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🇰🇷 South Korea /Disasters & Emergencies

August: A month of global disasters and conflicts

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • The author reflects on August as a month marked by global disasters and conflicts, contrasting it with its traditional association with Korean liberation.
  • The piece recalls devastating events in August, including the 2020 Beirut port explosion, the 2021 Haiti earthquake, and the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
  • It emphasizes the enduring struggles of refugees and displaced individuals, highlighting their desire for ordinary daily life and the need for solidarity with humanitarian workers.

August, traditionally a month of celebrating liberation and peace in South Korea, has taken on a different meaning for the author, who works in humanitarian aid. Since learning about World Humanitarian Day on August 19, the month has become synonymous with confronting global tragedies and conflicts.

The author recounts personal experiences tied to August's devastating events. In 2020, the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut killed over 200 people and displaced 300,000, exacerbating Lebanon's existing crises. The following year, August 2021 saw a powerful earthquake strike Haiti, claiming over 2,200 lives and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless amid ongoing security instability. Just days later, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, dramatically altering the lives of those working on the ground, including the author's colleagues and the girls they supported through education programs.

Afghanistan has many children, but no childhood.

— Old proverb mentioned in Khaled Hosseini's novel 'The Kite Runner'Illustrating the loss of childhood experienced by children in Afghanistan due to ongoing conflict.

Years later, the consequences of these events continue to unfold. Lebanon faces renewed instability due to regional conflicts, and Syrian refugees are losing their shelters. Haiti grapples with persistent violence and insecurity, while countless children in Afghanistan are denied education and a future. The author notes the enduring relevance of a quote from Khaled Hosseini's novel "The Kite Runner": "Afghanistan has many children, but no childhood." This sentiment underscores the profound and lasting impact of conflict on young lives.

The author's work has revealed that the most basic desire of refugees and internally displaced people is not for grand futures, but for the return of ordinary life: sharing meals with family, attending school, and waking to birdsong instead of explosions. This yearning for normalcy, so easily taken for granted in peaceful societies, is a central theme. The piece concludes by linking the pursuit of peace to mutual respect and the inherent right to a dignified human life, urging readers to remember those still struggling for freedom and to support humanitarian workers on the front lines.

The true peace is that which respects others as equal beings.

— Ahn Jung-geun (mentioned in a musical)Reflecting on the fundamental nature of peace and mutual respect.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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