There is profound need for the experiences, reflections, insights,and wisdom in this article and video to be embraced and shared. All of this moved me to tears. The insanity of what we do by glorifying, justifying, and encouraging our children to go to war desperately needs to be illuminated. Another world is possible. Tag, we are all it! Peace & blessings ~ Molly
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| Nao Rozi seeks a better world |
April 7, 2013By Dr. Wee Teck Young, Our Journey to Smile | Video and Transcript
Below are excerpts of an interview of Nao Rozi, an Afghan National Army veteran, and now a member of the Afghan Peace Volunteers.
Excerpts of Video Transcript:
Nao Rozi: I was an Afghan soldier for 2 years and had combat roles.
Dr. Hakim: What did you learn from your experience?
Nao Rozi: If I think about the root issues, philosophy since the time of Plato has tried to bring the minds of the public under government control. Sometimes, I thought that soldiers and wars were necessary but when I joined the military as a soldier, I saw the injuring and killing of soldiers and opponents like the Taliban. I thought, “Is my presence necessary? Is it correct to have a weapon?” I held a weapon before people I didn’t know and who didn’t know me… We weren’t enemies because we didn’t even know one another. Even before greetings, we were supposed to kill one another.
I concluded that I should leave the army and after that, I had a crisis.
I had almost changed 180 degrees. I was affected by the war.
I tried committing suicide a few times. I felt alone.
Dr. Hakim: Some people who hear your story may think your mind was weak ; you wanted to commit suicide…
Nao Rozi: Veterans who commit suicide are not cowardly…they are victims of the war.
Life becomes meaningless. It becomes difficult. You think you’ve done something such that you feel you no longer have the right to live.
Those US veterans who committed suicide had a conscience.
Dr. Hakim: What message do you have for friends and for the world?
Nao Rozi: Teacher, how I wish that every human in the world would…just for once, sit down alone and ask, “What are we here for?”
How have we been deceived? How true to self have we been?
I was brought up under the ‘government system’ and things I heard from society and the media. I was captive to these. Now, I am free!
Please go here for the full article and video: http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/2013/04/how-can-a-veteran-of-war-in-afghanistan-help-us-understand-good-conscience/
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When we hold on to our opinions with aggression, no matter how valid our cause, we are simply adding more aggression to the planet, and violence and pain increase. Cultivating nonaggression is cultivating peace. ~ Pema Chodron
We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come. ― Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ
In our time, when high technology guided by values such as conquest, exploitation, and domination threaten our very survival, we need economics driven by an ethos of caring. We need a caring revolution. ~ Riane Eisler
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