Written by Sheila Ocloo

Blast here, blasts there, blast everywhere! Why can’t all these stop for once? I fall short in
answering why people will kill each other and feel happy with a deep sense of gratitude after committing these atrocities. Well, I guess religion may play a major role. Steven Weinberg said, “with or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil-that takes religion.”

I understand sometime the need for revenge when some bad guys out there threaten our very existence. In that case, well I might as well support blasts everywhere. But, is this really the answer to the world’s problems? Is that the right mode to solve a problem?
Personally, I believe that everyman’s opinion must be heard, and changes must be made
through compromise to adapt to every situation. What happens then, when you do not
appropriately relay that information well for the world to understand and take that stand with you? Why can’t we simply resolve our problems through dialogue? It may take years for individual parties to understand each other.

Well, I guess the most perfect suggestion will be that the people living in these countries must swap destinations. I mean for example, people living in Iraq must swap to live in the United States and vice versa. What a commotion that will be. I guess the word “fuck” might be the first AMERICAN word to be imputed and adopted into the BRITISH dictionary, with “HELL NO!” as one of its primary meanings. I can imagine the chaos.
Channeling our grievances through ART is probably the best option. One can vividly sketch what happened, and how it did. These art works can be mounted as statues to remind us or as wall mounts to help us keep hope alive. ART can be preserved for thousands of generations to tell our story. I wish I will live to see those years and tell those people, what I see now. I will tell them of how technology developed using computer. I will tell them of historical events such as Martin Luther King Jr and the day Donald Trump won the elections. Can you rate their interest in listening to some of these stories?
Another important point to note is that, language is always a barrier in communication. For example, communicating climate changes to a friend in another continent may be met with some challenges because, the listener has the tendency of comparing the information to what they usually see around them. This then makes Art the best solution to penetrate areas where language can’t reach. For example, a tree in Alaska can be depicted through art by sketch and the world may know you refer to a tree that blossoms during winter and not the usual trees found in Africa.Art, releases stress. It is so beautiful when you paint out your pain, joy, fears and happiness. it has its own form of communicating in the abstract world. Art is therapeutic. It is often said that “he who loves art is naturally a social philanthropist.” Art helps us to view the world in other perspectives. Art is love. It is the only place where Ugly is beautiful. It penetrates the soul, wards off evil spirits and terminates wars. Even “DEATH”, LOVES ART. The music to the soul. It is the best friend of mankind. In summary, I use this opportunity to encourage all Africans especially women and young girls to live their lives through ART. Our continent is rich in ART, but the stories untold are but many.Tell your story, let us all have a bite of your pain and joy. Tell us how it all began.Paint, sketch and carve to live! Always choose Life! Art is life. Art is love. Love is Life.