“Two soldiers killed as Jihadi’s hit Army camp”…. “25 CRPF jawans killed by Maoists”…. “German soldier acted as Syrian refugee to attack migrants”…. “China puts bombers on alert on North Korea”… “UN report: one-third of world’s food wasted annually and almost one quarter of the world’s population, face economic water shortage”…. “Climate change threatens irreversible and dangerous impacts for people and ecosystems”…. The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2016, Trends for Youth report shows that the global number of unemployed youth is set to rise by half a million this year to reach 71 million”…..This is what I read in the newspaper in the national and international news column every day. I question myself, “Is this the world we are looking forward to ?”,“ Is this the bright future our ancestors saw for us ?”. Violence, unemployment, corruption, illiteracy, poverty, discrimination, inequality, climate change, depletion of natural resources, pollution are global problems faced by countries all over the world and we the children will inherit the same from our parents. Are we ready for it?
In India we believe in “Vasudeva Kutumbakam” meaning “One World, One family”. The problems faced by any country in any part of the world will affect everyone just like a family member gets affected by the problem of another in the family. Looking at the refugees of Syria…the unrest in Kashmir…shoot outs in Afghanistan …food crisis in Ethiopia…we cannot remain unaffected. It triggers in my mind the questions… “Why this unrest…what is happening … what I can do to help….when will this stop?
Mahatma Gandhi rightly said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. A building is strong when the foundation is laid well. Similarly, the building of peace can be created when different countries club together and lay the foundation for it. Peace starts from home. As children we can definitely bring some positive change to this world. Children and youth are the future citizens and leaders of the world hence the responsibility begins now. Each one of us can bring positive change in our family, neighborhood, and community. Our first and foremost duty should be to respect and treat everyone well, to help the needy, to be sensitive to others, to use all our natural resources judiciously, to conserve energy and not be wasteful( particularly food, water and clothes).
A positive mindset and positive attitude is what will make the world a better place . If we youngsters accept the whole world as one family, we will be sensitive to issues faced by people all over the world. Peace begins with acceptance and love. We need to have tolerance, patience, faith, gratitude and must respect each other’s differences. We have to develop an attitude of universal brotherhood. We should inculcate and practice good values in our lives. A society can also be called peaceful when everyone will have the basics of life that is; food, water, shelter, clothing, education, hygiene etc. We should try to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, strive to provide food to hungry, shelter to the homeless, education to the uneducated and medicine to the sick . It has to start with each one of us trying to help at least one person and turn his life around.
The youth has energy, ideas and ability to do a lot of things. Youth is the emerging power of today’s world. We children can connect and create awareness on world issues in the social media as today’s world is driven by the electronic media. Running marathons, distributing pamphlets, putting up posters, organizing campaigns are ways of creating awareness among people regarding the problems faced by people around the world. We should be more empathetic to the crisis faced by other countries. Nations should reach out to nations in times of crisis. Helping other countries with relief supplies that is food, water, clothes, medicine in the times of natural calamities would be considered as a helping hand. The youth can volunteer to help in such situations. We as youngsters can give constructive suggestions to our local authorities for development of locality and community. That’s how from the grass root level things will change. Each one , teach one…Each one, feed one … Each one , nurse one…Each one, donate one…let’s move from “I” to “We”…..”Me” to “Ours”…because Peace has to be created…it cannot be inherited.