The Darkness of Weapons

The darkness of weapons By Maya Rebeca Benmergui Esayag My name is Ana. I am a girl who grew up in a family that traveled a lot, so I have never had a problem with toys. I remember that my mother did not buy me any war toys. "Why should a girl shoot a gun?" I spent hours solving my puzzles. Then I played Monopoly or Ludo with my brothers. I was never short of fashion dolls. Then I was passionate about playing ping-pong or tennis. I loved swimming in the pool or playing outside. To my parents, especially my mother, playing with weapons of war was an abomination. She said such games only teach violent behavior. I could never understand how other children loved shooting down a plane or killing a character in a video game. Even though the game is virtual, it does take away people's lives, and I did not feel that was right. Thankfully, my parents never allowed these games when I was a kid. Meanwhile, in the town where I was born, there was a fateful custom of setting off thousands of fireworks at Christmas. The noise was deafening. This was something that seemed simply distasteful to me. The reason? I never understood why. There were arguments in my house, like in every house in the world, but the toys were harmless. I have been playing the piano since I was four years old, so my parents inculcated in me a love of learning and music. I could not play with any war toys. My mother always bought us the best toys. All the children from the area came to our house. My mother took care of all of them, and their parents allowed it because they knew how my mother took care of us. She organized all kinds of health contests at the pool. She also prepared food for everyone. At the end of the day, all the mothers came to pick up their children. My mom organized all kinds of healthy competitions in the pool. She made food for everyone. Then all the mothers came to pick up their boys at the end of the day. I remember games like “Hide and Seek” and “Cops and Robbers.” I only played “Hide and Seek” because I hated the other game where kids used weapons to hunt and kill each other. In short, I had a childhood far from war-like games that could instill in me the initiative to commit violent acts. Furthermore, I had caring parents. They always knew what we were doing. It would never have occurred to my brother or me to buy a gun to go to school and kill our classmates, teachers, and, of course, the principal.​ Meanwhile, the days went by. One night in my room, contemplating the stars, I reflected on everything that was happening in my community. I had heard rumors about my neighbor, Tom. They said they were concerned he had a gun in his house. I started to investigate the violence that existed in my neighborhood. I used my favorite tool, Google. The more I researched, the more scared I became. My area was plagued with crime, and it was important to do something about it. Tom lived next to a very dangerous neighborhood. I decided to talk to my neighbor and politely but firmly ask him about the weapons he kept in his house. Tom did not like me touching that button. He replied. “It's none of your business!” However, I did not give up and continued my research. To my surprise, it turned out that my neighbor belonged to some kind of cult called “The Guards”. This group fought crime in the community according to its own rules. On the other hand, I realized that the cause of this violence is mainly due to a lack of education. Young people lived in a realm of ignorance. They had no quality of life. Most families were poor. Some worked as drug dealers. It was a tragedy. I decided to join a group of activists who hold free carpentry and cooking workshops. We have also started a tutoring program to support student learning. My job was to distribute pamphlets so that the whole community could participate in the activities. I also suggested creating a community blog and inviting as many people as possible. Likewise, I was also aware of the activities of my dear neighbor, Tom. I spoke with my neighbors about this incident and asked them to report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. Someone reported Tom, and the police took over the case. The police department took strong measures, and the community felt somewhat calmer and safer. I was very proud of my work and decided to continue advocating for my neighbors and creating positive change. Over the years, I have developed into a youth activist who seeks the peaceful resolution of conflicts within my community. How did I arrive at this? I will say it. One fine day, when I was studying in high school, I suddenly received a call on my cell phone from my frightened mother. “Mom, what's wrong?” My mother “turned on the news”. She told me. A 17-year-old boy opened fire with a machine gun next to my school, killing 10 children. Of course, she wanted to know if anything had happened at my school. I remember the tour guide calling all of us and telling us that we should skip class today to be safe. At that point, there was very little I could know. I knew something terrible had happened at the school next door, but I had no idea the scale of the incident. Anyway, my mother had already driven to school to pick me up. When she arrived, we hugged between kisses and tears. When I finally returned home, I discovered that the boy had shot ten children and that his motive was that he was lame and was often laughed at in class. His revenge was murdering those classmates. That seemed outrageous to me. A further Google search revealed that a young man nicknamed "Lame Bob" had purchased a gun online using his father's credit card. I was surprised at how easily he bought weapons. He did not need to undergo any psychological tests. Bob decided not to tell anyone. He did not even leave a message. He kept it a secret. After the m******e of the children, Bob decides to commit suicide. What are Bob's hobbies? War video games. That is really a tragedy. After this brutal m******e, I decided to take the upper hand. I joined a local group that organized peaceful marches and demonstrations demanding change at the government and community levels. I created my own blog to share my message of support for peace online. Likewise, I used my social networks and became a YouTuber, and from my YouTube channel, I taught people how to prevent these situations. This allowed me to connect with people across the country. I started attending peace-related events and holding free lectures in my community to discuss peaceful solutions to everyday problems. I became a respected leader within my community and beyond. It was never my intention to be famous. I just wanted to get this message out to as many people as possible. On one occasion, I managed to gather thousands of people in a march for peace and non-violence. I became an inspiration for many young people.