A Culture of Peace

Today is International Day of Peace Celebrations. All around the world, activities have been lined up to promote global cease-fire and non-violence. Here in the Gambia, the West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP – The Gambia) is in the forefront of the crusade to make the world a much more peaceful place.

In its press release, WANEP – The Gambia stated:
“WANEP Gambia wishes to use this occasion to call on all peoples of the world, in particular persons residing in the Gambia to observe the Day by showing tolerance and non-violence in their ideas and actions towards one another. Peace is an indispensable commodity that humanity cannot afford to lose. Peace serves as the enabler for human beings to achieve their dreams and aspirations and develop their full potential.”

To create a peaceful society, we need to show tolerance for and be non-violent in our dealings with one another. This is an ideal that humanity has been striving for but has always failed to reach. Beyond the fanfare and the rhetoric that mark the Day, we have to look at the correlation between justice and peace. At the root of all the wars in the world is the quest for social balance and equitable distribution of resources. Where there is no justice, people tend to get violent in order to redress an anomaly. Though violence has its price, it draws attention to an aberration.

Peace studies and conflict resolution is now an academic subject in most universities - an indication that serious efforts are being made to rid the world of violence - yet violence flares up now and again throughout the world. The proponents of the culture of peace have some inkling into the real cause of violence when they say that since “war is made in the minds and hearts of men and women, certainly the search for peace should be found in the minds and hearts of men and women.”

Each of us therefore can promote the culture of peace by doing to others what we want others to do to us. This is the crux of the matter. If we cheat others, we should not expect to live in peace. Internalising this age-old principle and practising it in the smallest details of our daily conduct is the only way to breed and entrench the culture of peace in the world. This should be the point of emphasis in our schools, churches, temples and mosques. It is essential to do this because peace building is more a question of conscience than an academic discourse.

CRIME WATCH
The police are asking the general public to call any of the following telephone numbers: 
112 / 99 66 967 / 99 60 109 / 99 76 012 / 99 76 008 / 99 76 010 to report anyone suspected or caught engaged in criminal activities.