The oldest war child of the millennium is six. Could you imagine knowing a six-year old child who has not ever seen peace in life? Born amidst war and terrorism, these six-year-old children are the first of those born into a region hit by strife incessantly since 2011.
Even as Syria and Yemen burn and bleed daily, these six-year-olds have never blown out a candle or had plans to have a birthday party. They have grown up amidst fear of blasts that killed their classmates at school and the constant reverberation of bombs — the latter constituting their party tune. Some of them may not live to see another year.
Sitting in safer countries (I say safer, because the spindly arm of terror is almost everywhere now), I see children on the news fleeing with their parents or floating up dead on seashores, or of random guys gunning down innocents on the other side of the world, but I do not feel completely hopeless.
No, I am not crazy and I know the world might very well be going to the dogs. But I believe, in the inherent goodness of humanity and human beings. However erratic and deep-set it may be, I do believe it exists.
When can the world be perfect again? When less than 0.01 per cent of humans would ever join a terror war. When less than 0.01 per cent of humans would blame races or religions for the singular acts of maniacs. When less than 0.01 per cent of humans would give up on the vision of a world that will never know war again.
This hope I see here is through these children and their counterparts elsewhere. Not from me or my generation, or the older ones either. Having grown up with strife only means that these children can’t wait to get away from it or want to stop it, if they ever get out that is. It is a need, more than a hobby or a passion — it is the very basic need for a peace they haven’t known.
Take your children and your young siblings to refugee camps and show them what is not granted to children who could have been their friends. Don’t over-protect them from the horror that war brings. Tell them how these children have never been able to sleep one night without being afraid for their life and why that is.
You must also teach them to trust and to forgive. Teach them to learn before questioning and to question before acting. Teach them to always seek answers till there are no more questions. Talk down people who distinguish on race, culture or religion in front of your children because when time passes, your child could be the one being persecuted for all the wrong reasons and he or she should know to fight back in peace.
Doing this will ensure that we create three degrees of hesitancy towards participating in conflict: A first level of hesitancy to accept hate, a second level with a need to investigate into the acts of terror anywhere, and a third stage of courage to fight against all things wrong. Create your own superhero.
We must prepare to be the last left in this burning mess that we have created for ourselves. If everyone of us spoke at our dinner tables, we could do this. A dinner table conversation in every home not broken down by war — just enough for change and a revolution. For the cynics, try it one day at a time, teach your children to love the world and you might feel better in life — sometimes that’s all humanity needs, the peace of one and a million ones.
