To know the conflict it is necessary to start from peace and war. When the two utopian terms confront each other, the theory defines them as consequent. In a conflict (war) we face a dispute between two parties, one of them has to win and the other has to lose; however, the scene clouds objectivity, ignoring the high costs that war has on human lives, migration, hunger, children, among others.
However, when it comes to investing in peace or war, Johan Galtung, in one of his conferences relates one of his experiences, “...We are in the Cold War, we are in the year 67, I have done a research paid by the European Council, very badly paid (he smiles), but really for peace there are very few who want to pay something, for war there are infinite sums, for new instruments of torture, of killing people, there is no limit”.
With this analysis, I invite you to consider that the true costs of war are invisible and overshadowed by the euphoria of a winner; just as the investment for war is enormous, for peace, very little.
Peace must prevail in our minds and be reflected in our lives, giving it the importance it deserves, remembering the values of empathy, respect and solidarity and remembering that today it is others, tomorrow it can be us.
Sara Mantilla
Teacher and mediator of the UEES Arbitration and Mediation Center.
