Thirty years ago, the United Nations (UN) dedicated this day to peace, more specifically to the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples.  However, the inequality afforded to some is perhaps aptly demonstrated in the ringing of the Peace Bell itself-the Bell was cast from coins belonging to children from all over the world-except the continent of Africa.

Twenty years ago, then Secretary-General of UN Boutros Boutros-Ghali, wrote a report entitled An Agenda for Peace: Preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping. Quite simply, An Agenda for Peace was the resultant document from the UN Security Council’s request for recommendations on how to best strengthen and improve the efficiency of the UN’s practice of preventive diplomacy, for peacemaking and for peace-keeping, within the framework and provisions of the UN Charter. In the report, Boutros-Ghali defines “post-conflict peace-building” as “action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict”, the most lasting contribution to the concern, the study, and (of course) the appeal of humankind’s concern with Peace Studies.

A decade ago, Secretary-General Kofi Annan marked the beginning of a new peace-day tradition, to observe September 21st as “a day of global ceasefire and non-violence”. He called for:

“…all nations and all people to cease all hostilities for the entire day.

Twenty-four hours: to give relief workers a safe interlude for the provision of vital services; to offer mediators a building block towards a wider truce; to allow all those engaged in conflict to reconsider the wisdom of further violence.

Twenty-four hours: not a long time, but enough for the world’s leaders to begin to listen to their peoples.”

Today, as I reflect on the promise that tradition held and the state of the world-in the atrocities we have witnessed in this year alone and the so-called divisions that are being emphasized (beliefs, disabilities, ethnicities, orientation, sex, wealth) as the sources of these tragedies-today is more crucial than ever. Humanity time and time again has had to propose, supplement and attempt to ensure the balance of studying warfare with aspiration studies of keeping peace. In today’s world, we seemingly are finding more reasons to “protect ourselves” with arms than to lay them down in favour of “seeking peace” out, however difficult and challenging this may seem. I question whether our psyche has not arrived at a place in our humanity where, we the people, have become compliant with the unacceptable, because we are not willing to put in the work it requires of every single one of us to make this world, not only acceptable, but truly peaceful-for all?

Beyond satyagraha, an “insistence on truth”, we must step away from misleading each other that this cause, like most, go beyond the one day (or one month, in some other cases) devoted to them.  This year, the day continues with its call for international truce as usual but will also focus particularly on bullying and domestic violence. Maybe the question of the day should not be “What does peace mean to you?” but rather “What will peace mean to my children, and their children and (so forth)…when war no longer exists?” Take a moment to reflect on what #peacemeans to you today, and spend all others-today and forever-actively doing your part to ensure that, one day, it means peace on this Earth for everyone.

Happy Peace Day, everyone.

X nH

Dear Grownups,

In honour of our upcoming Summit in Pittsburgh, I thought I would share some thoughts with you on what ‘being young’ is all about…it’s not as clear cut as you may think, we often get conflicting messages from our peers, the media and even you…so bear with me.

We are told that advice, like youth, is wasted on the young-nevertheless, we are told to enjoy the power and beauty of our youth. We have been assured that young hearts run free. We often reflect on how we are young, so young now that when tomorrow comes we will [insert an activity-whatever comes to mind-that you think (or maybe know) should not be done twice or maybe even thrice in a row but will be] all again because we are young. Sometimes, we ask for your forgiveness for what we have done, simply because we are young. We are told to hope for troubles few, to be brave and faithful and true, by ones who were once in love-just like you. We are guaranteed that only the young can break away and get lost when the wind blows, on our own. We sing about how this how we do. We proclaim that we are young with high hopes of setting the world on fire and burning brighter than the sun. Bold? Definitely! Misguided? Not entirely! Naïve? Sure, we’ll take it…you have couple of more decades up on us, why argue, numbers never lie!

However, as time passes, we hear more and more people-who were once young with us-quip about how they wish they would be forever young. We are also told that one day, we will reflect on the days when we were brave, when we were crazy, when we were mostly young. Before we cross that bridge, with about two months to go until Pittsburgh, one has to celebrate International Youth Day-the Day of the Young-this year appropriately themed “Building a Better World: Partnering with youth.” Gone are the days when the ‘old’ (for lack of a better word, because ‘aged’ sounds just as bad) built the world are we, the young, simply inherited it. We tried that approach, and no offense to the ‘old’ people in the room but look at what you’ve and are in the process of leaving us, it was as if you forgot that you had a world to leave to anyone…that it would simply end, with your natural end, on it. So, now at a crossroads, you have come to the conclusion that it would serve you well to ask the people who stand to inherit this world, what a better world would look like….beyond the lyrics to a John Lennon song. We thank you, and say-quite effectively so-challenge accepted.

Grownups, we thank you for giving us a voice but also ask that you don’t just let us say what is on our minds-really listen to what we’re saying. What we lack in years, we make up for in passion. We realize that the road will be bumpy but we have come prepared-hiking boots in tow! Please keep this in mind today, on International Youth Day, that we are young …for now. We can all learn from each other, and as we become the “no longer young” group, please accept us into ‘circle’ so that we can learn from you how to guide the ones behind us. We may not be there yet but please bear in mind that, one day, we will be. We will continue to utilize our naivety to spur us on, on issues that matter most to us, in a summit designed to cater to our hopes, dreams and aspirations for a better world-the world we will live in, when we are no longer young.

Yours faithfully,

The young, one year on from being really young in Zurich (almost).

X nH

Dear Sakhiwe and Bonke,

Congratulations! Nothing has made me prouder to be from the Kingdom of Swaziland in recent weeks than the moment that I found out that a team of two 14 year old boys from my motherland had won the prestigious Scientific American Science in Action Award. This inaugural award, powered by the Google Science Fair, has taken two boys from our small, beautiful nation and displayed its bounty. You have both displayed the promise of young, beautiful and scientific minds.  The lives of many-especially those for disadvantaged and largely agroindustrial living-may never know your names but they will be eternally grateful to you for changing their lives.

Africa has recently been increasingly been dubbed the ‘land of opportunities’ and it is. All 54 nation-states have immense potentiality for greatness, with great and passionate minds behind their nations, and you both prove that. The age of Independence of many of our countries brought with it such hope and yet, fifty to sixty years on, we’re wondering how such promise has become a dream deferred. So when I hear of greatness, such as the greatness displayed by you, Sakhi and Bonke, I am proud to be Swazi, I am proud to be African. I am proud to be young and an eager witness to such greatness in our generation(s). Such greatness inspires me to be more actively involved in being part of the solution to problems in our country, rather than nag on about them-to step up and act, rather than fall silently or quietly, in the background. Your project, which in a nut shell, “explores an affordable way to provide hydroponics to poor subsistence farmers, enabling them to grow their crops and vegetables in very large quantities and within limited space without using soil”, is impressive! I will not lie, I had to ask around to truly understand what all of that meant.* Simply put, [and I hope I’m right] from what I understand, you two very intelligent young men have come up with a sustainable and affordable way to grow more crops in smaller spaces in a nutrient liquid, with or without gravel or any other supporting medium. I am impressed beyond words, but I am trying to find the words to write a letter of appreciation to you both. The impact of a project like yours not only has potentiality to improve the lives of Swazis, whose primary economy is still based around our agricultural produce [numbers], but many agricultural communities the world over.

This award has come at a right time, a time when being less economically blessed and/or living off the earth has become harder and harder to do over the years, in many parts of the world. You both took the initiative to improve the lives of others, using your gift of science. It’s the knuckling down of day-to-day politics that is hurting us, be it the media or different sides not conversing nor engaging with one another, towards improving the lives of Swazi citizens holistically. Our generation, the youth,  has to realize that the time for making excuses for the ills of yesterday is what is holding us back today and destroying our chances on the world stage. Accepting corruption, undeserving and widespread nepotism and governing elites who have ridiculed the governing systems’ rules in place as a ‘given’ is justifiable no longer. Your award proves that, when you put in the work, the result benefits all for the right reasons. This is a humanist solution to a humanitarian problem-people need to eat and sometimes cannot afford to do so in the conventional ways that food is grown, hence your solution benefits the underprivileged and disenfranchised, indiscriminately-royalist or not.

So, first and foremost, thank you for putting Swaziland in the media for a positive reason, one that has absolutely nothing to do politics. Secondly, thank you for sharing your gift of science and knowledge with the world, cultivating a project that will-no doubt-impact the lives of many far beyond Swaziland’s borders-it already has, simply by existing. Thirdly, irrespective of what happens in July at the overall Google Science Fair, you both have earned that year-long mentorship at Google’s California headquarters. Soak in every moment, take a LOT of photographs, take copious notes, and make friends and future colleagues. Introduce yourself over and over (if you have to) to new people, our Swati names can sometimes be cumbersome and get the best of strangers but persevere and leave a positive, lasting impression. Learn all you can with this award, be shrewd and surround yourselves with (potential) mentors-people who inspire you to get better and better at your craft. I commend you both for your work, for sharing your gift of knowledge and science on the world’s stage. The late King Sobhuza II on the occasion of his Diamond Jubilee ( 6 September 1981) implored the Swazi nation to stay united and challenged it to “preserve that which is good in your culture and adopt what is good in foreign culture, regardless of where it comes from.” Take those wise words to heart, learn from your experiences abroad, but all means, come back home. Your people need you, they need a project like yours to flourish at home and they need your ideas to make our country a better place.  Come home and share what you’ve learned. Above all else, remain humble. You are young and displaying knowledge beyond your years and the time is now to ride on momentum- not on airs and graces. I’ll be keeping tabs on you both, watching how this story plays out, with Swati Pride! Reach that potential of greatness that you’ve already given us a ‘preview’ of.

Once again, congratulations, you have done yourselves, your nation and all the lives of those that your project has and will continue to impact proud.

All the best to you both,

Ms. Nondumiso Hlophe, your One Young World Ambassador.

_____

*The Chinese have a proverb that says “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” I chose to investigate, rather than to  pretend that I understood the scientific jargon and hope I got it right.

The people who know me well (enough) know that one of my favorite gifts to give and to receive is books. I am a believer in the fact that the books your parents, teachers, lecturers and friends introduce/recommend/share with you (OR NOT) tell you a lot about their state of mind and sense of well-being. It may well also indicate what they see in you-the potentiality of joy in reading, learning and growing between the pages and between the lines.

If you were blessed, as a child (the earlier, the better) you had someone who read to you, then someone to read with you until you could read for yourself (dictionary on hand, if need be). I was such a child and, as I got older, I became curious about all the other books on many shelves throughout the home. There were books ranging from art to economics to politics, macropedias to children’s encyclopedias, dictionaries for several languages, autobiographies and biographies (official and unofficial), poetry and proverbs and the list goes on. Indeed, I was a blessed child. I was raised in a home where reading, using one’s imagination and writing down such fables and poetry was highly encouraged.

In age of technology, many screens has replace sensory thrill of a book purchase, for ecological, economic and sensible reasons. Indeed, the cost of printing and accessibility to rare titles has been minimized by innovations. In the age of technology, the case for copyright has never been rifer, with increasing manuscript sharing of edited finals but not the masterpieces themselves. In an age, where we are raised to believe the world is at our fingertips and that we can be whatever we want to be, some of the people responsible for these aspirations are the ones suffering the most. It is the authors, literary agents and publishing houses that are under threat in this new media age, especially in Africa. Stories read, told and shared on African history, present and future (irrespective of real or make-believe) have always had few infamous names associated with them. Undeniably, Mother Africa has had a strong oral tradition, where folklore was passed down from generation to generation, at age appropriate intervals often in communal settings. Prophet Joy Ndwandwe, at a celebration in honor of this auspicious day (held in Mankayane, Swaziland on 13 April 2012), stated that Africans were god story tellers but lacked the will to write. Harsh but, to some extent, I tend to agree with her.

I do not think the issue is that stories concerning Africa are not being told or written, they are. However, I do think they are not being published enough. Even once they’ve leaped over the hurdle of unlikelihood of publishing, not enough people are supporting the market. As someone who has always contended that, one day, I  will publish my work, the recognition of publishing and copyright of material strikes a chord. While we progress technologically, there are some key elements that one must be mindful of, such as the issue of copyright. One (wo)man’s widespread share has a ripple effect on another (wo)man’s bread and butter. This couldn’t be truer for the African writer/agent/publisher, who are often left to rely on more well-renowned and well-established  international publishing houses overseas to make ends meet, as continentally, from product to support, we’re just not there yet. Even the older stock of parents, teachers and friends, who view the arts and humanities as faculties and facilitators of dreaming big, will tell you that such dreams may not pay the bills-just like other warm and fuzzy notions, like love, passion and self-actualization. Hence, the dreams of the African writer, however passionate, are short-lived, short-changed, or short-sold in society.

I definitely believe you are what you read. It is reflective of an innermost and highly personal journey of self-whether you like what you’re reading or not. A book, be it fiction or not, opens its reader up to a whole new world, often accompanied with a different way of viewing and processing information. The gift of reading -facilitated by its main agent, books-is highly personal one, a skill that once learned enables its chief to be both commandant and apprentice of literature. I believe Carlyle was right: be they fat or thin, big or small; hard-pressed dress or paper thin, with words that either shout, mutter or are in need of deduction from the unspoken; books are the ultimate professors indeed.

So Happy World Book and Copyright Day to you all, may you find a new professor to edify you on your reading path, today and everyday of your living.

In today’s society, we associate activism with apathy, campaigns with commercialism, and making a difference by defying the status quo. I don’t blame you-call it overkill for “caring for the cause” that loses steam after merely months. Admittedly, it is a catch-22 scenario when we ascribe a single hour, day or month to a cause. Truly is it at the forefront of our consciousness…and if that momentary observance is deemed a success, does it remain there…and if so, for how long? Tonight, Earth Hour will last for an hour – 20:30 to 21:30 in Swaziland- and while I am a fan of what Earth Hour represents, I approach it with the same skepticism that I do Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day and any other earmarked day towards some cause.

Take Valentine’s Day: we celebrate our love for one another with the most public displays and tokens of affection-on that one day. Ideally, I’d rather have 364/5 days of someone loving me (and vice versa) more and more with everyday. I would spend St. Valentine’s Day as a day of reprieve-no grand gestures while the world at large embarks on such, just you and I, bottled poetry (Robert Louis Stevenson’s apt description for vino) and quality quiet time. Alas, I feared persecutin from those who would expect much MUCH more. With our lives as plugged in, on-the-go and constantly a click, a dial and a turner away as they are, the lack of such a grand gesture could be the grandest of them all! So, guilty as charged, I am not a fan of the flowers, chocolates, grand gestures and public displays of any kind-I am a simple girl, who enjoys the simplicity of the thought[s] behind the act[s]…but I digress.

Tonight, we dedicate 1 hour –just one- to disconnecting our lives in honor of Mother Earth. After all, it’s the only Earth we’ve got, so to make up for electrifying her to the point of overload on a daily basis, this ONE hour on this ONE day is meant to compensate for it all. She cries, pleads and weeps with evidence of exhaustion on a daily basis- all you have to do is think back to when energy around us was ever this unstable, unpredictable even (with natural disasters becoming the norm and the strength unrivalled to boot). Don’t worry Gaia, we hear what you’re saying but help us help you….we’ll dedicate tonight to you…like Valentine’s Day, but only for a lot less!

Fair enough, mockingly I’m engaging with such a serious issue, perhaps to take the edge off of the consequences of not dedicating even that one day. Earnestly, like Valentine’s Day, we can’t dedicate single moments in time towards our welfare, seemingly to fulfill our duties to one another as citizens of Earth. Love your Earth for more than one hour, the same way you would seemingly love your person beyond the 14^th of Feb, grand gestures or not. Tonight should be a reminder (and if not, a catalyst) towards being more mindful of how you use energy-after all, you love your Earth more and more every day, don’t you? Let’s all be more mindful, more considerate and kind to an Earth that (seemingly) loved us so unconditionally in the past, that now she’s reached breaking point in this askew relationship…it’s time we treated her with the love, respect and honor she deserves.

Happy Earth Hour, Swaziland! Switch off between 20:30 and 21:30 because we all love our Earth, it’s just today we get to show just how much.

X nH