Global Dialogues

The pain of the world has left scars on us all which grow deeper and more painful each day. Its welts have grown black and bruised, and our words and actions seem to fail in the face of two-thousand-pound bombs. Our days have become involuntary witnesses to the beat of violence, and at worst, we have become numb to it.

In my home, Qatar, my sense of safety and security has been shattered. A life of relative peace and calm has been destroyed by the presence of strikes: first in June and again just a few days ago. How does one overcome these tragedies and, better yet, possibly conceive of the fact that still, others are going through much worse?

Is it possible to let the world’s affairs slide and roll off our consciousness like water on a duck’s back? Is it possible to create a veil of separation, to block out our hearts to the pain in the world?

To do just that would be easier on our hearts and minds. Yet our shared responsibility as global citizens demands that we care deeply for all our brothers and sisters. We must commit ourselves to taking care of each other, for as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere.”

From educational institutions to churches, every community must exist as a transformative space that stands for justice and peace. We have to uphold these spaces knowing that community is our greatest source of strength. Coming together through this shared pain makes each tragedy easier to bear. We have to believe, no matter how hopeless we feel, because we live not just for ourselves but for each other. We must love the hard work and effort put into building communities, as it is this love and connection that will save us.

We feel powerless because we believe power lies only with the small elite, yet we fail to realize the power we hold in ourselves. When we rise up and collaborate with others, our potential grows tenfold. We have to open our hearts to the possibilities present in each moment, for we lose by falling into the trap of despair and hopelessness.

Despite everything, I have a fierce love and hope for the world that survives in spite of the world’s attempts to extinguish it. It feels like hopeless naivety some days, but on others, I cling to it desperately, looking for some meaning within all this pain and heartbreak. It saves me, then, that childlike love and wonder. It clings on, protected by the spaces and the people around me that remind me that, despite everything, all will be well because we have each other.

Daphne Soriano (SFS'28) is a sophomore in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.