Today, 2 October, marks the International Day of Non-Violence, a day that arrives as wars and conflicts continue to rage around the world.
We are thinking of our sisters in Palestine, Ukraine, Lebanon, South Sudan, Uganda, Israel, and beyond. We are thinking of both the victims and the aggressors, as well as those who have been both. We are hoping for another way forward.
We long for an end to violence.
We dream of a day when every woman can enjoy a morning coffee or a walk in the park without the threat of violence, whether in the home, on the streets, or from missiles and troops.
We recall the passive resistance of Kosovo Albanians, who for more than a decade organized underground education, healthcare, and humanitarian aid, despite these being forbidden by the Milosevic-led Serbian regime. We remember the critical role women played as agents of peace, leading this non-violent resistance. We remember how women, by the thousands, took to the streets several times, marching for a peaceful end to Serbian oppression.
We also remember how this peaceful resistance, like that of our sisters in Serbia, was largely ignored by the international community. Only when Albanians took up arms to defend themselves, their families, and their homes did the world take notice.
Today, we feel the very real threat of Kosovo’s “frozen” conflict with Serbia potentially reigniting amid the current geopolitical landscape, as international actors either look on or even fan the flames in pursuit of their own political agendas.
Our power and peaceful resistance to oppression continues to go largely unrecognized, while those in power profit from the military-industrial complex. Trillions of euros, dollars, and other currencies are spent on militarization and weapons. Yet, the neoliberal belief that stronger arms will lead to peace has repeatedly proven false. Weapons lead to more weapons, and violence only begets violence.
What if, instead of financing weapons, we invested in education, food, healthcare, and climate action—steps that would reduce the need for people to flee their homes? What if, instead of building walls, we helped others build better lives?
What if, instead of violence, we embraced love?
This is not utopian, it’s a choice we can make in our everyday lives. Each of us can choose to speak with love, refusing to replicate the aggressive language and violence that surrounds us.
We can volunteer, support, and vote for political parties that promote social welfare and non-violence, rather than military spending.
We can recognize the role each of us plays in enabling the continued extraction of resources, like oil, which provides incentives for corporations and politicians to support military campaigns that destabilize countries so they can profit from resources at lower costs. We can choose to stop or significantly reduce our consumption of oil and other resources that fuel such extractive, violent industries. If we refuse to consume, there will be no need to extract and no need for violence.
We can demand that violence not being committed in our names, and we can stand against violence committed based on nationalistic views, ethnic differences, or gender identities.
Instead of violence, let’s choose love.
