Year 2009 - Reality and expectations

Ruwantissa ABEYRATNE

It is once again time to prognosticate. Perhaps even to wonder in bewilderment at the issues of 2008 and hope that somehow, we will transcend the setbacks of another unhappy year in a brand new calendar year. Truth is, this will never happen, as there is no such thing as a new year with a brand new lease of life. Only the continuation of time.

Unless we take matters seriously to hand, we will carry the same baggage with us, be it international turmoil and terrorism or natural disasters brought about by climate change, in as much as we will continue to have the same body mass index as we did in the previous year unless we purge ourselves of our incessant craving for food and drink.

Disasters

Chances are that we will have yet another annual disaster, like the SARS crisis of 2003, the tsunami of 2004, the hurricanes of the Caribbean and earthquakes in 2005, floods of 2007 that devastated Bangladesh and the disastrous cyclone of 2008, so alluringly named “Nargis” which hit Myanmar and its hapless people who were solely dependent on a recalcitrant and insular government. One can only hope that 2009 will not bring an avian flu pandemic or a cataclysmic thawing of the polar ice caps which could swamp the oceans.

It is possible that in 2009, market forces will dominate and transcend national boundaries and finance will be the key issue. Chief Financial Officers everywhere, both in the public and private sectors will play critical roles. The future of capitalism will take centre stage as an issue and market economies will strive to retain their hold on free trade. Also in 2009, we would have to be eternally vigilant of assassination attempts against our leaders, whether in our own region or elsewhere.

Against nuclear

We have to guard against nuclear proliferation and its wrong use, as much as we would have to zealously guard our human rights.

Perhaps Emily Dickinson put it best when she said: hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all. Of course hope and wisdom should go hand in hand, otherwise we would be dreaming needlessly. What we need in 2009 is hope that there could be vaccinations against HIV and Cystic Fibrosis; perhaps an enduring cure for cancer and a breakthrough in autism that would help an entire future generation of bright young minds.

We should also have hope that the monotonously ominous war between the Israelis and Hamas as well as the strife with Hezbollah will somehow be settled through the wisdom of our leaders and peace would emerge in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We could also hope that, through the diligence and integrity of our leaders, armed forces and negotiators, peace would reign in Sri Lanka in 2009. It is plausible, says The Economist in its forecast for 2009.

Among our prayers and hopes would also be that by some twist of fate, we turn into “multilateralists” and solve our problems on a shared basis.

We pray that the 2009 Doha round, which takes up from a failed attempt in 2008, will succeed and the European Union will resuscitate and revitalize its Lisbon Treaty signed by the Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States in Lisbon on 13 December 2007.

Challenges

The Treaty is calculated to provide the EU with modern institutions and optimised working methods to tackle both efficiently and effectively today’s challenges in today’s world. In a rapidly changing world, Europeans look to the EU to address issues such as globalisation, climatic and demographic changes, security and energy. If this were to happen, the Treaty of Lisbon will reinforce democracy in the EU and its capacity to promote the interests of its citizens on a day-to-day basis.

It would also be nice if the world were to be able to carve out a global regime for carbon emissions trading and cut global warming as a result.

Compromise

We could hope that there would somehow be a compromise between the polarizing policies of nations and the progress of globalisation that essentially needs consensus and compromise.

One must also hope that the International Criminal Court, which is an independent, permanent court mandated to try persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, will progress well and bring miscreants guilty of horrendous crimes against humanity to justice.

We also hope that the United Nations will somehow regain its lost prestige and trust of the people of the world, and that there will be no further deadlock in the Security Council when it comes to matters of critical importance to the world.

2009 must surely be the year of wisdom if we were to achieve all this amidst a culture of shared peace. Wisdom should not only be manifest in the leadership but also in the people. Wisdom is the ability to make correct judgments and decisions, and remains an intangible quality gained through experience.

Wisdom

Wisdom in leadership and among people is essential to establish a culture of peace in the world and to unite warring factions. As defined by the United Nations, the culture of peace is a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations.

Firstly, a culture of peace requires revising the educational curricula to promote qualitative values, attitudes and behaviours of a culture of peace, including peaceful conflict-resolution, dialogue, consensus-building and active non-violence.

Such an educational approach should be geared also to promote sustainable economic and social development by reducing economic and social inequalities, by eradicating poverty and by assuring sustainable food security, social justice, durable solutions to debt problems, empowerment of women, special measures for groups with special needs, and environmental sustainability.

There is also the need for action geared to transcend and overcome enemy images with understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures, particularly by learning from societal and cultural differences, through dialogue and the exchange of information, which could be an enriching process.

The most essential indicator, which strikes a good balance between negotiating between powerful stakeholders on the one hand and looking after the people of a nation, is nurturance.

The essence of wisdom in governance is compassion and provision. Provision for the needs of a people striving for quality education, healthcare and recreation.

Culture of peace

A complete culture of peace could only prevail if those responsible on both sides establish that the fundamental goal in a peace process is to make the people content and raise their quality of living while providing them with opportunities that they rightfully seek.

To establish a peace culture, there must essentially be a dialogue between nations, particularly between the United States and all the rest of the world. Perhaps we should borrow the wisdom of Sun Tzu, the great master who said: “If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles; If you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperilled in every battle.” This should be the mantra of 2009.