Since 1981 when International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations General Assembly it is observed around the world on 21 September. International Day of Peace is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” I believe that peace is important to live blissful and satisfying life and offering that to all living beings around us is needed. (1)

In my everyday life I think I am peaceful person and staying calm and learning from situations life brings is important. Also I find spending time in nature and outside doing joyful activities keeps my mind peace. I find myself lucky and grateful for opportunity to be Au Pair in Hawaii where nature is everywhere you go so my peace tank is full and I can share it also people around me.

Furthermore, Albert Einstein has said: ´´Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.´´ I feel that we are living in times when peace and freedom are not available for everybody and we should try to support and keep open mind for people who need it right now a lot. (2)

In my opinion this group who need our open minds and helping hands a lot are refugees and migrants. That is to say, I had chance to volunteer Pacific Asian Affairs Council Student Conference at Refugee Simulation and I would love to share why I feel this way that they need our support. Experience of being part of simulation team opened my eyes to the way refugees are treated and the process they have to undergo to get asylum, which these people really are entitled to, and it put me thinking about the things that I am taking for granted. For example freedom, peaceful mind, staying together with family, working enjoyable job, having own bed to rest, food, drinking water etc.

Above all, I would encourage people to think more about peace and what we can do to offer it to ourselves and people around us. I hope we can support and keep open mind in our communities to this year International Day of Peace slogan “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All”.

With peace,

Kart Maalinn

Sources:

1) http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/index.shtml

2) https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4464-peace-cannot-be-kept-by-force-it-can-only-be