Tag Archives: World Peace

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The world is ours. No more excuses

The world is truly, as it is often said, a global village. However, I feel this is easier said than it is practised in our world. We live in a world were our diversity divides us. People are marginalized because of their religious belief, the colour of their skin, their country of origin, their sexuality. Diversity is not a problem, it is a blessing. It is an opportunity for us to have an open mind and with an open mind follows learning, opportunities for peace not war, opportunities for love not hate. Opportunities for a better world.

Many nations in different continents are stricken by violence and social injustices. However, it is not only the government and citizens of those particular nations that have the responsibility of creating peace and justice in their society. Each human being has a responsibility to the other. This is what humanity is about. Separation by borders, languages or oceans should not be an excuse for you or me not to care for others.

We are all similar in that we belong to one world. No matter the other differences that we may have in culture, position on the map of the world, skin colour, sexuality – we are all brothers and sisters. If you live in Canada, you should care about the insurgence of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. If you live in Kenya, the Syrian people should be in your thoughts and/or your prayers. Facebook should be able to provide its users with the flag of ANY nation where a catastrophe has struck, so that they can mourn with them. You should not only read news articles that have to do with your country or your content. My point is, let us all strive for an open mind because this is what our world is in dire need of. Wholeheartedly accepting our diversity will lead many societies and our world to great strides.

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept” -Angela Davis 

I will not accept to keep silent on issues of injustice that are marginalizing people and taking lives in different societies. I hope you won’t either. We are all brothers and sisters.

Love & Peace,

Chiamaka

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Can never be said enough. Can never be written about too much

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Photo from – http://www.imagesbuddy.com/img/martin-luther-king-day/page/15/

There was a time when I used to write and talk about love so much. I used that word – love, so much in my writings that sometimes I felt like maybe I should emphasize it indirectly, with other words. But as events – good and bad – continue to unfold in our world, I realize that the word love can never be said enough and it can never be written about too much especially in the context of how it ties into building peace in our world.

Well, here I am today back on the topic of love and how we must exude it unconditionally, without prejudice and stereotypes – to family, friends, strangers and foreigners. For a world constantly shaken by extreme acts of hate, it is love that makes it still go round. It is love that gives people freedom in their societies, despite the existence of difference in whatever form it may take.

Often I am reminded that some of the world’s most startling issues that break my heart can only be cautioned when we love, when we choose to never be like the oppressor, the shooter, the bomber, the hate speech deliverer etc. When we extend a helping hand to people who are fleeing their country as refugees due to violence that they did not cause, we are engaging in an act of love. That is man’s humanity to fellow man. You have probably seen in your daily lives that when you react to violence or hate with love, you are weakening the efforts of the oppressor. In this world, I have seen time and time again that love is winning. I am convinced everyday that our world will never become overcome by evil, terror and hate.

Whether it is from people’s move to welcome refugees to their country, to catering to the poor, advocating for the rights of the racially marginalized and the religiously marginalized, I see hope in our world. When I feel heartbroken at the tragedies of injustice and senseless violence in different countries around the world, the people who carry on the torch of love bring me back to good spirits. Very importantly, they somehow remind me to never stop talking about the need for love, love and lots of it in our world. It can never be talked about enough, it can never be written about too much.

Always spread love. Be a light in your society and in this world.

Love,

Chiamaka

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Defying Borders To Build A More Peaceful & Just World

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I have observed and experienced that the limiting objective of borders can be useless, if you are determined to achieve your social justice goals. Many people in different parts of the world continually show candor towards the conception that borders should not stop us from trying to make a difference in the world by promoting peace, fairness and equality (in a nutshell – social justice). For the purpose of this post, we will look at the word borders from two different perspectives –

Borders could be the limiting and negative thoughts that come up in our mind or dissuasive negative thoughts that we acquire from other people’s perceptions of things and their fears. Then, borders could be the physical boundaries that separate nations from each other. 

As my eldest brother was driving me home from the airport upon my arrival to Calgary, on Saturday, he mentioned that there have been several protests held in Calgary, for peace in Palestine. I was amazed and touched. Note that Calgary is in Canada and far away from Palestine. However, some Calgarians felt the hurt of Palestinians so much that they took to the roads to protest for freedom.

There are other cases of solidarity in the midst of possible inner limitations and/or several differences that have taken place in our world. Here are a few instances:

– In the wake of the kidnap of more than 200 school girls in Borno state, Nigeria, lots of campaigns started in Nigeria and around the world with the now popular phrase – Bring Back Our Girls. Peaceful protests took place in Ottawa and Toronto. Also, #BringBackOurGirls has become a trending hashtag on Twitter.

– Many people showed up for the rally organized in July after Eric Garner was killed. People have also taken to Twitter to express their desire of what they wish to occur in the aftermath of the very shocking and sad incident, as #JusticeForEricGarner is now a trending hashtag on Twitter.

Amidst the constancy of barbaric acts on human beings by fellow humans, hope still blooms because there are still SEVERAL people in the world who value the rights of our humanity. Such people do not silently observe the violation of others’ human rights, no matter where such an act is occurring at.

An important thing to note is that societies that value human rights tend to be peaceful, so imagine if all parts of the world valued same – we all will become citizens of a peaceful world. Are you willing to help make such a great progression by overcoming some mental and physical borders (without changing location), starting in your own society? I sure hope that the answer is “Yes”. 🙂

Love & Peace,

Chiamaka.

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