Children from various schools in the city were urged to join the universal call for peace and become role models to peers in countries affected by conflict.
According to a GINA press release, Youth Minister Dr Frank Anthony said words to this effect at a concert to mark International Day of Peace on Monday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Anthony charged the students to strive always for peace as they seek to resolve conflicts.
The exercise saw hundreds of students from schools including St Joseph High, Richard Ishmael Secondary, Guyana Trust College and St John’s College.
According to the release, Anthony said that he was proud to be part of the universal call for peace and noted that too many countries are suffering from devastation due to war. He stated that places like Afghanistan and Iraq experience a high level of physical damage and a depletion of human resources since many innocent people are killed.
The minister was quoted in the release as saying, “if they are not killed, they are hurt physically and psychologically, which hampers them for life because the memory of their pain and suffering will remain embedded in their minds.”
According to the release, the majority of countries involved in war are underdeveloped and in these countries many people are denied access to resources such as obtaining proper health care and education since the countries cannot afford to provide these basic services, Anthony said.
The students were encouraged by the minister to craft ideas with the help of their parents and teachers that can address the issue of having peace prevail in all parts of Guyana, and have the message sent out worldwide.
The activities were held under the theme, “We Must Disarm” and included dramatic poetry, songs and dances.
International Peace Day was established by the United Nations in an effort to create an environment of peace. The first International Peace Day observance was held in 1982 and in 2001, the United Nations met and decided that September 21 every year would be declared as International Peace Day and marked by a theme.
