Have you ever seen a soccer game? When is the most exciting moment? Nothing made more dramatic snapshots, however, than the come-from-behind victories. But there is something more exciting! The protagonist is the hero of Chelsea, English Premier League (EPL) striker Didier Drogba, who is considered as the best striker of the 20th century from the African continent. During his prime as a soccer player, how was his family? They are so happy because of their son, is it really true? Finally you can know why he is a Soccer messenger.
Cote d’Ivoire Brutal Civil War
In 2002, the people of Cote d’Ivoire religious conflicts between Catholics and those practicing Islam led to a brutal civil war. Can there be a war without death? It resulting in the deaths of thousands of people and a massive number of refugees that reached around 700,000 people. Just when he was playing the final match of the World Cup qualifier, the people in his hometown were dying.
At that time, Cote d’Ivoire was defeating Sudan 3:1. Drogba and his teammates knelt to the ground in front of the camera that was streaming live all over Africa.
“Today, we beg you, on our knees…
Please lay down your weapons, hold elections, all will be better.
We want to have fun, so stop firing your guns.” – Soccer messenger, Drogba
Who can change the world?
He appealed to both sides to stop the war for even just one week. In front of his sincere, pleading voice, the hearts of the people were moved, and both the government and the rebels put down their guns. The civil war that had been raging for four years finally came to an end and the beginnings of peace were witnessed. In 2007 the government and rebel group signed a major peace treaty. But what is clear is that any outstanding person can’t achieve peace alone. We can become a messenger of peace and make a change. Do you know? HWPL is a volunteer group that has been formed from such individuals who have a sincere heart for peace. HWPL emphasized we can do it. Then, we can be called peace messengers.
“Let us all become messengers of peace and leave peace as a legacy to future generations.” – hwpl
Yowun Puraya Youth Festival – International Youth Camp was held from March 28, 2018 to April 1, 2018 with 7,000 participants. There are nice people attended including government representatives, prime ministers, youth organizations, and the press in Sri Lanka. The event was held by the Government of Sri Lanka collaborating with the National Youth Services Council (NYSC), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs. What is the purpose of this Sri Lankans Youth Festival? They hosted annually to motivate young peopleto contribute to the national developmental process.
7,000 Together for International Law
The most impressive thing is that they really want peace. As living with me in another country, I couldn’t understand them very well. Let’s listen to their story. Prabath Liyanage, Deputy Director of NYSC, emphasized “Sri Lanka is a country that has suffered by a war for more than 30 years until 2009. So the people of the country has already experienced the bitter side of the war. No body at the country wants to face the same situation once again. Accordingly, the DPCW could be adopted easily in Sri Lanka. The
message could be communicated to the public through youth” 7,000 of signatures will have great potential impact on the world.
HWPL stated officially “HWPL will no longer tolerate attempts to obstruct the work for peace, putting personal gain over the common good of humanity. We urge all those yearning for peace and justice to take the right path, not the path marked with lies, and join the effort to build peace together”
IPYG has been working with approximately 846 youth organizations in 111countries around the world (as of October 2017). IPYG Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop! It is a good example of the Youth Empowerment. How much faster do they run? They participated in more than 200 activities and events in 44 countries for peace. How long? ‘Just in this year!‘ They show a great power. The reasons for that are eager for peace and youth. In particular, IPYG hosted the Peace Walk, which has been an annual event since 2013. They created a movement to promote the true culture of peace. It is based on Article 10 of the DPCW.
“For World Peace to become a reality, this is the duty of all youth, everywhere.“
IPYG Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop
It is important for young adults around the world to recognize the importance of safeguarding peace. What is the role of the youth? Owners of the future! They must make the world of peace. To fulfill such vision, IPYG continues to host the Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop. So far, IPYG’s Youth Empowerment Peace Workshops were hosted in the states of Kano, Imo and Katsina in Nigeria.
This time, it was held in Kano State, Nigeria on 14 January 2018.
Dr. Babatunde Adetuniji Oni and Dr. Hakeem Abimbola Olaniyan, Professors of Law at the University of Lagos, design a curriculum dedicated to identifying the ways of making peace a reality in Nigeria. Why do they work so hard? Because they were inspired at the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th WARP Summit. After participating in the peace education, many students expressed their grief over the current selfish and brutal reality.
A student said “Peace and wars should be clearly distinguished. I realized that peace cannot be achieved by committing wars. I believe this education should reach out to all corners of Nigeria in every field.”
A dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade, Ultra Violet points us toward the future.
Color Trend of the year means a lot thing. It won’t be out of your way. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the PANTONE color institue said “We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination. It is this kind of creative inspiration that is kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous the PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higherlevel. From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.”
The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.
Much more than Trending
Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, said “The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.” At the end of the day it is the actions that are important, and what remains is the application to me. In fact, Color of the Year 2018 has nothing to do with me. Even if Ultra Violet is creative, it doesn’t make me creative. The future is up to you. Now, move fast!
There was a great echo in the Nigeria. Though small in size, the meaning contained in it was enough to echo the whole land. The Ajegunle quarters of the heavenly culture for World Peace and Restoration of Light (HWPL) urged Nigerians to drop pride. If only, we can be united. It was led by Pastor Kenneth Okunorobo of The Root of Righteous Revival Ministry.
What Did He Say?
He said, “If we cannot be united in a foreign land, we won’t be able to come home and practise what we have learned. Nigerians are not united and I noticed it in the last DCPW conference in South Korea. We had about 40 Nigerians, including four Nigerian governors’ wives in attendance, but there was no avenue for us to sit down and talk, like other countries were doing.”
Last DPCW Conference
2nd Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)
“A Call for Building a World of Peace and Realizing Justice“
Pastor Kenneth Okunorobo said, “This is because the pridein us is too much. If we cannot be united over there, how can we return here and preach the gospel of peace and unity to our people. We need to start coordinating ourselves from here in Lagos at least, and then attract the president and Lagos State governor’s attention.”
Nigerians can be united
Keyword is ‘Pride‘ and ‘Religious belief‘. Muslim Leader, Imam Adangba, said “Sometime, you find Muslims or Christians that are evil. But there are also very good Muslims and Christians.” The most impressive words he said is that “Religion is about teachings from heaven, it is not human. Religious leaders should respect and love according to their scriptures and realise peace. I have learned a lot from Pastor Kenneth and he also learned a lot from me. We later agreed that the Bible and Qur’an are saying the same thing. It is just our interpretations that brought these divisions amongst us.”
“Religion is about teachings from heaven, it is not human”
According to BBC, Yemen civil war is known as ‘Silence of War’ since the world major media paid less attention compared to the gravity of the situation. But finally the silence was broken. The children played a big role. Thanks a lot. I would also like to thank the adults who wrote these articles. I think we can feel it only if we listen to the children’s voices. So I try to write their stories mainly.
He recalls, “I saw the people beside me get killed.” “I sat next to them(his fellow child soldiers) and cried too.”
Marib(13-year-old) said he couldn’t think of anything else, he says, not even his favorite animals. Naji, 13, says the rebels had him dragging dead bodies from the field. “One day, I looked at the body and it was my uncle. I cried and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t pull his body out,” Naji recalls.
It’s a serious Global Issue
Since 2015, over 8,600 people died and 50,000 have been injured (WHO)
Since March 2015, the United Nations has verified 2,369 cases of child recruitment and use of children in combat in Yemen, Meritxell Relano, UNICEF resident representative in Yemen, told CNN. The UN says it faced various challenges to monitoring and believes the number to be much higher. Yemeni officials in the Western-backed government in the South believe there are more than 6,000 child soldiers across the country.
Last December, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen said he was “deeply disturbed” by mounting civilian casualties and said it was proof of the “complete disregard for human life that all parties continue to show in this absurd war.” The UN dubbed Yemen’s war “a children’s crisis,” and argued that young people were bearing the brunt of the conflict’s humanitarian disasters. This civil war has most of the Yemen war’s child casualties.
God has saved you from them
Recovering from the trauma is slow. Nightmares still haunt Younis and sometimes spill into reality. “One night at school I could see a face on the wall looking at me,” he recalls. That night he thought someone was going to kill his friends in a nearby room and then come for him. He locked himself in his room.
“He used to wake up at night startled, screaming ‘The Houthis, the Houthis. They are coming to take me,'” Samira says. “I would go to him, tell him to say aprayer. ‘You are here with me, not with them. God has saved you from them and brought you to us.'”
Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.
– Herbert Hoover
Older men declare war. But it is child that must fight and die.
On October 13, 2015, six-year-old Fareed Shawky in Yemen is playing with a ball with his friends as usual. Then suddenly, the worst tragedy in this tiny Yemen boy’s life occurred. A missile fell to the house with a roaring sound and in a flash, his house was in chaos. With shrapnel lodged in his head, he whispered in ear ‘Don’t bury me‘. But shortly after, small Yemen boy was buried in a cold graveyard. In 1994, the first civil war broke out in Yemen after Royalists of the existing reign was retreated by the coup by Republicans. Then, there were large and small wars that can’t see. According to BBC, this war is known as ‘Silence of War’ since the world major media paid less attention compared to the gravity of the situation.
Tiny Yemen boy whispered, ‘Don’t bury me’
The world moved for this Yemen boy
By a statement of the UN, 2.6 million Yemenis, approximately 10% of Yemeni population became refugees after losing their homes. The United Nations held a ‘High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen’ attended by senior figures in 60 international organizations and NGOs from 72 countries in Geneva on 25 April 2017.
Some experts emphasize that the fundamental approaches are necessary to put an end to repetitive conflicts.
“Along with binding mechanisms including international agreements and legal framework in the country, creating a culture of peace that promotes the mindset of peacebuilding through the participation of all sectors is of tremendous importance to achieve immediate ceasefire and sustainable peace,” emphasized Mr. Ian Seo, general director of department of public relations, HWPL HQ.
We need a law that can limit war
“We support all the laws that limit the proliferation of armaments and contribute to the promotion of the world peace,” said Mr. Ayoub, Chief of Improve Your Society (ISYO) in “Piece of Peace” held in Sana, Yemen with 160 participants from 5 NGOs.
Mr. Hrant Bagratyan, the former Prime Minister of Armenia, said “The DPCW will be a good instrument against extremism, terrorism, war, and associations that will be a good base for the sustainability of peace” regarding the DPCW.
“We all have to support what we have to do with the same hearts. It is for living. Will you leave money and authority to our future generation who will live in this global village? There is nothing better than leaving a legacy to the future generation after achieving the world peace”
– Chairman Lee, HWPL
“Only 30% of Moo Hyun’s right calf muscles remain”
Moo Hyun Choi(26), a former Korean national snowboarding athlete, can’t do exercise any more. He has been living together with his snowboard for 20 years.
To the person who regarded snowboarding as everything, a serious injury to his right calf was incurred during one of the training sessions. He spent around 1 year in the hospital and repeatedly received surgeries. The doctor in charge even gave a grave diagnosis of a slim chance of recovery.
“Only 30% of Moo Hyun’s right calf muscles remain”
In the situation of not knowing when recovery would be possible, he received the question “now that you are a failed athlete, what will you do in your life?”
Olympic Spirit : Life of peace activists
But he never gives up. He was the weakest I had ever been in my life, so he really needed some type of goal that I could look towards. “Moving forward, we need to put forth even more efforts to solve this problem on a domestic, national and international level. When war breaks out, it is the young people who lose their lives first. Too much time has already passed. Now is the time for us to speak out. If the youth and the citizens unite as one and raise their voices for peace, then the world will not be able to ignore them. It is impossible to change the course of history with the strength of only one person. However, history can always be changed by people.”
This is the Olympic Spirit that can be seen in practice through the many efforts of the athlete Choi Moo Hyun. With this heart, he concluded the interview by leaving this message for all of the youths and readers.
“Through sports, many people can set aside their ideals, their thoughts, and all of those types of things, and with a united passion and heart peace can be achieved when people join in the work of peace as one.”
– Moo Hyun Choi
The HWPL Fiji Peace Steering Committee was launched to bring together a group of Fijians from religious communities, youth organizations, and civil society to actively promote peace activities in Fiji.
About 4,000 students from Mindanao State University in the Philippines hoped to put an end to current, and prevent future, ideologies of extremism and violence through the Peace Walk.
The DPCW was introduced at the international law conference attended by Supreme Court justices, lawyers and law students in India, and the Supreme Court’s library was furnished with the DPCW through the active participation and support of the attendees.
Legislate Peace Campaign : DPCW
The purpose of HWPL is to end WAR. Maybe you can think it is not possible. Is it so naive? Is it an unattainable ideal? But the walking of HWPL makes us to believe. We get a hope. I can have the faith that we can do it! and I can too. The HWPL‘s Solutions is establishing of international law aiming to construct a world of peace. It is famous for substantialand practicalway to achieve peace. HWPL’s Legislate Peace Campaign is spreading out around the globe. How many? 630 events being held in 176 countries with over 1 million participants. #LegislatePeace