The big question: How can we achieve peace?

Taara
Indus International School
India

Have you ever wondered why war is still being waged in the 21st century? It's because there isn't enough peace on Earth. Peace can be created if violence ceases. Mahatma Gandhi said, 'There is no way to peace, peace is the way.' This statement says that fighting is not the way to peace. If we fight, we will not be able to find peace. Another profound speaker, Martin Luther King, said, 'Peace is more than simply the absence of war; it is the presence of justice.' Mr King said that peace can't be obtained unless war comes to an end. Mr King also seemed to say that peace requires not only the absence of war but also the presence of fairness and law and order. The big question is how can we achieve peace? Well, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi had some very intelligent ideas about how to achieve peace. I believe the key thing that is crucial for peace to exist in a country, or even in the world, is cooperation. People should be working together instead of fighting against each other.

The conflicts preventing global peace are taking place in the world's largest continents, which include the world's poorest countries, that is, in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Between 2001 and 2004, these places spent massive amounts of money on arms, or weapons used for war, when they could have actually used this money to decrease poverty. If the money were used to cure poverty, this would have been enough to put every child in school and lower child death rates by the year of 2015. All over these regions, more than a billion people survive on less than one US dollar (45 rupees) a day. In addition, one-fifth of all children have to drop out of school before the age of twelve because their parents cannot finance their education. Another unfortunate statistic is that nearly 800,000,000 million people suffer from hunger. Also in 2001, more than 14,000,000 children lost one or even both parents due to HIV or AIDS. Finally, in the same year, due to poverty, five thousand women were not able to give birth safely and died as a result.

Have you ever thought about what happens to the adults and children and how countries and communities reconstruct their lives and livelihoods after a war? Well, they first need to have enough money to even start with the building process. The civilians, who fought in the war and got wounded, need to get well again so that they can assist in rebuilding the community. The United Nations can provide funding to help rebuild schools, homes, and hospitals. Even though education is a top priority, homes and hospitals need to be built first. After raising enough money, it takes about four to five years to rebuild the whole community and the infrastructure.

So as to prevent these problems, we, as individuals or even in small groups, can also help in making global peace too. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi achieved peace after the British invaded India. Martin Luther King also worked for peace when racism was taking place in the US. We can also make a difference. We can raise money for the countries that have just been attacked, or if their homes and infrastructure have been destroyed. We can send them food and water to live on until they've recovered. As well as sending them food, we could make advertisements around our area to send items, such as study tools or writing equipment, which will help them in their time of need. There are several other activities or fundraisers we could hold to help the poorer countries around the world.

Finally, international communities can also help in making global peace. When there are disagreements or arguments between countries or large groups, we can choose to try and make peace in many ways. First off, we can write letters to politicians asking them to take action. Also, we can circulate petitions to show that many support such action. Finally, we can write letters to the newspapers regarding our desire to take action.

There are many ways the international community may help in achieving global peace. The United Nations is often the organisation through which decisions are made about the world's disputes. Instead of wars, we can send representatives from both teams, to have a debate.

If we create global peace war will be reduced, poverty will be minimised, and arguments over a country's rights will decrease. Global peace will make the world a civil place in which to live. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King have inspired us. We need to take action to help others and to help achieve global peace by encouraging politicians to take the responsibility to provide infrastructure in not only our country but in others as well.

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