Written by Graciella Stephanie Ganadhi, Content Writer Project Child Indonesia
Since 2017, UNESCO has been celebrating the International Day of Living Together in Peace. The day is celebrated in its relation to the UN 2030 Agenda: achieving world peace. For years, we have been living in constant fear of acts of hatred, tensions, rejection of others, and discriminations. Most of the time, economic issues and technological differences are the cause of the actions.
In Indonesia, we have not achieved the peace and tolerance that every individual should have experienced. There is an unseen tension between ethnic groups, religious groups, and political groups. Moreover, the wide social gap between social classes creates huge obstacles for us to overcome. Riots and demonstrations were not an uncommon practice. As citizens, sadly, we also have gotten used to displays of hate speech, hate-motivated bombing, and many more crimes that were committed as an act of hatred. It will take all of us, as Indonesian citizens, to eradicate this tension and to fight against those kinds of hate.
In this trying time, as a global citizen, it is time for us to build our tolerance and empathy. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? It will be challenging to create and maintain peace in society, moreover, with how diverse we are as a society. Though nothing is impossible. Babies were not born with hatred, they grew up to be a hateful person because of the influence of society. If we believe that everyone is inherently good, peace in society could be achieved. Tiny differences should not be the dividing force between us.
This is the perfect time for us to pursue peace as an individual and a society. There will be more challenges such as economy difficulties, chaos in our daily life, and changes in technology. But, those challenges will only make the results sweeter, won’t it?
