Time to work together for peace

TODAY, Sept 21, is International Day of Peace, sometimes referred to as World Peace Day.
It is a observed annually and dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access.
To inaugurate the day, the United Nations Peace Bell is rung at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa, and was a gift from the United Nations Association of Japan as a reminder of the human cost of war. The inscription on its side reads, “Long live absolute world peace.”
This year’s theme for International Day of Peace is Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All. It is based on the global campaign that promotes respect, safety and dignity for everyone forced to flee their homes in search of a better life.
Where conflict in all forms abounds in the nations of the world, a 24-hour respite may be all there is to look forward to by those thrust into war.
And people around the world would hope that the International Day of Peace will not become a token gesture by nations and their leaders who are otherwise incapable or unwilling to find lasting peace.
It is no coincidence that the day falls at a time when the world’s leaders are meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City there is a wall bearing the inscription, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore”.
The trouble is that this is only the second part of the verse which comes from the Judeo-Christian text found in the Book of Isaiah. Preceding that is the prophetic declaration that “He (the God of Israel) will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples”.
The out-of-context quotation demonstrates the presumption that nations united as in the UN General Assembly can bring people while not acknowledging God whose words they are using.
Peace in our day and age is still very elusive and even as the leaders of the world are meeting this week, wars and rumours of war are still there. American president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are trading barbs and parading their nuclear arms like schoolboys comparing toys.
In the Middle East, conflict is part of everyday life.
All peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the Syrian civil war seem to have achieved very little as far as the general population who are sandwiched between the two sides of the conflict are concerned.
Civil war, religious conflict and famine in many parts of the African continent are ongoing.  The West Papuan struggle against the Indonesian government, the religious and ethnic tensions in the Philippines and Myanmar, for example, are ongoing threats to peace in our own region.
Back home, our own prime minister, who is joining world leaders in New York this week, cannot confidently speak on the subject of peace with local events nagging his conscience.
There are still tribal conflicts and killings, and a general trend of violence and disrespect for women and girls tell us that as a nation there is a lot of hard work to do to realise peace in the communities.
To mark the International Peace Day today in Port Moresby the
W Kiddie PNG Peace and Gutpela Sindaun Foundation will lead a programme.
Today, there will be a peace march in Port Moresby led by the Royal PNG Constabulary band and the PNG Defence Force Pipes band, starting at 6am.
The occasion should remind everyone of their individual and collective responsibility to enable people in our families, communities and the nation.
As we observe this day we need to think of how we can promote peace in our part of the world before we can talk about peace elsewhere.