A dialogue about tolerance
and peace (Int’l Tolerance Day
special)
By
Kamala
Sarup
Peace
and tolerance mean different things to
different
people and this can sometimes lead
to confusion and obscure the
truth.
A noble and tireless seeker of peace, Daisaku Ikeda, once said, "A great
revolution in just one single individual will help achieve
a
change in the destiny of a society and,
further, will enable a change
in the destiny
of
humankind."
Does
this mean we all don revolutionary garb, take to the hills
and
engage in armed struggle? Certainly not.
It has already
failed.
Over
12,000 Nepalis have been killed over the last nine years. We don’t yet
see any indication that warring parties in Nepal are keen to settle their
differences through dialogue and work out a negotiated
settlements.
Around
the world, dozens of people are being killed every day in the name of‘jehad,’ `Resistance’ or ‘global war against
terror.’ Tolerance and understanding has given way to hatred and
suspicion. People are now refusing to see and recognize others beyond their
own caste, creed and religion.
Unfortunately,
after paying a huge price over past several decades, we have come to learn
that this is not the way to resolve our conflict and lead our
societies.
We
live in the real world with jobs, family, responsibilities
and
normal day-to-day problems to solve. There
are various political processes to allow people to interact and work towards
conflict resolutions.
"The
peace activists I have been fortunate enough to interact
with
remind me quite a bit of the courage and
bravery I have seen in people
of Latin
descent, particularly Mexican descent, and the serenity
and
wisdom of the people I saw in Japan and in
Nepal. Mostly in seeing the
results of such
conflicts during subsequent periods of
economic
reconstruction. I did see firsthand a
little of such conflicts when I
visited Burma,
or Myanmar, as it is known by some," a senior
American
journalist, Scrabe, said
recently.
Deeply
held beliefs, such as religious convictions, can often
arouse
fierce passions among people. The
intense sectarian violence in Northern Ireland or Sri Lanka are recent
examples of this
phenomenon.
On
the one hand, UN offer assistance, inspiration and hope for
many,
yet our societies marred by scandals and
incompetence at many levels. The overall work and effort of people such as
Kofi Annan has inspired a whole generation of African leaders. The tragic
situation, which occurred in
Rwanda,
demonstrates the need for such
organisations. Yet in Orange
County,
California there is a remarkable man,
Reverend Rick Warren, and
Saddleback Church,
which he and his wife founded, who recently went
to
Rwanda and according to news reports did a
lot of good
work
there.
The
world and its various institutions, such as governments
and
militaries, have been around for a very
long time. History appears to
move in cycles
of sorts. Human beings either learn from history,
or
they will tend to repeat mistakes of the
past. We must be optimist in this regard, and we must have high hopes for
the future as long
as there are people who are
working for peace, tolerance and
prosperity
around the globe, including
Nepal.
People
and tolerance are social creatures and naturally
gather
together to pursue common interests.
When people and the land
converge in the
harmony of peace and tolerance, often
remarkable
things can
occur.
Nepal
is a place where like-minded people of goodwill can
gather
together for peace, as recent musical
events have shown, to solve or
at least
conceptualize the solution to problems facing the country
today.
But,
perhaps, the most important message is that if we want peace, we must work
for justice.
(The author can be reached at ksarup@yahoo.com)
(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to editors@mos.com.np and your comments/suggestions to feedback@mos.com.np)
