Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
Thursday, 31 July 2025
ANS
Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) – “We ask every man and woman, every child and elderly person with a good heart, to overcome conflict and choose the path of humility, wisdom, and dialogue.” This is what was said in the joint statement by young people from the Salesian centers in Cambodia and Thailand.Although just days after the ceasefire between the two countries, which began on the evening of Monday, July 28, mediated by the Malaysian government, Thailand has already accused Cambodia of “a flagrant violation.”Faced with the rising number of deaths and displaced people caused by the clashes that have been ongoing for days (see Fides, 24/7/2025), these young people have launched the initiative “Meditation for Peace with Don Bosco, our Common Father.” Drawing on the teachings of Buddhism and Christianity, they highlight the importance of values such as compassion, nonviolence, and reconciliation. According to a statement from the Salesians, the initiative focuses on their shared spiritual heritage: Buddhist mindfulness and nonviolence, along with the Christian and Salesian vocation to reconciliation and service.The youth leaders also warn against “a dirty digital war,” urging their peers to counter misinformation and instead spread messages of love, tolerance, and courage. “Peace does not require silence, but courage. May our shared history and faith be a bridge, not a barrier,” they emphasize in their statement. And while diplomats work to find a solution, the voices of young Cambodians and Thais remind the world that peace is not born in conference rooms, but in the hearts of those who have the courage to imagine it.The conflict, centered on the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple and colonial-era borders, escalated on July 24, 2025, marking one of the most serious clashes in the last ten years. The violence has claimed 30 lives and forced more than 300,000 people to flee their homes. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 31/7/2025)
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