The Peacekeeper’s Gate: The Protection and Prevention of Access to Peace

Peace is defined as “the normal, non-warring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.” [Source Dictionary.com]

But is peace normal? Or is it merely and ideal we are destined to strive for but never accomplish? The term utopia was first used in the 14th century in Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia which was the name of an imaginary island where perfection of society had been achieved. Since then, similar themes are prevalent in fiction and non-fiction alike: from pursuing the happily ever after in relationships and family, to unifying Germany to achieve a pure and strong race, this idea of perfection has plagued humanity to search more and to become better.

But is this obsession with perfection and peace sustainable and really what is best for ALL people? In classical capitalist system, profit was what motivated people to create better and cheaper products to increase consumption. More profit meant lower wages however, and it was a time of massive wealth disparity and abuse of the working class. Even earlier than that, wages were able to be kept even lower through the slave trade. Slaves worked for free and served long hours to benefit their owners. While this seems barbaric in today’s terms, the economic benefit of people that will work for free is undeniable.

But let’s go back to peace for a second. Does peace consist of freedom for all (at least theoretically) as seen during the Industrial Revolution? Or does peace consist of safety, the ability to rely on government to provide and protect from the injustices seen in the past? Peaceful countries historically, built walls around themselves in the form of strict immigration policies and strong armies or even physical walls (see the Great Wall of China).

Today in the face of recent terrorist attacks, we see these walls are flawed and have been breached with catastrophic consequences. In response, we see an unwavering surge of support for the victims of attacks around the world. I initially saw this unanimous movement as a good thing (although fighting fire with fire is not something I support) but then a singular post on my Facebook feed showed up asking why we’re only praying for Paris, why is the media attention going to this “white country” and not Beirut or Lebanon or the countless other countries affected by the bombings from both sides? Why are we choosing to ignore this killing? Why is this toddler special? What about the 142 Kenyan students that were shot down in a school last week? What about them?

I was horrified at this response and for days on end, I felt my Facebook account was a battle ground between those trying to care and those who just saw that no matter how much we cared, we’d never care enough. I kept scrolling past horrific images and videos until I came to a petition. A petition to stop all immigration to Canada. To me, that was the saddest thing of everything I had seen. To think that us, a humanitarian country by proclamation and reputation with the ability to give, rather we were directing resources to shut people out. I feel as though because we can do more, we have a duty to. Despite economic dips and low employment, we have a duty to help those fleeing from civil and international violence. Not just because we have signed numerous treaties and agreements to do so, but because we are people.

We sign documents and agreements during peace times (eg. UNDHR 1946) to work towards a sustainable future, but the moment security becomes remotely threatened, those we swore to protect are left on the outside of our gates. Blocked out of our flawed, but still better, land. Barred access to basic human needs because we are afraid. Here’s the thing though, everyone is afraid. Everyone is afraid.

It can be said that we don’t have the resources and funds to allocate to refugees, but the fact is with the precarious slope we stand upon, we could be at war anytime. Belgium has already closed their borders under threat and China has declared war on ISIS. If France invokes Article Five, all NATO countries will also go to war. This Article was not even invoked during the Cold War.

Let’s rather focus on making the refugee system better than dismiss it for its short-comings.

[Featured Image Source]