Thoughts on War- Worldwide Impact

[Madhuri]

I read a very disturbing headline just now in the morning newspaper 
and I thought I might share it with you.

~~~
New Delhi, Sept 13

SHOT AT

An eight year old school boy was shot at and injured by terrorists 
near here today, police said.

Two car-borne persons handed a note written in Hindi saying "no Hindu 
will be spared if India sides with the US in the war" to two boys 
coming out of the Holy Public School, Sikandra, and asked them to 
hand it over to the school management. As the boys turned towards the 
school, one of the was fired at and injured.
~~~


The war isn't just America's problem. This truly has worldwide 
imapct, which is why some countries like India are seriously fearing 
for their safety if America really does go to war. These garish acts 
of terrorism are extremely shocking, but my country has been facing 
it for decades. Just last year, an entire city near mine  was 
engulfed in land mines and bombs. My cousins live in that city, and 
luckily nobody I knew was hurt. Every single day, dozens of innocent 
civilians are killied by terrorists along the India/Pakistan border. 
Hundreds of lives are lost in our neighbouring country of Sri Lanka 
every week due to probably one of the most public and well supported 
terrorist gangs in the world today. My very close friend lost his 
father in Sri Lanka.

Terrorism is an inhuman, barbarous situation. The natural calamities 
that are faced by the Third World countries might result in greater 
losses of life and property, but nothing destroys the morale of the 
people like brothers killing each other. Extremely young children are 
tortured, drilled and brainwashed until they become hard-core 
terrorists... once they become adults, there is absolutely no way to 
stop them. The one thing that redeems people, that saves them and 
everyone else, is a conscience. 

Terrorists don't have that.

I am sure that India is not the only country that is against war. I 
understand the need for retaliation, but a very powerful and 
developed country like the USA will hardly be affected when compared 
to the Third World countries that face terrorism, religious riots and 
massacres day in and day out. We are the ones that will be affected 
the most. Do you think that once the terrorists go to war, they'll 
restrict their attack to the country that's attacking them? 

Not a chance.

I understand that I'm probably alone in my viewpoint here, but I've 
face these things a lot. My friends face them. My family faces them. 
Complete and total strangers whom I've never known face them. But it 
hurts every time. I don't believe that war is a solution to anything. 
My it's because of the Gandhian ideals I've been brought up with, but 
if 800 million people could non-violently overthrow one of the most 
powerful countries in the world, well... I believe anything is 
possible.

Madhuri