Albert Einstein once said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. Indeed, the world has been torn by the wars and now the war with Russia-Ukraine comes as the war in greater intensity. War is an ugly part of human existence. Everything about this is horrendous and hideous. The act in itself is brutal and depressing. Each act of invasion or bombardment sends a neurological shudder through a society. Literature and arts reflect society as it is and Edward Munch in his painting “the Scream” showcased the modern society full of misery and disillusionment.
World War II reflected the ugliness of the Holocaust and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And from these two rose two giant movements, one for peace and against the perils of the nuclear attack. And, the other for the division of humanity and for non-alignment from these divisions.
The Bandung Spirit was for peace and for non-alignment. For the people to come together and join their hands in an effort to build a process to eradicate history’s burdens of illiteracy, ill-health, hunger, etc. through their social wealth. Instead of civilization war prevailed. The massive waste of human wealth in the production and funding of armed forces is due to the civilization of war. The international division of humanity- says that a war in Yemen is normal, whereas a war in Ukraine is horrific, which defines modern times.
With the Russia- Ukraine war entering the 50th day and the baffling view of negotiations are becoming futile. Negotiations are the only feasible way to understand and respect all sides in a military conflict. To wit, to paint this war as the whims of Russian President Vladimir Putin is a part of an exercise in permanent war or proxy war. The political forces in power profit from war. So, clothe themselves in machismo to better represent the arms dealer who wants more war, and from that more profit.
Peace doesn’t come merely because we wish for it. It requires an effort and fights in the trenches of ideas and institutions. The power dominance has failed us in every sphere of life- from climatic catastrophes to pandemics. They have failed us when it comes to peacemaking and harmony. Most of the countries have voted against the condemnation of Russia not because they support Russia’s war in Ukraine, but rather because they recognize that polarisation is a fatal error.
The world needs non-alignment movement and peacemaking. Nobody wishes for full implications of the encirclement of China and Russia by the US and its allies. War is becoming too costly for the poorer countries as the price of fuel, food is soaring high. Spending for war is eating up the human spirit, and warfare itself increases people’s general sense of despair. Peace and non-alignment movements are only the two ways.
Like Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “we are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it”. Peace is the only way through which the war could end to save humanity from its misery . War is the means of business for ‘others’ but for major of people, it is the destruction of humanity and mankind together. “War is a defeat for humanity”, as Pope John Paul II said, and war can end only in negotiation and respect.
