Conflicts arise from disparate opinions and views. The consequences of the discrepancy are concerning. The journey human beings have traversed as a civilisation is a timeless spectator of how and what conflicts unfold. The inability to resolve the conflicts precedes violence and war. The year 2023 has unfortunately experienced horrifying ethnic conflict, which resulted in war, violence and destruction.
Significant and distressing conflicts unfolded in the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Palestine Conflict. Every disagreement between two nations has a history. It beholds the origin of the conflict, illicit and lawless actions to force one another, the legacy of struggle to prove your community as righteous and virtuous, memoir of people who sacrificed themselves to the struggle and collected grief and anger. However, the genocide of a whole nation, country, its people, and swapping away cultures for land and satisfying the vanity of political leaders is not justified.
History has been proof of the ultimate destruction that follows. Violence and War is no longer an alternative but has become the sole option. The advent, promotion and knowledge of the Mechanical Production of explosives, war guns and tanks has further aided War. Walter Benjamin says, “Self-alienation has reached such a degree that it (human beings) can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure”.
War and Violence perish people, communities and their long-preserved, much-cherished culture and heritage. It not only erases their existence but the legacy, stories and traditions of their ancestors. It destroys the dreams and hopes of the children and youth. People are ousted from their homelands and countries where they were born. The trauma and pain of losing their loved ones and their livelihood is unexplainable.
The war also perpetuates other unwanted situations. In the refugee crisis, people who have been forcibly dislodged from their land take shelter in another country. They may be welcomed but not accepted; they are still aliens in a foreign land. The war requires costly technical resources and monetary assistance. Natural resources are utilised in war, and the productive forces or workers are assembled to fight in the war. It dissembles the structure and functioning of the society. Nature is polluted.
Problems are evident, but are we ready to resist violence? The war for annexing land is condemned by many, but who cares to stop it? Why don't we learn from history? Why are we, as humans, so adamant about killing people and considering war as the only solution to conflicts? Why are power sharing and co-existence not ideated? Have human beings lost all empathy in growth and development?
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Very well written Samiksha!💙