How they destroy people’s lives!

Alvaro Cruz Rojas – Editor-in-Chief

Whenever I see news about the wars in Ukraine, Gaza or Syria, about the waves of migrants coming out of repression by authoritarian governments like Nicaragua and Venezuela, one phrase comes to my mind: how they destroy people’s lives! People! .

Those who incite war and conflict, who suffocate people by absolutely eliminating freedoms and rights, are destroying people’s lives. They destroy the possibility of planning for the future, the possibility of raising children according to their dreams, and the possibility of certainty in their own lives.

People don’t want to migrate, people don’t want to be refugees or exiles. No, the vast majority of people want to live and thrive in their own country, to see their children and grandchildren grow up, to see their environment improve, to see their country and cities improve. When governments go to war, they destroy all of that.

Imagine that you are a family from a town in Ukraine, a country with a fairly high level of development and living standards, and you believe that your children’s future is guaranteed through work and education. Suddenly, in Moscow, thousands of kilometers from his hometown, a Russian ruler suddenly realizes that he must invade his country for any reason, and all these dreams are shattered.

The situation in the Middle East is equally different, though more complex. Since last October, when Hamas terrorists attacked and killed Israeli civilians, many Israelis and Palestinians have seen their futures and certainty of life destroyed, and Israel has unleashed disproportionate reprisals against Palestinian civilians. Both towns have suffered heavy losses due to the decisions of politicians. The actions of both sides are vicious and unjustifiable.

In El Salvador, we had this situation in the civil war in the eighties. People had to flee as victims of the state security forces or the FMLN guerrillas, or just to save their lives. Both sides destroyed a lot of lives. Then the gang members came and destroyed people’s lives as well, which is why today these criminals are paying for their actions and being imprisoned.

The worst is when there is no conflict with another country, but when the ruler in power thinks he has the right to decide who lives in his country and who does not, based on political affinity, as happened in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Opponents have no jobs, no social benefits, they are harassed, jailed, they have no rights. It is sad to see so many Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans leave the country just to survive, because the rulers ruined their lives. There is no right under God and human law to do so much, but the world remains indifferent and indifferent to these realities.

Let us understand the seriousness of this situation. There are 43.4 million refugees worldwide by the end of 2023. That’s like the entire population of Central America having to flee. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees in the world has tripled in the past decade.

How they destroy people’s lives! Whenever you see news about wars or large numbers of immigrants passing through, remember that there are people who caused this barbarity.