindless violence and colossal destruction! This is nothing short of madness, because it doesn’t do any good to anybody. But still, it goes on relentlessly.
It’s not difficult to start a war, but it is very difficult to stop a war. Wars persist until both sides are exhausted. The realisation must come that wars have never solved any problem. It has only worsened the problem. That’s what is going to be established this time as well.
We have the United Nations and many organisations with the ultimate aim of building healthy relationships among nations and co-existing peacefully on this planet. It’s sad to see that all of these organisations and their leadership throw up their hands in despair when two countries go to war.
The comity of nations looks at the spectre of war with dismay and unbelief. They have no clue about how to bring about a truce. The UN, or its writ, never runs anywhere. There is no visible leadership on the international scene. The world at such times needs people with sagacity and wisdom. We need statesmen, not just politicians. Only statesmen can command respect of an enduring and impactful nature.
The time to build lasting peace has come yet again. War-mongering and taking sides in a tense environment are not at all desirable. They only worsen the situation.
Weaponization, ostensibly for security, is driven by the lurking fear of potential attacks by a neighbouring country at some point or another. It’s this suspicion that clouds all possible steps towards lasting peace. Trust and goodwill alone can bring about peace.
If the human race has to prove its claim to intelligence, they must shed their massive egos based on their real or imaginary superiority. Homogeneity is unreal. Heterogeneity is the most beautiful aspect of the human race. The crowning glory of human civilization is its capacity to live, let live, and live with people who are dissimilar in their appearances, cultures, languages, faiths, etc.
This world has provided us with everything to satisfy our needs. As Gandhiji, the apostle of peace, said, “We have enough to satisfy everybody’s need, but not everybody’s greed.”
The world has to realise that human brotherhood has no substitute. All the wealth in the world is not worth it unless there is peace in the human heart.
194 nations’ anthems have been merged into the UN Anthem. There is only one flag that belongs to all the 7 billion people in this world. That is the UN flag. We either live in harmony on this planet or sink into the bottomless pit of human hubris.
(The writer is Director, Little Rock, Brahmavar, Udupi)