Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 24: The real enemy that we must confront is the ways of thinking that justify nuclear weapons.
War has a catastrophic effect on the health and well-being of nations. Nuclear weapons used in wars bring with them great death and devastation. They disrupt the lives of not only humans but every being in the ecosystem. Wars render people homeless and displaced. During wars, pets are abandoned, loved ones are lost, and houses and places of importance and significance are destroyed. Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease. Wars leave people traumatized. The post-war trauma is unimaginable and can never be healed.
A war is won at the cost of hundreds and thousands of lives; so how can it be called a Victory?
Nuclear weapons release many dangerous radiations which are very powerful and harmful. Radiations cause great biological harm which carries on for generations and generations. These radiations have many effects on people exposed to them and have a high fatality rate. More than a million people have died due to catastrophic nuclear weapons. One does not have the right to take the life of another living being.
Nuclear weapons cost a bomb. To make the world a much better place, the money and resources of the country spent on wars and nuclear weapons should be used for generating employment opportunities, medical facilities and better education and health care for all people, improving the infrastructure, etc.
The year 2005 is significant in understanding the relationship between war and mental health. This is the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the start of the war in Lebanon. Every day the media brought horrors of the ongoing “war” situation in Iraq. Some recent quotations from the media depict the impact of war on mental health: “We are living in a state of constant fear” (in Iraq); “War takes a toll on Iraqi mental health”; “War trauma leaves a physical mark”; “War is hell… it has an impact on the people who take part that never heals”; “War is terrible and beyond the understanding and experience of most people”; “A generation has grown up knowing only war”.
War is not a thing of the past. Amid the ongoing Covid19 Pandemic, there are dozens of countries at war. Currently, the tension between countries such as Israel and Palestine is escalating. Over 100 lives have been lost.
Nuclear weapons embody an absolute evil that terrorizes humankind’s right to live; they are incompatible with the interests not only of national security but of human security―the pursuit of peace and dignity for all people on Earth.
We cannot use wars to bring peace.
The youth of the country should have a say in the actions taken by the government as it is the youth and future generations that will have to face the future brunt of war. It is the responsibility of the youth to protect and preserve our future. The youth has to come forward and speak up. The youth have to stand up for the betterment of our planet.
Think about the cities, villages, countries, towns, etc. suffering the damages of the war. Think about the innocent people bearing the consequences of wars. Think about the random bomb blasts. Think about the unlimited firing of machine guns. Think about the atomic missiles being dropped from the endless sky. Think about the masses scattering and running about to save their lives. Think of the injuries and bloodshed occurring throughout the war. Think about children being separated from their parents. Most importantly think about the post-war trauma following the few people surviving the deadly wars.
It is disturbing, isn’t it? Just thinking about these unfortunate circumstances makes us feel agonizing pain. We cannot even begin to imagine what the people caught in the middle of these lethal wars might be experiencing.
This does not have to be our future. A new world is what we can create. And it can be more incredible than we can imagine. But we need youth like you and me to stand up and build that world.
– By Yuvan Motwani
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