In this drawing, nature is brought to life through the simple beauty of flowers, the sun, and the open sky. At first glance, it seems like a peaceful, timeless landscape. But knowing it was created by a child living in a region marked by violence and loss gives it deeper meaning. It is a quiet but powerful reminder that nature does not recognize borders. The sun rises for everyone, the clouds and wind cross freely, and the grass and flowers grow without asking who the land belongs to.
While people build walls and draw lines on maps, nature remains a shared space. Climate, air, water, and land cannot be divided by human conflicts. Yet war causes deep harm to nature: forests burn, water is polluted, animals are driven away, and fertile land turns to wasteland. The drawing stands as a gentle protest against this destruction. It asks us to notice what is being lost, not only lives, but also the earth itself.
Most probably, the child who made this drawing has already witnessed destruction. Hopefully, they are holding on to the memory of better times or to the dream of what could still be. Either way, the drawing offers a quiet wisdom. The earth connects us all.
Peace must include healing the land and restoring what has been damaged. War not only destroys homes and lives, it prevents the cooperation needed to protect the environment we all depend on. Challenges like climate change, water scarcity, and food security cannot be solved alone. They require joint efforts, across borders and communities.
This drawing challenges us to reimagine peace not only as the absence of violence, but as the restoration of life. It reminds us that we have a shared responsibility to care for the land, the air, and the future of all children. We need to build bridges between people, not barriers between ecosystems. The future depends on recognizing that while borders may separate us politically, the earth holds us together as one human community.
Yael Braudo-Bahat
Dr. Yael Braudo-Bahat, peace activist. Yael is a co-director of the Israeli grassroots movement Women Wage Peace.
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