When we talk about hunger, it is an almost alien feeling for us Malaysians. After all,

with the abundance of food in our country, hunger seems almost impossible. The people in

other parts of the world, though, aren’t so lucky. One in nine people in the world do not have

enough to eat. And out of this nine people, 60% of them are females. For children, the

statistics paint a grim picture that is incomprehensible for us Malaysians who simply love our

food. Every 10 seconds, 1 child dies from a hunger-related disease. Annually, poor nutrition

cases nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five. That’s 3.1 million children annually,

meaning 8500 children daily. And, more horrifying, 66 million primary school-aged children

attend classes hungry in the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone.

Therefore, it is not an understatement when I say that world hunger is the single

biggest problem that humanity is facing in the 21st century. And, the main cause, is wars. In

war-torn countries like Libya, Nigeria and Syria, the expenditure allocated for food is only 5%

of the total expenditure spent on weapons. So, in these situations, it is not stretch to

believe that eradicating wars and promoting world peace would improve, if not eradicate the

hunger problem.

So, the question, then becomes, how do we achieve world peace? After all, world

peace has become something of a myth, a casual catchphrase which no one seems to

understand or even believe in anymore. To achieve world peace, we need to foster a global

partnership. This partnership should not only extend between governments, but also among

the people.

It is only through this that we can achieve true respect and acceptance for others,

thus causing enduring peace. As individuals, we each have a right to express and celebrate

ourselves. However, we also have an obligation to value each other’s individuality.

It is important that we all have a unique identity. A personal choice to choose who

and what we want to be. The ability to think for ourselves and not be mere puppets of any

organization. We are growing up in a fast-paced world where we are taught to be tolerant.

For world peace to truly reign though, we must practice acceptance of each individual’s

strengths and weaknesses,

We must accept our differences if we are to move forward. It is important that we

realize that beneath all the superficial differences, we still share the same aspirations for

life- to matter and not simply fade into oblivion. This is why I think all peace efforts should

focus on youth. We are the ones who are the easiest to influence and mould. Barriers need

to be broken down by us. If we are to successfully remove prejudice from today’s youths

minds, we are creating a society that can get on together. A peaceful society.

The reality is the world has a past. Having been in existence for billions of years, we

often hear about our past. People have many stories and they make history colourful.

Truthfully, though, we should not let the past pull us apart and stop us from welcoming the

future. Somehow, the future has to be made, a future that builds unity bridges and brings

people together. To achieve world peace, we, the youths, need to work together, not apart.

We need to listen to each other and compromise.

World peace is difficult. If we find it hard to get along in a classroom of forty pupils,

what about in a world where 70 billion people reside? It takes a lot of effort to foster

international understanding. For peace to be an actual reality, however, we all need to take

hold of the present, our past and our future. Everyone deserves to live in a safe world with

full access to food. Whether its Muhammad form Iran, Deborah from Nigeria, or Muthu from

India. Its time to make hunger and poverty a global problem, and not just a regional one.

Because, its when humans work together, that we often find solutions for the hardest

problems.