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‘Let us envision a world where no child fears the sound of bombs, where no child goes to bed hungry, and where every child is free to laugh, learn and thrive. This is not an impossible dream – it is our sacred responsibility.’
By IMAM DR ABDUL RASHIED OMAR
An address at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town to mark World Children’s Day, November 20, 2024.
Today, as we mark World Children’s Day, we celebrate the innocence, hope, and boundless potential of our children. Their laughter, curiosity, and dreams are the light of humanity, the sacred trust of today, and the promise of tomorrow.
Yet, as we celebrate this day and honour our children my heart is heavy, and I stand before you filled with both hope and sorrow. We cannot speak of the rights of children without confronting the unspeakable suffering of so many.
Nowhere is this more painfully evident than in Gaza, where the cries of children echo amidst the rubble of war. Over the past year, Gaza has borne witness to unimaginable horrors. Thousands of innocent children have lost their lives, and countless others have been maimed, orphaned, and traumatised. Homes, schools, and playgrounds – places meant to nurture their dreams – have been reduced to ashes.
This is not just a tragedy; it is a moral catastrophe and a stain on the conscience of our world. The children of Gaza are not collateral damage – they are our sons and daughters, our future doctors, teachers, artists and leaders. Their lives matter, their dreams matter and their humanity matters.
Yet, even amidst the horror of war, genocide and ethnic cleansing the children of Gaza teach us resilience and hope. They write poems by candlelight, they find moments of joy amidst devastation, and they cling to a vision of peace and justice that many of us have abandoned. Their courage calls us to act.
On this World Children’s Day, let us commit ourselves to action, not just words. Protecting children must be a universal imperative, transcending borders, politics and ideologies. Let us work for justice, dismantle systems of oppression, occupation, and inequality that perpetuate such tragedies.
Peace cannot be built on the graves of children; it must rise on the foundation of justice, compassion and our shared humanity.
Let us envision a world where no child fears the sound of bombs, where no child goes to bed hungry, and where every child is free to laugh, learn, and thrive. This is not an impossible dream – it is our sacred responsibility.
On this World’s Children’s Day as we remember the children of Gaza, let us also turn our attention to the children of South Africa. Despite the end of apartheid, too many of our children continue to suffer from poverty, violence, and inequality. We support South Africa’s Children’s advocates who are currently demanding that our Department of Basic Education spend the R197 million for an early childhood development (ECD) nutrition pilot that has been left unspent and that our Basic Education Minister champion the reforms needed to give children a fighting chance to succeed.
On this World’s Children’s Day, we also lament the endemic gang violence and crime that destroys and diminishes the lives of our children living on the Cape Flats. Let us dream of a South Africa where every child has access to quality education, safe neighbourhoods, and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
The children of Gaza, South Africa, the Cape Flats and the world remind us of the sacredness of childhood. Let us rise together – parents, educators, activists and faith leaders – to honour this sanctity and demand an end to the suffering of the innocent.
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Let us never forsake the profound moral truth that every child, no matter where they are born, is entitled to a life of dignity, safety, justice, and peace.
Dr Abdul Rashied Omar is Imam at Claremont Main Road Mosque, Cape Town, and is associate teaching professor of Islamic studies and peacebuilding in the Keough School’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
