CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF PEACE: SUBMITTING TO THE MESSAGE OF TOLLING BELL IN A WORLD GONE CRAZY: A GLOBAL PEACE HEARTCRY,BY AMB.CHARLES IZU OKAFOR.
1980, it was, when the world congregated in that hallowed chamber in New York to lend their collegial imprimatur to the solemn clarion for global peace.It was overwhelming and wholesomely approbated.
1981,it was when,for the first time, the world woke up to the celebration of A PEACE DAY.
Alas, 43 years after the world was roused by the tolling of the PEACE BELL,donated by Japan( but crafted from Coin-Currencies harvested from 60 countries,across continents) from the lush,pristine and towering pristincts of the UN Headquarters,in New York, the world of over 6 billion humans has,listlessly,separated from any shred,or appearance, of Peace.
What with the egregious decimation of whole nations in Lebanon,Palestine,Israel,Eritrea,Sudan,Somalia,Iran,Libya,Mali,Chad,Afghanistan,etc?
What with the outrageous pillaging of patrimonies by crass thieving political class,across Africa,South America,Asia,etc, leading to suicidal missions,via Irregular Migration, Human Trafficking,Sex trade and Slavery, Child Soldiering,Girl-Child Sex trade,Cross-Border Banditry, Arms Smuggling,Mercenary incursions,etc?
Today,in our world, over 72% of the human population lives under less than 2 American Dollars.
Verified Poverty Indexes are screaming of soar-away ramifications of untimely mortalities.
The world has gone to sleep.
The whole essence of Human Engagement,Mutuality,Neighbourliness,Affection and Care,has been rapaciously battered by the pursuit of self and self alone.
For convenience,sovereign nations have raced to the cover of Protectionism,Nationalism and Home-Interest Diplomacy- a euphemism,simply, for “the world can go to burst,for all we care”.
As an International Advocacy Filmmaker,of about three decades, I have had the honour of being commissioned by donor-funded institutions ( verging on bilateral and multilateral ties between Nigeria and sundry foreign countries),through ECOWAS,IOM,EU and the State Secretariat for Migration-an operational office of the Swiss Confederation, I have had direct interface with Citizens of various countries who share painful experiences that culminated in dire decisions,taken,for the sake of survival and life preservation.
Most telling,oftentimes,is the plethora of near-death skirmishes with constituted order,as they forayed to seemingly “safe abodes”, which,in time,suddenly assumes an inelegant space,reminding them of where they were escaping from.
The world has gone to sleep.
Domestically,the average Nigerian is jarred by the inexplicable material absences in the midst of plenty.
The sure-footed way to early death,across our geo-polity, is to do a road trip to any part of Nigeria.
Even more,is the fact that,families are,today,compelled to set aside a ” ransome budget” for eventualities of kidnapping,Banditry,etc.
It is,now,an exclusive luxury to afford the age-long “3-square” meals in our fatherland.
Whilst we grapple with hunger,starvation,
our arterial roads have become harbingers of needless pain.Electricicty Providers have “banned” us to “Bands A,B and C.
Oh, as I script, I just had a loud bang,in Gaza.Another 7-year old has lost his limbs. Yes,the 7-year old whose father,mother and two siblings died,by a loud bang,two days ago.
The world has gone to sleep.
Do I depress the reader?
I apologise.
The truth,regardless,is that the world has gone to sleep.
Today,as we celebrate the WORLD PEACE DAY,I plead that, when the the Peace Bell,is rung,from UN Headquarters,New York, this morning, may God help the world to wake up.
May we reassure ourselves that, from creation, we were intended to be higher than beasts.
Wake up,world.
Charles Okafor is a Peace Ambassador of the International World Advocates for Peace,a UN Peace Association.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts,from the University of Portharcourt, Rivers State, and a Masters Degree in Political Science ( international relations bias) of the University of Lagos,Nigeria
