Lets Talk with Mohammad

A normal, healthy, rational person, like you and me, never wants war, right?

So why is there war, I wonder?! It’s not about more food, because there’s too little to be found, or about survival, because the place where we had our village is flooded and we have to move; those days are over. No, it’s not about the needs of society; it’s about more resources, more money, more power for those in power.

Look, every country needs leadership, so people can live together with rules they can support and build a good life for themselves. But it’s precisely with leadership that it often goes wrong.

We’re living in 2025, and sometimes I think some people on Twitter could lead a country better than most leaders currently in power.

I come from a country with a dictatorship, one person making the rules that are best for him. Does he want war? Then he’s not the person standing on the front lines with a machine gun, no, he’s safely in a large house, making the decisions. The negative consequences are ours: we lose our homes, our families, and our lives are torn to pieces. And those are just the physical consequences; on top of that, there are the mental ones.

War leaves behind deep trauma that you carry with you everywhere you go. Images you can’t get out of your mind. Trauma can cause you to suddenly react unpredictably, perhaps even aggressively, because of the pain and powerlessness you feel.

And now I’m here, in a country with democracy. You’ve just been able to vote for a leader you think is best suited. And that person doesn’t make the decisions alone; no, multiple parties have a voice in every decision. That’s the power of democracy. Because I believe that a country belongs to everyone who lives there, and everyone has a right to choose how the country is run.

But even though a country like this, with chosen leaders, and a safe place for most, the war doesn’t stay in the countries far away. No, wars increase racism and division, both where the war takes place and, for example, here, where people flee to. 

Certain leaders take advantage of the situation and blame the problems of the safe country on the people who are the least capable of defending themselves. Pitting us against each other, and again, the people in power aren´t the ones struggling – no, you and I are – because suddenly we are enemies.

And all for their own gain.

Ultimately, we’re all seeking happiness, and we’re all victims in our own way of the choices made by those with the most power.

So I say: We can make different choices, here and now, in smaller circles. 

No war between us.