“Yes children, there is no peace in the world. Many evil deeds, many tears,
but there are also people helping each other, with kindness and pity.”
International Seminar
The Polish Jewish Pioneer on Children's Human Rights, Janusz Korczak (1878-1942)
and Children as Human Right's Defenders according to the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
September 9, 2023
in the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the United Nations, Geneva
LET'S GIVE CHILDREN A WORLD WITHOUT WAR
BOYUKAGHA MIKAYILOV
Researcher of the history of education and pedagogical ideas, journalist
Dear friends, dear organizers of the conference, I congratulate each of you, and thank you for the opportunity to speak at this important event. I will speak from my heart, as it is better not to talk about children than to talk without heart... Our attitude to children determines how we think about our future.
Children are the gene pool of a nation, children are a spiritual treasure.
One of the largest problems of the modern world is the spiritual education of a person. Having received such an education, we will be able to protect our world from dangers, which can await us in the future. The development of sound spirituality is the key to the protection of the most valuable human blessings. The most valuable of these blessings is children. Children are the gene pool of a nation, children are a spiritual treasure. Children are important to us as nature in the life of a human. But how can we protect children today? How can we prepare them for the future of humankind? Does our current attitude to children create grounds for the protection of their spiritual, mental and physical health?
By losing children, we lose future founders of humankind, we kill the soul of the world.
A talented pedagogue Janusz Korczak said that people should educate themselves before they begin to educate children. We can review the history and learn both good and bad examples of treating children, and at the same time take them as a model. For example, during the First and Second World Wars, hundreds of thousands of children lost their lives, became disabled, got moral and mental problems. That was a shame for our world. By losing children, we lose future founders of humankind, we kill the soul of the world. We will be unable to fill their place with anything. Although the fact that a child is not only killed but even moderately injured should cause the feeling of guilt among adults, nowadays, children in different corners of the world change the world because of hunger, poverty, wars and riots. Unless love plays a dominant role in the souls, heads and thoughts of people, the soul of the world will continue to die.
Children are God's treasure on the earth.
Losing children, the world loses its joy. The trees are said to be the lungs of nature, and that is true, but children are breezing, which provides with lungs with air. There is no future for humankind without nature and without children as well. Children are God's treasure on the earth. Being trusted with something, how are you protecting it? This is a matter of conscience, of course. We should save children with God's trust. We should do it both for the sake of conscience and the sake of God. Humankind needs conscious people thinking only about the bright future. The world should be free of the mentality of war.
“A child at home is a light”.
For this, only the idea of receiving good education and upbringing should be dominating among people in the whole world. Let me refer to Korczak’s words again “Modern education can achieve its goal, if it foresees comfortable, gradual step-by-step development of the child, ensuring his or her with freedom and free will. If a child does not face love in the family, but parent’s egoism, ambitions and dishonest actions of people in the society, or observes a contrast between what is heard and seen in the family and what she or he faces at school and in the society, we will lose this child. We have such a proverb: “A child at home is a light”. Using this phrase, our grandparents meant not only their home, they considered children to be the light for all people.
THE WORLD SHOULD NOT BE IGNORANT OF THE DEATH OF CHILDREN
The war forced people to face sad statistics.
I want to dwell on the Russian-Ukrainian war. With a heavy heart, I observe the events taking place there. Ukrainian children are dying because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The real tragedy takes place in Ukraine, the life flips around, dreams and hopes pass away. Humankind will be suffering much because of the devastating impact of the tragic events. The war forced people to face sad statistics. Killing children, and subjecting them to mental and physical traumas, is the tragedy of not only modernity but the future of humankind as well. I strongly condemn those responsible for this tragedy. The world should not be ignorant of the death of children. Children should be saved in any possible way, regardless of whether they are in Afghanistan, Syria, or Africa... They should be provided with education, medical care, and rest. It is a dream of everyone, in fact, and I believe it is not difficult to achieve it. We only need love and compassion in our hearts...
Killing children is a crime against humanity.
Killing children is a crime against humanity. In the 1990s my country - Azerbaijan also faced these crimes. Armenians, who committed the Khojaly genocide, known in many countries of the world, violently killed several Azerbaijani children, many children lost their parents, and homes, and were deprived of education, medical care, and normal nutrition. Those children were doomed to spend childhood and youth in exile. They lived in towns and modular buildings for refugees. The generation, representing thousands of children, grew up suffering from psychological and mental traumas. That was a crime against humanity.
Saving every child is large happiness for humankind.
It is impossible to say that humankind lives where children are being killed...
Regardless of how violent the war is, children cannot be forgotten. Countries at war should not forget that they deal a crushing blow to children, leaving them without parents and homes. Therefore, wars should not be fought, first, for the sake of children. But if the war is imminent, the protection of children should be the number one duty of everyone. Unfortunately, it is difficult for us, people, to draw conclusions from the sad history lessons. The serious adverse consequences of the world wars do not teach us. Just see, how many children’s lives were lost in different conflicts around the world after the Second World War.
Saving a child is also large happiness for humankind.
Progressively thinking people and kind people of the world should strive to help every child in danger. Saving a child is also large happiness for humankind. Compassionate people should be there when a child suffers and lives in poverty. It is impossible to say that humankind lives where children are being killed. Every place where children's death and sufferings have a place should be subject to immediate measures for stopping them. The person going into war should understand its horribleness, he should understand that it is a tragedy, and should live in peace and security. Is it difficult to imagine the beauty of the calm state of nature?
Treat the fate of every child as the fate of your own child
In the beginning, I emphasized that there is a good example of treating children. I would like to tell about this now - on the example of the genius pedagogue, doctor and teacher Janusz Korczak. At times, when children used to be a target for death, Janusz Korczak sacrificed his life for their sake. That was the largest sacrifice and humanism to the world, the life lesson, and the example of love to children. I don't doubt that the lesson given to humankind by Janusz Korczak 80 years ago, is relevant today as always. Because the example of humanism and kindness is never forgotten. We must be able to perceive the fate of each child as our own one. Great Ukrainian pedagogue Sukhomlinsky said, “My Heart I Give to Children”, drawing attention to children who had poor life after the Second World War, considering the importance of their protection as the duty number one to humankind. A child, who was killed somewhere today, could become the author of the invention, which could save the world from evil tomorrow... Look, the great Ukrainian pedagogue also had an open heart loving children.
The life of Janusz Korczak is the most perfect life lesson for those making decisions related to the fates of children, giving orders on wars and rebels
Good deeds live in hearts, and when the time comes, these deeds talk to people. My study of Janusz Korczak also began after listening to the story of the life of this famous pedagogue. Janusz Korczak treated children will all his heart as well. Studying his life, we see that humankind is not going to die. The life of Janusz Korczak is the most perfect life lesson for those making decisions related to the fates of children, giving orders on wars and rebels. This lesson should be studied everywhere in the world. Compassion should dominate in the thoughts and minds of people, so there was no place for hostility and discord. When hostility intervenes in the thoughts of people, kindness and humanism become forgotten. Feelings of kindness and humanism should be implanted in the minds and thoughts of children from an early age.
I wish a world for the humanity where children 's laughters make keep silence the gunfire.
Unfortunately, people lack power for these in many countries of the world. It is very difficult to adapt children, who received mental traumas because of wars. The other problem of society is people with mental traumas. A Thousand years ago, Yusuf Balasagunlu, a great thinker of the Turkic world, wrote that it is necessary to start educating and upbringing children from an early age and educate them in a good spirit. This is a human feeling. Humankind will never forgive evil from a person, to whom one presents feelings of kindness. Humankind bears responsibility for what is happening with children on Earth. There is for sure a method to save children, and the ability to find it depends on us. It is easy to get children involved in conflicts, but it is difficult to get them out. We should find that way and save children. I wish a world for the humanity where children 's laughters make keep silence the gunfire.
Dear participants and organizers of the conference, I have been studying the personality of Janusz Korczak since 2017. My book about the great educator was published in Azerbaijani, English, Ukrainian and Russian languages. This book is the first research about Janusz Korczak in Azerbaijan and is the point of departure of my study about Korczak. Although I managed to analyze some fundamental ideas of Janusz Korczak in the sphere of pedagogical activity, fine art and children's education, I need more fundamental studies.
The scientific and pedagogical ideas of Janusz Korczak are relevant, especially at our times when there is a need for special care and protection of children. The whole world is under the threat of war. Every child has the right to live under clear skies. Unless the world wants to face a terrible situation tomorrow, it should take measures today. I believe that a person as a bearer of moral values, can bring benefit to science, education, culture, and technical development. I believe that knowledge and science will dominate in the world. The scientific heritage of Janusz Korczak, and his personality, serve as the example of the victory of the civilized war over ignorance. The civilized world will achieve this victory in our modern world.
The main goal of my participation in this conference is to find new milestones for extending my future studies about Janusz Korczak and present useful studies in the future. Due to this, I would like to present some of my suggestions and proposals:
- My first suggestion is to continue studying Janusz Korczak and to create a joint group of researchers “Janusz Korczak” together with you. If you have such a group, I will be glad to join it. If we manage to save the spirit of the genius, we will be able to save the soul of the world from death.
- My second suggestion and proposal is to create the Center for studying the heritage of Janusz Korczak in Azerbaijan, to study the heritage of Janusz Korczak deeper and to make it well-known. Your opinion on this is very important to me. According to my research, such centers exist in several countries.
- My third suggestion is to jointly create an international scientific-theoretical mass journal, which would demonstrate scientific-theoretical and practical solutions to problems of children in the world, explain and analyze them, and emphasize the importance of peace in the world. As the head of the scientific journal, I appreciate the importance of this issue. The world needs strong words. I believe that one word can save the world. Janusz Korczak has found a press agency himself to present his ideas to the wider public, and he was regularly presented in the press.
Dear participants of the conference, I would like to thank you for the ability to speak and patiently listening to me to the end. I believe that we will work together in the future to make my proposals and dreams come true.
Thank you for your attention.
