Lara



Living in the Middle East, a region that is thirsty for peace, I feel the idea of a Peace Day is a positive step towards achieving goals of peace in our community and on an international scale. With conflict so close to home and so familiar, the idea of Peace Day gives a feeling of hope. Looking back at my short life, it is filled with choas in the world. When I was younger my family fled the Middle East due to the Gulf War and throughout the years events such as 9/11, the London and Spain bombings, war in Lebanon, the on going Palestinian struggle, invasion of Iraq, bombings in Sharm El Sheikh and Cairo have given a grime look on life. I recently came across something I wrote shortly after the 2005 bombings in Egypt:
 * //__Peace Today__//**

“//It’s hard to image a world without violence. A world of peace, where people respect each other, each others cultures, beliefs, way of life. Its hard for me and millions of others because we were born into a world with violence. Therefore that is all we know. A world of peace would seem unreal to us. Is that what urges people to create violence? Because that’s all they know and that’s the only way they know how to deal with their issues? I have just heard about the bombings in Sharm. Eighty-eight people dead. In one way I hope it wasn’t an Islamic extremist group – the kind of people who give their religion a bad name and falsely represent it. On the other hand I do hope it was. Instead of a new brand of terrorism introduced to the world. I cannot understand how a human being can kill and inflict suffering onto another human being. What is it in those terrorists minds that justifies their actions? What is most upsetting is that IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. It does not. But it has always been like this, man’s history always consisted of violence. I wish that people can just open their eyes and realize that a world without violence is simply BETTER! Isn’t it common sense? Or is it just me?//

A few years later my feelings of anger and frustration have not changed but my understanding as to 'why' has. Studying conflict in our International Relations class and how countries deal with each other and their past issues with one another has helped me answer the question of "why". This is the first step (understanding) the next step would be figuring out a way to deal with it. One can not deal with a situation that isn't fully understood. Its like Albert Einstein said:


 * //"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding"// ||

What is peace? A simple question I asked my third grader, Yan. It was followed by a simple answer, "No fighting and being nice to everyone". In such simplicity lies truth. At first the idea of discussing a heavy topic such as the dropping of the atomic bomb with such young children made me feel uncomfortable. I felt that they wouldn’t fully understand or become upset. But this was the challenge presented to my group and I. To present such information in a way that makes them understand and doesn’t upset them. Thinking about it now, this is such an important skill, especially in the world today, being able to communicate something to another type of audience in an effective and sensitive way.
 * //__Visiting the 3rd Graders__//**

Although having studied the dropping of the atomic bomb a few years ago, the facts never fail to hit me straight in the face and the harsh reality and inhumanness of the tragic event never seems to settle in my mind, it always comes as a shock to me every time I hear about it. The immediate suffering and the suffering caused by radiation years later is something that played an active role in my group’s topic – Debating over whether the dropping of the bomb was right or wrong. In the end the children of 3rd grade voted that it was wrong. A vote I support.
 * __Hiroshima__**

By educating the third graders another step has been made towards a more understanding and peaceful world. Its starts with this generation, my generation and how we educate them since they are the leaders of the tomorrows world. While working with the third Graders one of the most important thingsI learnt is communication and how important it is. Setting aside differences and speaking to one another is the key to a more peaceful world.
 * __Moving towards Peace__**

"You want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." - Moshe Dayan