Dear Signatories,
Located on the other side of the famous Statue of Liberty, is the 9/11 Memorial - the ‘TEAR DROP’; a beautiful 1000 ft. tall Monument. It is a gift of kindness and empathy to the people of the United States, by the people of Russia in 2006, in memory of all those who lost their lives in the dramatic terrorist attacks on the iconic twin towers in New York, on that fateful day, Sept.11, 2001.The breaking in the cracked façade forms the shape of the two towers. The giant suspended tear drop signifies the tears of the entire world that day.
The 20th anniversary of the attack – Sept. 11, 2021, vividly brought to mind once again, haunting images of the towers blazing, people leaping out from the skyscrapers to violent death and of terrified crowds, covered with soot and ash, running away from the falling debris. Shyam Saran, a former Foreign Secretary & Senior Fellow, CPR, states, “When a lonely warrior in a distant land deals a deadly blow to the world’s most powerful country, it can be termed - ‘Asymmetric Warfare’. ….. America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is an acknowledgement that the traditional instruments of power are no longer effective against this asymmetric warfare.” (Times of India, 5 Sept. 2021)
We are also witnessing the continuing helplessness of the global community of powerful nations in combating the on-going regressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Humankind has spent:
* vast financial resources – currently, USD 3.5 million + per minute
* & human resources – the genius of past generations
on perfecting the use of violence to resolve conflict, resulting in our military & nuclear arsenals. Perhaps the time has come to acknowledge that the latter are not the answer to terrorism and war. The need of the hour is to heed Mahatma Gandhi’s dictum that Nonviolence is a Science; to be learnt and studied well to be applied effectively. In other words, to master the tools and skills of nonviolent conflict resolution. If we ignore learning nonviolence, we do so at our own peril. There are nonviolent defense experts who have been researching since the past quarter of a century, formulating a blueprint of Non-Military Defence. All we need is the political will to put it into practice. This is the rationale of the CFN Campaign #ChooseNonviolent Defence on change.org ……insert link of campaign Thank you for signing it; requesting you to promote the other Campaign #’s as well! The World Needs to Learn Nonviolence & Spread Kindness. I leave you, dear Signatories, with this thought till our next Update!
Take care!