When living in peace is the hardest

IT has been a week of days. We had Mothers Day last Sunday, followed by Wesak Day, Nurses Day and Teachers Day. All were celebrated – some with love and others with respect and compassion.

Yesterday also marked another important day in the international calendar. And this is probably the single hardest day to observe for most human beings.

It was International Day of Living Together in Peace!

It’s true; there is such a day. At noon on this day, we are all supposed to observe a minute’s silence – to have just one minute of peace on Earth.

For some people caught in the middle of warfare, even that minute of peace will not be available.

It really seems hard to believe that we have a day for living together in peace, what with all that is going on around us.

Peace seems to be the last thing on our minds these days. There is a trade war raging, with the United States taking on almost the whole world although China is its main target.

There are verbal wars with people spouting all manner of things; and then there are real armed conflicts, where so many people, mostly innocents, die for no reason.

We see it in Israel, where the Palestinians are oppressed as they seek to hold on to their homeland, and in Ukraine, which has been under siege since the Russian invasion began more than three years ago.

That’s not to mention the civil wars in places like Yemen, where Houthi forces have taken over the capital Sanaa and are fighting US forces; and Sudan, where two armed forces are fighting for supremacy.

Closer to home, we have Myanmar, where armed groups are fighting the military government, which staged a coup in 2021, and the south Thailand separatist insurgency.

And now, another old wound is festering – India and Pakistan have just had a go at each other again. There’s a ceasefire now, but it’s an uneasy one which could easily be broken any time.

These two have fought at least five wars – the first one in 1947 when the British left, leaving behind what was the world’s craziest partition. Punjab was parted down the middle, while Kashmir became a contested region among three countries.

The partition was done by Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer who reportedly spent all of 35 days in the country before carving it up into three. There has been no peace in that region since.

Radcliffe created a new, smaller India and two Pakistans – one in the east and another in the west. After one of those wars in 1971, east Pakistan became Bangladesh.

Even now, despite the ongoing ceasefire, this latest war, which started after a terror attack on tourists, is still being fought – on social media at least.

It’s a war that’s also raging in Malaysia, no thanks to the Internet and the different allegiances the communities – Malay-Muslims, Indians and Chinese – have with the three protagonists, Pakistan, India and China, which backed Pakistan.

People are spouting venom on social media, but most of it should be ignored. However, when someone with power and authority decides to get in on the act, we have a problem.

A famous preacher has not only taken sides, he is even urging Mal­aysians to do the same over a war happening over 6,000km away.

We were victims of war, with the British and Japanese ruling over us, yet we are friends with both now. And here, a supposedly religious person is preaching hate against those fighting far, far away.

What is worse, he has lined up a litany of lies to back up his so-called case. There has been a backlash and many have chastised him and pointed out the untruths, even Malays.

While activists were furious, an MP also joined the chorus to clarify facts. He calls the preacher’s claims – I do not wish to repeat them here – “factually distorted, reckless, dangerous and unbecoming of a religious leader”.

He also said these claims could stoke religious animosity, encourage radicalisation and polarise our society.

He is right. Leaders, especially religious leaders, should not be nurturing and propagating hate – with concocted information at that. It’s certainly not conducive to “living in peace”.

I see no reason why action should not be taken against such preachers.

Living together in peace, according to the United Nations, is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognise, respect and appreciate others. It’s not about causing conflict, especially with lies.

If there is to be any conflict, I wish it could be like the Whiskey War. This was a bloodless conflict that began in the 1970s with both Canada and Denmark claiming Hans Island, a small uninhabited island near Greenland.

The military ships would take turns to “invade” the island, planting flags and bottles of liquor – whiskey from Canada, schnapps from Denmark. Talk about “wasting” your opponents in a war and staying on “high” alert always.

The countries finally signed a treaty in 2022 with one last exchange of bottles. Those bottles are now in museums and the “friendliest of all wars” has come to an end.

There was another such conflict. France and Spain had been disputing Pheasant Island, which lies between the two nations. But with time zones moving, the island becomes Spanish for six months and French for another six.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all conflicts could be solved like that? Of course, those disputed areas are barren islands, but wars today are over oil, mineral-rich land and other riches like that.

Our greed for these things will keep us fighting. And living in peace will remain the hardest thing to do.