10 – 12 years
Pollution of the oceans
The ocean, one of the most beautiful and richest areas of biodiversity. Many plants and animals live in this marine habitat. Even the lifeless Antarctica has an ocean with a rich biodiversity.
Even though the oceans are beautiful and have a rich biodiversity, the oceans are threatened. The oceans are threatened by natural factors such as hurricanes but mostly the threat is by humans due to the pollution of the oceans. The oceans wash up all kinds of pollutants in the beaches. The common items washed up are clothes, polythene and the most dangerous of all – plastic. Plastic kills several majestic creatures in the oceans such as sperm whale and marine tortoises.
The oceans are in great danger. Some ways to help the threatened ocean is to minimize buying plastic, polythene and other things which are thrown onto beaches. We should stop throwing rubbish into the beaches. A small change by millions of people would bring a big difference to our oceans. Saving the ocean is meant to be saving millions of people.
Sachiv Prasath (10 years)
Lyceum Int. School, Wattala
13 – 15 years
The refugee problem in the world
A refugee is a marginalized person who has left their own country because of war, terrorism, persecution or poverty, seeking shelter from danger or trouble. Since the refugee problem has become one of the greatest global threats to thousands of innocent humans globally at present, the United Nations has declared June 20 as the World Refugee Day to raise awareness of finding ways and means to solve this problem.
When we consider the causes for this serious problem, which violates human right of all human beings born free with equal dignity and rights to live in peace and harmony, the right to education of children, and the right to lead a life with freedom of opinion and worship; the main cause is that the super-powers are aware of their own existential needs without giving due respect to minorities of many differences.
Under these circumstances of prejudice and hate between factions, there will be wars and terrorism, breaking the peace and harmony thus creating a dreadful fear and reluctantly compelled to risk their lives, even to fall prey to racketeers, to save their lives by leaving their country.
As per Aung San Suu Kyi, “Peace does not mean just putting an end to violence or to war, but to all other factors such as discrimination, poverty and inequality.” And as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” So, the United Nations Human Settlement Programme should promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements, developments and adequate shelter for all these refuges, thus eradicating their poverty. UNICEF together with UNESCO should save the refugee children and defend their rights to education and health and improve the quality of their lives. As per Mother Teresa’s golden words, “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”
Where there is love, there will be peace and harmony to live with equal dignity and rights, with a world free of refugees.
Neyali Abeyratna (14 years)
De Mazenod College, Kandana
