The thin line between peace and civil war

Civil wars and internal armed conflicts rage on in many countries across the globe, and as ever it is innocent bystanders who bear the brunt of the violence. Each day sees more ordinary men, women and children fall victim, killed, maimed or fleeing their homeland to escape the fighting. 

Opposing armies are waging fierce battles in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and South Sudan, while more low-level insurgency plagues other countries divided by religious, ethnic or political conflicts.

None of us wants to live in a country torn by fighting between compatriots, and we should consider ourselves fortunate not to be in such a dire situation.

Any war, regardless of its size, has various and devastating impacts on innocent residents caught in its midst. 

In addition to the slaughter of innocents, large-scale armed battle typically leads to destruction of homes and property, displacement of people, and catastrophic consequences for the economy. That economic decline heightens suffering as more people succumb to poverty and malnutrition. Meanwhile survivors can be left with grave physical and psychological scars that last long after the final bullet has been fired.

Children and youngsters are the most vulnerable to the devastating impacts of war. Impressionable minds have few defences against the onslaught of violence, exploitation, fear and loss. An ever-present dread is that of losing a parent to the random barbarism. Ripped apart, communities are no longer capable of providing a secure environment for their youngest and most fragile members.

Busy with the daily struggle to survive, parents have little time for their children, according to War Child, a non-governmental body that provides assistance to youngsters in areas experiencing conflict.

Several countries have been engulfed in civil war following intervention by regional or world powers. The ousting of dictatorial regimes by global powers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya – and the attempt to do so in Syria – has led to political vacuum, disintegration of authority and deadly armed conflicts. The impact is now being felt in Europe, where tens of thousands of refugees from war-torn states have arrived in search of a new life away from the fighting.

Armed conflict is often triggered by political leaders who see an opportunity to exploit a fragile society divided along religious, ethnic or political lines. But it is the ordinary citizens, especially the poor, who suffer most when the order for battle is given.

Thailand has had past experience of the effects of civil war on innocent communities, hosting several camps for refugees fleeing conflict in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. The latter continues to witness sporadic fighting between government troops and armed ethnic groups, forcing villagers to flee over the border into Thailand.

Internal divisions along ethnic or political lines bring the nightmare scenario of civil war closer to realisation, and Thailand is no stranger to that dread. Yet, as citizens, it lies within our power to head off doomsday scenario merely by refusing to nurture its divisive seeds. Differences of views should be resolved peacefully, with an eye firmly fixed on the alternative – violence and killing. Justice must be guaranteed to all groups. The law must be fairly enforced, and no individuals or groups should be allowed to escape its reach.

More difficult perhaps is finding a way to curb the negative impacts of foreign intervention, though as a sovereign nation we have the right to stand up to pressure or conditions brought to bear over our internal affairs. We have never been a “failed state” that might require foreign military intervention in order to restore peace.

As a nation we remain free from large-scale armed conflict, but amid deep social division it depends on all of us to maintain this fragile peace.