The first decade of the 21st century has seen a catastrophic number of wars, invasions, terror attacks, and death. From Manhattan to Mumbai, via Mosul and Mogadishu, no country, religion and culture have been spared. 

In Sri Lanka’s civil war, the Sri Lankan military seems poised to take the rebel capitol Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka. Across the thin waterway separating Sri Lanka from India, politicians in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu have recently called attention to the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils caught in an increasingly aggressive Sri Lankan counter-insurgency effort against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. 

Israeli air strikes in the Gaza strip have brought a dismal end to peace efforts in the Middle East in 2008. It seemed as though potentials for peace in what many consider to be the epicentre of the region had taken a hard enough blow with: the collapse of Hamas-Fatah peace talks in Cairo, a break down of a six month cease fire between Israel and Hamas, rioting by Israeli settlers in Hebron, a humanitarian crisis due to the blockade on residents of the Gaza strip and to top it all off, constant fire of Qassam rockets into Southern Israel. But just when we thought that it couldn’t get any worse before the year’s end, we are now confronted with a shocking death toll of over 360, more pain, more suffering, more innocent deaths and - most damaging to any hope for peace - more anger.

We live in the age of knowledge. Knowledge is the basis of the 21st economy, security and progress at the macro as well as micro levels. The individual, the society or the nation that has developed high skills in processing knowledge is bound to succeed in the modern world.

The election of Barack Obama is a victory for the underdog. It is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for the United States of America. It is a victory for the world. But, most important, it is a victory for the concept of hope.

If ever there was a need to remind ourselves of how rapidly the world is ‘shrinking’, one needed to look no further than the pictures being splashed across every news channel on every continent, of people rejoicing at the historic election victory of the 44th President of the United States of America. 

Central Africa is in conflict once again. Since August 2008, the 10,000-strong rebel force of General Laurent Nkunda, known as the CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the Nation) is battling the Congolese national army. This battle rages in the east of Congo, near the city of Goma, in the North Kivu province. The UN estimates that since September, approximately 250,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting. The casualty figures are not clear yet but Human Rights Watch says that 100 civilians have been killed so far and more than 200 others have been injured. 

Dear Mr. Obama,

I would like to begin this letter by congratulating you on your victory. I think I can comfortably speak for much of the youth in my country, that as a generation of people in our 20’s, we are glad that you will usher in a change in the coming decade.