Peace You Have My Word is a platform for learners to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about Peace in the world, and particularly on the African continent. This year, participants from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Zambia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Switzerland, Germany, the United States of America and more, shared visions of peace that ranged from provocative to poetic and transformative. Many expressed deep concern about the state of the world and a strong call for justice, unity, and real change. Let's all open our ears to the wisdom of our learners, and follow them as they model advocacy and reflection.
-Estelle Baroung Hughes, Founder of Peace You Have My Word
Category: No Justice No Peace
I just want peace
I want to wake up and not hear people fighting. I want to walk outside and feel safe. I want to see people smiling again, not just surviving. I want to stop worrying about tomorrow.
Lebanon has been through a lot. Too much. We are tired, but we are still here. We keep standing. We keep hoping. But we can’t keep breaking each other. We have to stop. We have to remember that we are one people.
Peace doesn’t come from leaders. It starts with us. In our homes. In how we treat our neighbors. In how we talk to each other. We don’t all have to agree. But we can still respect each other.
I miss the Lebanon I knew. The one where people helped each other, even if they were different. The one where we sat together and shared food, stories, and life.
We can have that again. But only if we choose peace. Every day. In small ways. In real ways.
Please. Let’s not wait until we lose everything. Let’s hold on to what matters.
Lebanon deserves peace. We all do.
Read more student submissions in the category of No Justice No Peace:
Victoria Bampoe Addo (SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Ghana)
Serena Kodsi (Al-Rayan International School in Ghana)
Nathania R. Fassil (International Community School of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast)
Asma'u Babashehu Terab (Start Rite in Nigeria)
Malika Siklawi is a student at Al-Rayan International School in Ghana.
