"This year's International Day of Peace comes at a time of deadly violence and destabilizing conflicts around the world. Rather than succumbing to despair, we have a collective responsibility to demand an end to the brutality and impunity that prevail.
I call on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire. To them I say: stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.
Although it may seem hopelessly distant, the dream of peace pulses in the lives of people everywhere.
There is no group more poised to help realize this dream than today's young people. They are part of the largest generation of youth in history, more aware and connected than any before. I urge all governments to make greater investments in realizing the potentially massive contributions of the world's young peacebuilders.
At the same time, we need to mobilize all partners who share the goal of peace. Non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups and corporations all have a role to play in fostering social progress, protecting the environment and creating a more just, stable and peaceful world. The value of this collaboration is our theme for the Day: 'Partnerships for Peace - Dignity for All.'
We live at a moment of peril - but this is also an era of great promise. In a matter of days, leaders from across the globe will gather at the United Nations to adopt the 2030 agenda, our 15-year plan to achieve sustainable development. This is fundamental to ushering in a life of dignity for all, where poverty is history and peace is paramount.
On the International Day, as we mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, let us seize the opportunity achieve the Organization's founding purpose: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."
Ban Ki-moon
International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on September 21. Established in 1981 by resolution 36/37, the United Nations General Assembly declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. Furthering the Day's mission, the General Assembly voted unanimously in 2001 to adopt resolution 55/282 establishing September 21 as an annual day of non-violence and cease-fire.
This year, September 21, 2015, hundreds of organizations hosted marches, musical celebrations and meditations around the world. Anyone, anywhere could celebrate Peace Day in their own unique way. In Lawton Oklahoma, the International Day of Peace hosted by Paul Martin, Jason Hall and Teri McGrath was celebrated at the Shepler Park where members of the community attended to observe this day together. The day was designed with the presence of local organizations that promote peace and dignity and with community leaders who spoke at the event.
I was honored to be one of the speakers at my local community celebration as Lawton, Oklahoma joined the world to observe this Global Peace day. A question that I pondered about on this day, which was the title of my talk was "What does Peace Mean for the World Today?
Below is a transcript of my talk which I hope will inspire you in your efforts to make the world a better place.
What does PEACE mean for the world today?
Certainly not a chaotic world; a world where there is such a divide. There are many suffering, in hunger and poverty today. There are wars going on in different parts of the world today. Is it the Syrian crisis which has been recorded as THE BIGGEST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN RECENT TIMES with one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history. Or is it sadly, the Boko Haram crisis happening in some parts of my home country today?
Because it is not happening right in front of our door steps does not mean that it is not there, or that we shouldn't feel for those who are experiencing these horrors on a day to day- compassion should fill each of us not just on an observational day like today, but on a daily basis.
I truly began my project "Art of Being Alive" out of a personal quest to discover how I can live more fully alive; a personal quest to a meaningful life, but what I have found has been beyond me and has evolved into what I call global consciousness.
What does peace mean for the world? For this generation?
We hope it is beyond mere wishes. One thing I have learned from my book project is that every one's duty is to dare to make the world a better place.
We share one world. But why the level of disparity between one human's world versus another human is so huge is beyond me. One world we live in, yet one human's world is entirely different. The disparity between the very rich and the very poor, between those begging for survival and those living in excess. It is not a guilty contest but I have come to realize that there is more than exist beyond what we know of on the surface level and beyond what the media tells us. You may be living well, and by all means please enjoy your art of living as you have it- but on the subject of resource distribution is a lot of corruption and unfairness.
Recently, I got in a conversation with a friend about the issues facing us as a human race, I ended up breaking down in tears. She said, "It sounds as if you are just waking up." Indeed, it feels as if I have just been awoken to see the realities of the world for what it really is. How can we claim social justice when we live in a world where many are dying out of poverty and hunger because some top officials in power play politics and hide behind their power. The uneven distribution of basic resources that is every human's right is being denied to many-and political and military power are used to gain access to natural resources of a well-endowed town leaving its people in despair- because they have stolen their basic necessities of life. Food, water, land..
In my last-minute preparation for this speech, I had put an inquiry out into the world to ask for stories of anyone who has had an experience from being in a war zone region either has a survivor or a volunteer. Luckily it seemed, I got a response from a friend who had grown up in a war zone because her mother is a journalist and she herself had worked in third world countries for years. She promised to tell me stories of first-hand experience I had hoped I would share with you today, but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to chat. As God will have it, however, yesterday I ran into two foreigners which I could differ by their accents; neither of them had been in a war zone yet even though they are in the U.S. army -- they promised to find a colleague of theirs in the army with a story about being in a war zone and what it was like. They did keep their promise because they called me back and narrated a detailed experience of their friend who had been to war in Afghanistan.
The story of war exists in intricate terms, but the heart of the story shares similar ground in the sense that, the cry for peace is a unison cry amongst all involved. The Afghan war is one we all have heard about, the war against terrorism. One thing stood out for me in his story. In his story, the American army tried to have good relationship with the local population by providing the locals with basic needs; food, water, medical and the likes. The Taliban tried to intimidate the local population against the Americans; there was a time he narrated, that the Americans had supplied the locals in a particular village with resources and when the Taliban heard of it- they killed all the seniors of that village. Right now of course that war is over with that mission he narrated.
The story was more detailed, but because of time and peace- I spare you the horrors. My next question to him - Can there really be peace in the world? He told me there is something called Global Terrorism- someone has to fight the terrorist, he says. If they try to harm us we go after them. It is good against bad, someone has to stop terrorism around the world. He said, you should know about Islamic terrorism because of what's going on even in some parts of Nigeria. Boko Haram which news has it, has joined forces with ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The Global movement of radical Islamist trying to force their religion on people and we are trying to prevent that from happening.
So I asked, what about civilians. What can we do on a local and individual scale - you know, to promote peace. He responded, For civilians - What you can do to promote peace is to teach about religious tolerance. If I am Muslim and you are Christian, you don't have to force your religion on me, he said.
Then I asked him- Do you think lack of education is the backbone issue? He respondedLack of proper education certainly contributes- proper education will teach us we are created by the same God. We have to be tolerant and accept people for who they are. If they start providing a better education, people will also understand.
This is my conclusion as we observe today as the "International day of peace"
Poverty, hunger, education: Poverty is the source of ignorance. When people are hungry -they follow whoever comes first. That is why we have war; to fight the war- we need to fight against poverty and lack of education. The real war for peace we should be fighting is against HUNGER, POVERTY, LACK OF EDUCATION.
I believe that everyone has a right to the basic necessities of life.
I believe everyone has a right to a happy life.
Everyone has the same potential to bring inner peace.
As an individual we can try to keep a calm mind.
What can we do on an individual scale, on a local level as a community is to understand that the real peace starts within and radiates in the world. We can show more appreciation, we can have more compassion, we can be the change as Ghandi said, this peace day and everyday we can open our heart to love of God and give peace a chance; in the words of Desmond Tutu, Let us keep talking Peace.
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