Imagine we
have two people, Kate and Peter, and one orange. Imagine now Kate and Peter want
the orange for themselves. They do not want to share the orange. They do not
love or hate each other. They are not selfish either. That means Kate does not
want Peter to die in order to get the orange and Peter does not want Kate to
have an accident for him to get the orange. They simply are self-centred; they
only think about themselves and do not think about the other but do not want to
harm the other either. There is no mystery or hidden agenda. Each of them wants
the orange only for themselves.
Now, back to
the orange. If Kate takes the orange Peter will be upset. Similarly, if Peter
takes the orange, Kate will get upset. In any of these cases, Kate or Peter
will hate Peter or Kate, respectively. True? Well, it depends. Depends on what?,
you may ask. It depends on what Kate and Peter want to do with the orange. Has
anyone thought of asking Kate and Peter about it?
What if Kate
wanted the orange to make a cake? She would only need the orange’s skin! What
if Peter wanted the orange because he was desperately thirsty and loved orange
juice? By simply talking to each other Kate and Peter could end up with the
total of the orange each of them wanted and needed. In fact, Peter could even
peel the orange for Kate and Kate in return may even squeeze the orange for
Peter! A win-win situation.
Now think of a
delicious cake and two people, Rob and Mary, who were hungry, loved sweets and
again, were either selfish or just self-centred. What about if we told these two
people they could both have the cake but it is up to them to decide who gets it?
Most probably, being self-centred, Rob would ask the whole, cake for him. So would
Mary! They would inevitably have an argument and fall apart. What if we interceded
and gave a knife to Rob? He would probably kill Maria and eat the cake. True.
But, he is not selfish. Rob is only self-centred. Being self-centred he may only cut two slices
and give Mary the smallest one. What about if we set a rule? The one who has
the knife will cut the cake but the ones who is waiting gets to choose the
slice. With this in mind, it is very likely Rob will cut the cake in two
identical slices and Mary will have to choose any since both of the slices
would be exactly the same! Another win-win situation.
Sovereignty disputes
or conflicts are very similar to fighting over an orange and the cake. In what
sense? In that we have more than one person interested in having the lot. See
the Malvinas/Falkland islands, Kashmir, Gibraltar, Jerusalem, Tibet, Quebec,
Galicia, Cyprus, and so many others. Each country and each population want the
land for themselves and only themselves. The British want the land for the
British. The Spaniards want the land for the Spaniards. The Palestinians want
the land for the Palestinians. Therefore, the story goes the same in each case.
Can these people do what Kate and Peter did with the orange? Can these people
follow a procedure and do what Rob and Mary did with the cake? Yes, they can.
Let me share a fictional story with you…
Once upon a
time, there was a world with three peoples, the Khemedians, the Syldavians and
the Bordurians. All these three peoples were very peaceful and used to have
good relationships with each other. Khemed was the smallest of the three lands and
Khemedians had originally been Syldavians or Bordurians that had moved to this
area generations ago. A while ago Khemedians discovered a very rare metal that
happened to be necessary for the construction of inter-stellar flying objects.
At first, they all continued their mutual relations in peace since there was no
actual need for the metal. But, scientists in Syldavia made a shocking
discovery: their world had limited time and was going to be destroyed by a
supernova in the years to come. The scientific community in Borduria confirmed
this information. Dissent came. Syldavians and Bordurians rushed to get their
hands on the precious metal. War was imminent. Let us see each of the
populations in more detail:
Khemed
Imagine a group of people living on an island named Khemed. The majority
of Khemedians are polytheists and there are some other minorities that are
monotheists. Their main God is Ra, the sun. Together with Ra, there are twelve
other minor (six Gods and six Goddesses). Although the territory is small in
size, it is highly rich in a very rare metal only found there. However, they do
not possess the means for its exploration and exploitation. Therefore, their
main source of income is the exportation of basic products obtained from
fishing and farming. They do not have any means to defend the island. Finally,
the sovereignty of the island has been continuously claimed by two sovereign
States, Syldavia and Borduria. Because Syldavia and Borduria have never been
interested in Khemed and their land they have always maintained peaceful
bilateral relations. Until now.
Syldavia
Syldavia is a medium size sovereign State with a large population, mainly
polytheists. Similar to Khemed, their main God is Ra, the sun. They also have
several minor Gods and Goddesses. This country is situated in another continent
and although not having natural resources, it is immensely wealthy mainly
because of the many services they provide, their infrastructure and their level
of technological and scientific development. Syldavians have one of the most
developed means of defence in the world.
Borduria
On the contrary, Borduria is one of the largest sovereign States in the
world in terms of territorial size, but not densely populated. Bordurians are
mainly monotheists. The only God they recognise is Pachamama (Mother Earth). Their
economy is based on agriculture. It is a non-wealthy country with heavy
international debt, high rates of unemployment and inflation and governmental
corruption. They do not have any means to defend their territory.
Geographically, they are located in the continent adjacent to Khemed, so
mainland Borduria shares with Khemedians part of the continental shelf.
Jorge Emilio Núñez
18th September
2017
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