Tariq Saeedi
Peace is a living organism. In fact, it is not just any living organism—it is one of a highly sensitive nature. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict; it is a dynamic entity that requires nurturing, care, and intentional effort to thrive.
To truly understand peace, we must adopt a holistic perspective: everything is interconnected. Just as organisms depend on their environment and other species for survival, peace depends on interconnected systems such as social cohesion, economic stability, and political goodwill. Living organisms adapt to changing environments—and so too must peace evolve to address new challenges, from technological advancements leading to cyber warfare to climate change fueling resource conflicts.
History has shown us glimpses of what happens when peace is given a fair chance. For instance, after apartheid, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission demonstrated how restorative justice could pave the way for healing and unity. Yet, in today’s world—a tired cliché, perhaps, but apt nonetheless—conflicts threaten to spiral dangerously out of control. Bravado abounds, yet solutions remain elusive. There is often a glaring mismatch between bold claims and the ability to enforce them.
In the heat of the moment, we tend to forget the immense power of words. Words, whether spoken or written, acquire meaning. They linger in our memories, stay on record, and can haunt us indefinitely. In our multimedia age, words are no longer confined to text—they come alive through video clips, where tone, expression, and context become part of the message. Words can serve as either the elixir or the poison of peace.
If peace is indeed a living organism, what does its anatomy look like?
Justice: The Circulatory System
Justice serves as the circulatory system of peace, ensuring fairness and accountability. However, this system gets clogged when disputes bypass impartial forums like the United Nations (excluding its Security Council) in favor of biased platforms or unilateral actions. Restorative justice offers an alternative. Consider Rwanda’s Gacaca courts, which prioritized reconciliation over retribution. By weighing restorative approaches against punitive ones, we see their profound impact on long-term healing.
Dialogue and Communication: The Nervous System
Dialogue and communication form the nervous system of peace, enabling understanding and cooperation. Successful dialogues have led to landmark agreements like the Camp David Accords and the Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement). Without open lines of communication, peace cannot survive. Moreover, dialogue helps illuminate the links between peace and seemingly unrelated factors, such as poverty and inequality.
Education and Awareness: The Immune System
Education and awareness act as the immune system of peace, shielding societies from ignorance and prejudice. This goes beyond mere literacy—it encompasses values like empathy, critical thinking, and global citizenship. UNESCO’s Global Citizenship Education program exemplifies efforts to foster tolerance and mutual respect, equipping individuals to contribute to a culture of peace.
Environmental Sustainability: The Respiratory System
Environmental sustainability functions as the respiratory system of peace, providing the resources necessary for survival. Climate-induced migration and competition over dwindling resources underscore the urgent need to protect our planet. A sustainable environment is foundational to lasting peace.
Cultural Diversity and Inclusion: Genetic Diversity
Cultural diversity and inclusion represent the genetic diversity of peace, enriching society and making it more resilient. Multicultural cities like Toronto and Singapore stand as models of peaceful coexistence, proving that diversity need not divide us—it can unite us.
Threats to Peace: Diseases That Kill
As a living organism, peace can be wounded or killed by various threats: the desire for confrontation over cooperation, the urge to dominate at all costs, corruption, propaganda, misinformation, arms proliferation, black markets, climate change, and a lack of individual or collective responsibility. Each of these acts as a disease that weakens the body of peace.
It goes without saying that peace is a shared responsibility. It demands vigilance, compassion, and action from every corner of society. As stewards of this fragile yet resilient organism, we must ask ourselves: Are we nurturing peace—or neglecting it?
Let us choose wisely, for the health of peace determines the health of humanity. /// nCa, 6 March 2025