What Is the Cost of Peace?

“The cost of suffering brings peace. The price of peace brings suffering.” this is a quote by ManHee Lee which describes the harsh reality of what it takes to truly obtain peace. History has proven over and over again that peace is often obtained after chaos and misery. The cost of our peace has been paid by our ancestors. The loss of their freedom, their happiness, their dignity and the blood baths that took away their loved ones. All this suffering is simply the inevitable price that needs to be paid before obtaining peace. In the case of my own country, Singapore, we had to go through years and years of racial conflicts to get to where we are today, where races live in harmony and embrace one another’s culture and heritage. On a global scale, the heavily debated case of dropping the Fat Man and Little Boy (atomic bombs) on Japan during World War 2 is one of the best examples of how mass destruction and chaos had to happen for the greater good. These are just a few examples that show how suffering is the cost of peace.

In the pursuit of peace, we might be put in situations where things that are valuable and meaningful are forcefully taken away from us, in the form of our possessions such as our valuables, our country and even our freedom. Our freedom of speech, freedom of where to go, what to do is dictated by someone else. During WW2, the Japanese invaded my country. We were then forced into being slaves of the Japanese and had no freedom or any rights to speak up. They threatened us into learning their language, their culture and to praise their emperor. No one in their right mind would have wanted to worship and give praise to an emperor who invaded their country. However, we had no rights to say anything, they took everything away from us the moment they stepped foot onto our island. They took away things that were meaningful to us. Things that were trash to them but meant the world to us. They raided the homes of many people and stole all kinds of expensive jewellry, precious heirlooms and even took the animals that the people reared back to their quarters for a feast. They did anything and everything that wanted, claiming our land as theirs. However, all the pain, suffering and abuse that we went through was necessary for the peace that we enjoy today, without them, we would not be the same Singapore. Without the pain and suffering they put us through, we might not have cultivated the strength and determination to pull through hardships and recover after the war. Without this period of suffering, we might have never realised how important it is to defend our country. Thus, all the humiliation, unfair treatment and the privileges that were taken away from our ancestors during the war was the price they paid for the peace that we are enjoying today.

For the sake of attaining peace, our happiness, our emotions and our dignity are often compromised. During WW1, women had to multi-task taking care of their family and work. They had to take on conventionally male roles in transport and other heavy, arduous work. This was extremely foreign to them as women were only supposed to take on traditionally female occupations or stay home as housewives during that time period. However, due to the circumstances of the war and lack of manpower, they had no choice but to take up such roles. They worked bravely in dangerous places such as TNT plants where accidents such as explosions were common and more than 400 women died from overexposure to TNT during WW1. These women continued giving their 100% in their work despite the lack of rights, much lower pay compared to the males and tough conditions. They endured through this tough time where they were treated poorly due to their gender but refused