THE TRAGIC STORY OF THE WORLD TODAY

by Promod Puri (361 words)

The world today faces turbulence, turmoil, wars, and strives. Perhaps, never before in its history, the violence and disorder, both in magnitude and intensity, ambit the globe.

Hardly a day passes when news flashes about a tragedy or catastrophe erupting in one part or another of the world.

In a week or so, the hotspot was the region of Armenia and Azerbaijan, resulting in thousands who fled to Armenia. Violent and deadly military coups and counter coups are the norm all over Africa, along with the kidnapping of schoolgirls by Boko Haram, a militant outfit seeking a ‘pure’ Islamic state in Nigeria.

Now, the sudden, massive, brutal, and vicious attack on Israel by the world’s most known militant group, Hamas, fighting against the Jewish state’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian land and serious human rights violence.

The world is indeed passing through a critical period because of the acts of man and the failure of leadership under all kinds of political systems.

And then there is an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine that moves back and forth from the front burner to the back in its news coverage.

If that is not enough in the world crisis, refugees and migrants fleeing from the unsafe circumstances in their home countries, poverty, and ethnic or religious violence desperately seek “safe havens” and often end up in dingy and sinking boats, resulting in thousands of deaths over the past few years.

The world is indeed passing through a critical period because of the acts of man and the failure of leadership under all kinds of political systems.

Nature also steps in occasionally or more often to devastate the lives of people. The latest “act of God” happened last week in poverty-stricken Afghanistan, where a massive earthquake caused over 2000 deaths and thousands injured while making many people homeless in just a few minutes.

Overall, this is the tragic story of the world today.

While we do not know the mysteries of Nature or God in its acts of devastation upon Earth and its people, we do see the action of man responsible for creating the present violent and destructive situations gripping the world.

The word to describe the man-created crisis is Anthropocene; it means humanity appears poised to destroy itself.