His Europe could not be more different to the experiences I had with my growing up in Europe.
For him Europe was a continent full of conflicts and divided by fear. For me it always has been a continent with open borders, shared currency, endless opportunities and most important, a Europe with open speech. War is something my generation only learns about in history books in school, not something we would fear outside our own windows. For us it’s just another lesson about conflicts between countries. We read about dates and numbers, like 1914 or 1939 without a care in the world. I mean why should we care? We are able to study abroad and bond with people without questioning their nationality. We are privileged. But we must ask ourselves if we can take the responsibilities that comes with this privilege.
Our ancestors inherited a continent in ruins. Families were torn apart, children lost their lives, cities were reduced to ashes, trust was broken. Perhaps we all could have understood if they had given up, but they took all the broken pieces and emerged an extraordinary idea. Instead of taking out their rage, they chose to rebuild trust. The European people decided not to fight against each other anymore, former enemies chose cooperation instead of revenge and realized that shared interests were a lot better than old hatred. The people realized that kindness and solidarity weigh lighter than all the hate towards each other. It was a promise, to make Europe a home, not just for the sake of economics, but a promise to all the children who had to watch their childhood fade away because of war. Never again would we let something like this happen. It was a promise.
Suddenly, peace was no longer abstract. People started to form trust in the promise and in the European Union. The borders became more open, and families began to travel across the continent. Respect for other cultures and even the celebration of other traditions became a new reality. For decades, that promise seemed unbreakable.
Nevertheless, that promise got a crack, when we realized that peace is not guaranteed. In 2022 we were all shattered by the war between Ukraine and Russia. Videos and photos directly out of the war zone hit us like a wave, every news channel reported something new nearly every minute. Suddenly the assumption that armed conflicts are part of the past were destroyed. Growing up believing that democracy and peace were self-evident and permanent, the news was shocking. I had to remind myself that what we have learned in history class is not just some story, it’s a reminder that peace is never guaranteed, and needs to be protected.
Yes, we are the privileged generation. The first generation in European history which is blessed without experiencing a war, but this privilege is not guaranteed. We must fight for our freedom of speech, peace and democracy. Perhaps not with violence and fear, but rather with our voices and choices. Never should we take peace for granted, it’s not a law of nature, it’s our own decision.
In a changing world, Europe must rediscover the courage that once built peace from ruins. Our vision for the future should not be fear or division, but unity, democracy and solidarity.
