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“Yes, you are a marvel, and when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work… we must all work… to make the world worthy of its children.” – Pablo Casals
It’s so sad that we have not yet made the world worthy of its children. The consequences of conflict and war have put the tragedy, trauma and killing of children in Palestine and Israel right before our very eyes. It makes it even more disturbing that the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Children has still not been fulfilled.
The Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on Nov. 20, 1959.
1. We are the children of the world no matter who our parents are, where we live, or what we believe, treat us as equals. We deserve the best the world has to give.
2. Protect us so that we may grow in freedom and with dignity.
3. Let’s each be given a name and have a land to call our own.
4. Keep us warm and sheltered. Give us food to eat and a place to play. If we are sick, nurse and comfort us.
5. If we are handicapped in body or mind, treasure us even more and meet our special needs.
6. Let us grow up in a family. If we cannot be cared for by our own family, take us in and love us just the same.
7. Teach us well so that we may lead happy and useful lives. But let us play so that we may also teach ourselves.
8. In times of trouble, help us among the first. The future of the world depends on us.
9. Protect us from cruelty and those who would use us badly.
10. Raise us with tolerance, freedom, and love. As we grow up we too will promote peace and understanding throughout the world.
Audrey Hepburn was the official UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and further stated, “All children have rights… which few would openly challenge, but sadly the reality is quite different. Every day children are born who may never know the things more fortunate children take for granted. Many are exploited. Many cannot even grow up with their own families because their countries are ravaged by war. Some go hungry because there is famine; others will never have the chance to learn and grow. We must remember how far we must still go to make this declaration a reality. An enormous step toward a better future for all the world’s children.”
This investment in our children seems obvious and simple. And yet, we adults around the globe seem to have amnesia and continue to justify war as a means to an end. We very well could rather contribute to a reimagined, better and more just world for our children and create a society that values the gifts and potential of each child. We spend money and resources on weapons and constant cycles of revenge instead of investing in health and educational resources, being the standards of a good society. Of course, there are complicated geopolitical rationalizations — but we, as individual citizens, can all be midwives for all the children of the world having the opportunities stated by the United Nations so many years ago. We must all act without cynicism and political despair, but become actually engaged and a social activist to meet the challenges. “The past is not our potential” is the subtitle of a book I researched years ago called “The Aquarian Conspiracy,” which meant “breathing together” and recognizing the power of radical common sense and acting for the common good that truly holds the promise of a creating society’s worthy of its children.
Sandy Harper is producing artistic director emeritus at Cyrano’s Theater Company in Anchorage. She is a mother and grandmother.
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