11-year-old Hassan left his home for a grand tour towards his relative's place, but this time it was not an astonishing family trip, but rather an inconceivable journey of 1200 km, all alone, with a backpack, his mother's note, and a telephone number written on his hand. He had lost his father a year ago and his mom couldn’t be with him as she had to take care of her sick old mother. He was catching sight of every moment of this journey so that he could tell those stories to his future friends, his old friends were suffering the same destiny as him and few even were no more. And although, those stories were not worth telling. All he saw was the bloodstream, rage, battle tanks invading the cities, the sky full of smoke due to missile attacks, and warcraft overhead with their obnoxious noise. The boy was from Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine, the site of a power plant captured by Russian forces that week. He was heading to Slovakia amidst the active war and shelling by Russian forces on every city nearby.
One thing that was hammering & shattering his tiny little mind was the question the world needs to ask itself at the moment, “ Is this the only way ?, is the Reckless assault of antithetical ideas a pragmatic compulsion or obsolete obsession ?. Because in schools they taught us that violence is a sin, and it can’t provide a solution to any problem as violence itself is the major problem. Hassan wasn’t old enough to blame anyone for this assault nor to defend anyone. But one thing that he knew his mother taught him was that whenever there’s a fight between colleagues, be calm, and try to find a peaceful solution by mutual reconciliation. Isn’t it the thing world needs the most today?
Hassan’s story is a true incident that met a happy end as Slovakian police forces safely took him to his relative’s place, after praising his bravery in a social media post. But many others weren’t fortunate enough. Hassan Pisecka is one of more than two million people who have fled the war in Ukraine. More than 1.2 million have arrived in Poland, while 140,745 have reached Slovakia, according to the latest UN figures. This means 64% of children in Ukraine, or 4.8 million, are now tagged, refugees. The tag of traumatized childhood and uncertain future.
This isn’t only about the Ukraine Russia war, neither about the blame game initiated by countries who claim themselves to be superpowers, nor the victim card political propaganda that follows. It is about those who suffer the most. Disasters are often known for bringing the best out of humanity, but in the post-pandemic world, we can see that it is not the case. Afghanistan is suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis; Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are facing political turmoil and livelihood disasters that accompany it. Madagascar, South Sudan, northern Nigeria, Yemen, and Ethiopia are facing the worst food crisis in the decades. The Israel-Palestine conflict is once again on the rise. Chinese Population has a lot to deal with, due to domestic dictatorial tendencies, the Indian government is dealing with the extremist ideologies to prevent Religious violence in near future, American newspapers often have headlines of active Gun violence every week. The entire world is a grand fair of chaos. And the war, may it be external or internal, is resurrecting itself to clench Humanity under his tentacles. The only way out is to understand its real virtue of it.
The Latin phrase 'Si vis pacium, para bellum' which means 'if you seek peace, be prepared for War' finds greater relevance in the present century of wars. History has many examples where the idealism of peace does not work & realism of war takes over. May it be geopolitical conflict, or conflict due to divergence in religion, views, or races.; these often culminated in a bloody game of war. The world doesn’t work upon the whims and fantasies in fairy tales. Bhagvad Gita teaches us that when it comes to destroying the Vices of Greed, virtuous war is inevitable. Even Mahatma Gandhiji, the living monk of non-violence, provided unconditional support to Allies in the war against the Nazis. But in the modern world, distinguishing between Virtuous and non-virtuous is an insurmountable task. In the nuclear world, whenever the Appetite for war will take over, it will lead to bigger and more scary destruction than the previous ones, and more innocents will have to bear such scars. If every war often is followed by a treaty for durable peace, why shall not we emphasize such peaceful negotiations before conflict & bloodshed?
According to Leo Tolstoy, from the verses of his holy creation- ‘war and peace, the fundamental thing that we shall understand is“. It is not given to the people to judge what's right or wrong, and to react to it. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken and in nothing more than in what they consider right or wrong”
A few centuries ago, our same land saw a prime example of the transition of 'Chandashoka' to 'Dhammashoka' after the war of Kalinga. The Great realization that came for Ashoka, that Grief that war leads surpass the glory of victory, made him one of the greatest king worlds have ever seen. Ashoka's relevant life then is even more relevant in the modern world. Instead of seeking the fallacy of glory in destructive conflicts, we shall behave more prudently. The realization that came for him comes for us all, the value of war, never paid by the person who instigated it. But the innocent. People's sympathy & appreciation, news media coverage, etc. may apply temporary band-Aids on the wounds of soldiers, but surely they are the ones ..who will leave them with the pain & scars to bear for their entire remaining life.
This is the high time for the world to revisit our old ideas, the history of eternal conflicts which always ends on a note to establish sustainable peace. It is not the quest to separate the tendencies of vengeance from a human mind, as it can never be separated due to the evolutionary cognitive technologies that taught us that ‘if we have to achieve something, we will have to fight for it, but nobody taught us how to fight. But fortunately, we can draw a line, not to be crossed while resolving our problems, conflicts, and antagonisms.
“Peace cannot be Kept by Force, It can only be achieved by understanding. As peace is not the highest goal in life, rather it is the most fundamental requirement.”- Albert Einstein