Skip to main content

WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS OF OUR TIME

Do we care for Syrian people? Where is Justice for humanity?
 

The current civil war in Syria is the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Half the country’s pre-war population — more than 11 million people — have been killed or forced to flee their homes. Children are dying there. At least 96 children have been killed and hundreds injured in eastern Aleppo, since Friday, UNICEF said. It is sickening and the big powers are keep on feeding the war machine. Innocent women and children are being slaughtered every day. Even the outgoing United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his farewell speech at UN General Assembly meeting last week said that the powerful countries on both sides in the Syrian conflict “have blood on their hands.” He is helpless.

Two days ago, Ban Ki Moon described the situation in Aleppo as worse than a slaughterhouse at a UN meeting. The countries involved in the conflict are using the latest and more destructive weapons to target civilians and aid conveys. And this has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and resulted in the biggest refugee exodus in decades. And the nation’s civil war appears to be getting worse.

The power struggle between members of  UN security council are preventing any peaceful agreement to end the conflict. Their expenditures on weapons have dramatically increased over the years. And just a few days ago, the US Senate has agreed to sell more than $1 billion worth of American made tanks and other weapons to Saudi Arabia. YES, we spend billions and billions on war and weapons than we spend on education and poverty reduction.

Peace, justice and unity are the main factors of up building and betterment of the society whereas war and strife are the main causes of destruction and disintegration of humanity. Lasting peace can be achieved through only dialogues and not aggression. The door to dialogue and consultation must be kept open.

Today, countries are still at war in many parts of the world including the Middle East. Since World War II, U.S. has fought the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the First Gulf War, Afghanistan, and the Second Gulf War in Iraq - and a global war on terrorists. U.S. today spends more on military than perhaps all the rest of the world put together but, definitely more than the next 7 highest-spending nations which are China, Russia, Britain, France, India, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

In a chaotic world engulfed in turmoil and strife, finding the peace requires a strong conviction and belief that we belong to one human family. This demands that prejudice—whether racial, religious, or gender related—must be totally eliminated.

In fact,
Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith in 1867 wrote letters to the Kings and rulers of the earth. Those letters, known as the Tablets to the Kings, announced Baha’u’llah’s mission as the founder of the Baha’i Faith and called on the world’s ecclesiastical and political rulers to abolish injustice, end slavery and oppression, lay down their weapons and come together to establish a lasting peace. Bahá’u’lláh criticized and rebuked all of the monarchs and religious leaders for their wars, their unjust practices and their greed.

Following Bahá’u’lláh’s passing His eldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá devoted His ministry to furthering His Father’s Faith and to promoting the ideals of peace and unity. He promoted and encouraged all efforts towards peace. He also indicated that “It is self-evident that the unity of the human world and the Most Great Peace cannot be accomplished through material means. They cannot be established through political power,” He said, “for the political interests of nations are various and the policies of peoples are divergent and conflicting. They cannot be founded through racial or patriotic power, for these are human powers, selfish and weak.” The one power that can hope to bind together all people is religion. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught that once freed from “adherence to forms and imitations” which are the cause of the differences between religious groups, the vital power that is religion has the capability to break down all differences between people.

It is a beautiful message that
Bahá’u’lláh and his son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have given to the world. One may find religion not too attractive or too busy with material things to devote time for religion or one may already belong to a religion that satisfies. But the teachings of Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith bring peace and understanding. It offers hope which will lead humanity to deeper understanding, to assurance, peace and goodwill with all people of the world. Friends, it is time to investigate and seek the truth.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

VISIT TO ABDUL BAHA VILLAGE IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

In 1989, the military government in Burma, officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became “Myanmar.” The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century. Burmese are very friendly. Highlight of our visit to Burma included a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda and Abdul Baha village. Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar. It is sacred to Buddhists from all over Asia and it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. Myanmar's military yielded to a civilian government in 2010 and has dramatically reshaped its economy, opening up various sectors, including energy and infrastructure development, to direct foreign investment. Many foreign investors, especially from ASEAN countries rushed to set up factories and raze old neighborhoods to build luxury housing estates. New hotels and large condominiums...

Rising Inequality during pandemic - A threat to World Peace and Economic Development

Just imagine during the early months of the pandemic, when local businesses across the country closed and millions of hungry Americans turned to food banks for the first time, over a period of seven-month America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective $931 billion. And today, according to a Washington Post report the wealthiest 1 percent of American households own 40 percent of the country’s wealth and the bottom 90 percent of families holding less than one-quarter of all wealth. This share is higher than it has been at any point since at least 1962. Before I go any further, I want to share a short passage from a book that I recently received. The book entitled “ For the Well-Being of All: Eliminating the Extremes of Wealth and Poverty ” was published by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of USA. One page 9, it says, “ The inordinate disparity between rich and poor, a source of acute suffering, keeps the world in a state of instability, virtually on the brink of war. Few ...

When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace

When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace The Geneva Academy reports that over 110 armed conflicts are currently being monitored worldwide, with a significant number occurring in the Middle East (45), Africa (35), Asia (21), Europe (7), and Latin America (6). This violence has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced, particularly affecting children whose basic human rights are violated, leading to severe long-term consequences for their health and development. Global migration patterns have also created major global issues throughout the world. Given this alarming situation, one must ask: Where is the United Nations? Why was the United Nations created to offer peace and security to the whole planet but helpless and unable to provide peace and security. Why isn’t the United Nations doing more to stop the war?  “ To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war “ are among the first very words of the UN Charter and those wo...