"I urge people from all nations, faiths, cultures and traditions to work together in common cause to keep the promise made at the turn of the Millennium and leave a legacy of peace, prosperity and sustainable progress for generations to come." Ban Ki-moon, the incumbent secretary general of UN kept a message on the eve of “International Human Solidarity Day”. Deliberating the immense worth of solidarity, the world over is urged to abide by golden principles of co-existence, undermining the futile differences that serve non-interests.
December 20 is commemorated as “International Human Solidarity Day” across the globe to remind people, the importance of solidarity in working towards eradicating poverty, physical exploitation, racial biases and gender discriminations and terrorism. In spite of rhetoric vows made by world leaders, upholding human rights intact is hitherto un-responded, as human sufferings continue unabated in most part of the world. Poverty is escalating in disproportionate ratios. Terrorism has ruined the indigenous of war torn countries or terrorism hit countries. What do we have to share with oppressed, depressed, poverty stricken, physically impaired and socially isolated fellows who live in the state of denial to indispensable prerequisites of life? The essence of this celebration requires a thorough understanding of the core causes striking man to let him suffer and finding out a congenial solution to them.
It is disappointing and a sensible heart bleeds with the fact that 790 million of the world’s population is chronically undernourished and starving. How can the discourse to balance diet materialize when a huge number of human population is hardly provided meal a day? We see them in pictures or news clips: the poor in Africa burning under the sun, the hungry children in Asia going through the piles of garbage looking for food. Most of the deprived belong to developing and in-transition countries whose histories are characterized by civil wars, revolutions and power struggles or freedom from colonizers, and then struggles for freedom from tyrants and whose financial records show glaring foreign debt. These bitter realities unearth the void claims made by humanitarian organizations entitled to work out durable solutions to underlying human tragedy.
Afghanistan depicts an identical dismal scene being the poorest country in the world. It has been the landscape of a series of conflicts that have continued for decades. Poverty, terrorism, women rights violation and child labor are unbridled devaluation of human dignity seen widespread throughout rural and urban areas. The government estimates that 42 per cent of the country's total population lives below the national poverty line. Another 20 per cent of the people live just above that line and are highly vulnerable to the risk of falling into poverty.
Everything that is rewarded grows. If poverty is rewarded with opportunities, development is bound to grow. Offering an awesome lunch box to a poor and needy a day can’t justify the essence of demonstration of solidarity. Instead enabling him to earn himself can do. It would be pertinent to remember a Chinese proverb which says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Poor people need to be instilled confidence that, they can change themselves. This can be done by making them believe that someone in their position has already achieved great feats. Poor people need to be given opportunities and possibilities in an unbiased environment where they can explore their capacities transformed into abilities that yield complacent outcomes.
Irrespective of evil of social classification, the opportunity, privileges should be equally distributed on merit basis and should not be restricted to particular groups or classes of society but to everyone striving for change. This is a marvelous course for generation and utilization of rich human resources that can play a significant role in achieving a self sufficient material status. Making education at the reach of every unprivileged section of society is durable alternative, given that every person be regarded an essential constituent of societal development. The provision of education will increase literacy which will produce skilled human resource. Education, clean environment, good health, investment on the human resource, will all have its positive effects with socio-economic life of the peoples of a country changes drastically.
Another gravest problem the world is facing today is terrorism. It has become a headache for federation and a nightmare for public. Though, it is a global issue but Afghanistan has to bear the brunt of it. Afghanistan and international communities’ war waged against insurgents sparked the fire of terrorism. We are facing war-like situation against the terrorists. This daunting situation is caused due to several factors. These factors include social injustice, economic disparity, political instability, religious intolerance and also external hands or international conspiracies. A handful of people who have their vicious interests to fulfill have not only taken countless innocent lives but also distorted the real image of religion before the world through their heinous acts. Terrorist acts like suicide bombings have become a norm of the day. On account of these attacks Afghanistan is suffering from ineffaceable loss ranging from civilian to economic. People have become numerical figures, blown up in numbers every now and then. Terrorists have not spared any place. Bazaars, mosques, educational institutes, offices, hotels, roadside no place are safe anymore. Without extermination of terrorism peace can’t be installed and humanly pride and majesty can’t be restored.
The human solidarity is stained by widespread and deeply rooted violence against women in different parts of the world. Violence against women is a dramatic problem in Afghanistan that has caused lots of damages to the life of women itself as well as to the society. Women in Afghanistan have no or little voice to be heard and they have always been victims of violence either from their own family or from the society. They have never given equal rights specially the right to freedom and never been treated equally like men because the traditions, customs and practices have always kept men to be superior on women. Violence against women in Afghanistan have kept women very far away from education which is one of the reasons that usually subjected them to extensive discriminations because they are unaware and have less knowledge about their basic rights.
The best way to demonstrate solidarity with human being is the enlargement of choices by building human capabilities to reach the range of things that people can do or be in life. Capabilities are the substantive freedoms and opportunities, a person enjoy, leading the kind of life, they have reasons to value. Human development disperses the concentration of the distribution of goods and services that disadvantaged people need and centers its ideas on human decisions. By investing in people, we enable growth and empower people to pursue many different life paths, thus developing human capabilities. The most basic capabilities for human development are: to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources and social services needed for a decent standard of living, and to be able to participate in the life of the community.