??By Liu Jingshu, from Class 5, Grade 2, Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University??

Honestly speaking, for a girl living in a peaceful country, war and peace are two conflicting words. Stories of wars represent things of the past. Hunger, horror, hatred, death, and even the more terrified desperation coming along with wars once struck me only momentarily. It has always been my belief that peace is such an easy thing that we can take for granted.

This belief, however, evaporated when one day I came across the book < Hana’s suitcase>. Lamenting that the Jewish girl had only a short life before fully enjoy it, I understand truly the cruelty of the war and begin to value peace.

In the book, Hana was a Jewish girl growing up in Germany. Her parents were taken away during the nationwide hunt for Jews when the Nazi took power. The poor girl, together with her elder brother, had no choice but to take refuge at her aunt’s home. Finding it hard to fight with the destiny, they were sent to the camp as the anti-Jewish movement reached the peak. There and then, the only food Hana could live on was a small musty piece of black bread. (As the anti-Jewish movement reached the peak, they, hard to fight with destiny, were sent to the camp where the only food Hana could rely on was a small musty piece of black bread.) Not frustrated by those hardships, Hana was optimistic that she would soon come back to her hometown and have fun with friends. Sadly, however, the lovely girl was sent to the gas chamber three days later and never made her way out.

Reading the book with tears and pain, I felt as if going through the brutality of wars together with Hana, deploring the unjustified massacre that had taken the life of a young girl. Hana is not alone. There were thousands of children in Germany and beyond across the world killed during the World War Two. And there are still more who continue to struggle at four corners of the world between their sufferings during the war and aspirations for a better life and future.

Walking out of Hana’s story, I started to realize that the mist of war has never dissipated and the clear sky of world peace has never appeared up above our head. Just a few days ago, I noticed a photo of a seven-year-old boy with a head in his hand went viral on the internet and stunned the whole world. A shiver was sent through our spine seeing a bloody head and a smiling face at the same time. While decrying the distorted father and the ruthless terrorist group,I have been thinking in what way can we protect a heart supposed to be kind and innocent and save the crumbling lives. I hope they can run in the sun, singing and enjoying the beautiful life just like we do. I hope they will be spared from worries of losing their

homes all of a sudden, coldness of sleeping on a chalk-painted hug when missing their Moms’ warm arms, desparation of hunger, thirst, explosions and threat of being a human bomb.

Here, we appeal the ending of wars, power politics and hatred. In a technology-advanced and civilized world, we must resolve disputes in a more humanized way, instead of the other way around to destroy our society with the technology developed by ourselves and our future for the

self-benefits of an individual or a single nation. We must return the rights and freedom to each hand of our citizens!

Dear guests, do you still remember that William Wallace in the movie Brave Heart shouted “freedom” at the last minute of his life, the sound still striking our hearts? Today, people of Scotland carry on this spirit and continue their pursuit of freedom in a democratic way. We deem their behavior as the progress of our times and the returning to our human nature.

Two days later we will greet the International Peace Day, the day of ceasefire and non-violence. Yesterday marked the 83rd anniversary of September.18th incident, a period of painful history for China. Standing on this joint, we should take history as a mirror to end the shedding of blood and tears. We should be more convinced than ever, breaking the shackles of national interests and ethnicity, to announce that one whoever starts the war will become the public rival of the whole mankind.

The other side of peace is not just war, though. Power politics, national hatred, and violence started by an individual or a group all threaten to be hindrance to peace. Peace stands not only for zero conflicts between countries, but for quietness and happiness of each one of us. It is not just the wishes of young people, but the belief commonly held by the mankind. Meanwhile, never take it that war stands far away from us, which, being pampered now,may force you to become the sacrifice tomorrow, nor that violence is a distant story,which, being overlooked,may put you to death the next minute.

To this end, we, leading the future, must boldly say “NO” to wars and violence so as to safeguard hard-won peace. When this sound resonates on each corner of the world, every one of us will walk under the sunshine with love and warmth, just like the beautiful butterfly described by Hana years ago spreading its wings:

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone...

Such, such a yellow

Is carried lightly way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it wished to

kiss the world good-bye.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don’t live in here,

in the ghetto.

I sincerely hope the beautiful butterfly will come back, back to our world, one that is free of wars, violence and hatred!