PEACE: NOT AN IMPOTENT CALL


    PEACE: NOT AN IMPOTENT CALL 

© 2018                 CHIBU NDUBUISI                     22/9/2018     WEEK 38

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” Martin Luther King.

“Applying military measures to solve socio economic contradictions is the equivalent of healing anemia 
with bloodletting”. Johan Galtung


Peace be upon you

The search for world peace led to the formation of Congress of Vienna, Concert of Europe, League of Nations and the United Nations. September 21st every year is commemorated as Global Peace Day. The African Union has dedicated September every year as Africa Amnesty month. The Make Peace Happen campaign of the African Union poses a question that “What will you do to make peace happen? The picture above shows the contradiction of investing in the instrument of destruction rather than productivity the developed nations have exported great armaments to developing countries and today the dividends they are reaping is the migration crisis in Europe and the Mediterranean sea voyage fiasco.
 
 Peace day observations are not strange to Africa. In the Classic novel “Things Fall Apart”  Chinua Achebe, brought to the fore some observations. He notes: The “Week of Peace” is an annual ritual observed in Umuofia village, when a man does not say harsh words or harm his fellow human, but shows respect and honours our common humanity to one another and offer prayers to the gods to bless the land and prosper it. 

The Global Peace Index (Institute for Economics and Peace) “gauges global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization. 

 “The 8 pillars of Positive peace according to the Institute are;
·         A well-functioning government.
·          Sound business environment.
·         Low levels of corruption.
·          High levels of human capital.
·          Equitable distribution of resources.
·         Acceptance of the rights of others.
·         Free flow of information.
·         Good relations with neighbours. 

The Global Peace Index notes in their 2018 reports that Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia are the least peaceful countries in the world while Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark are the most peaceful countries in the world. Equally true is that Countries that improved in peace over the last decade had seven times higher GDP growth rates.

How do we quantify the global economic impact of violence? Bill Gates notes that “Poverty is becoming much more concentrated: By the middle of this century, 40 percent of people in extreme poverty will live in just two countries, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo”.  

We can’t ignore such observations. Jonathan Sacks notes that “Wars may be won by weapons but it takes ideas to win peace”.  As I noted earlier in other publications that September 21st every year is world peace day.  Like the “Week of Peace Observation in Umuofia, may we work towards celebrating not only “Peace One day” or “Peace One Week”  but a life time of peaceful living when people will be reminded to make space for others not like them in their beliefs, opinions, values and cultures.

Peace is never a zero sum game.

Peace be to you.. 

read more @ www.chibundubuisi.blogspot.com 

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