World Peace

Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – One more post about dangers. Or should I say, SAFETY. Are you familiar with the Global Peace Index (GPI), an annual report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace? This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. The GPI covers 99.7% of the world’s population and 163 countries, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains:

• the level of Societal Safety and Security
• the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict
• the degree of Militarization.

If you’re the least bit interested in worldwide trends, go to their website for an in-depth look at the findings, and a look at the worldwide map. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/

I checked this site as I thought about travel to Africa, and other parts of the world I plan to visit. The TOP TEN SAFEST COUNTRIES in the world in 2022, according to this study, are:

1. Iceland. 2. New Zealand. 3. Ireland. 4. Denmark. 5. Austria. 6. Portugal. 7. Slovenia. 8. Czech Republic.  9. Singapore. 10. Japan

Iceland has held the position of “Most Peaceful Country” since 2008. Afghanistan is the least peaceful country for the fifth consecutive year, at the bottom of the list of 163 countries in the world. Yemen, Syria, Russia and South Sudan complete the bottom five. Noted this year:

• Deaths from external conflict recorded a sharp deterioration driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• The rise in costs has increased food insecurity and political instability globally, with Africa, South Asia and the Middle East under greatest threat.
• The political terror scale, political insecurity, neighboring country relations, refugees and IDPs reached their worst score since the inception of the GPI.

Seven of the ten countries at the TOP of the Global Peace Index are in Europe.

The safety rankings of the countries we’ll be visiting and returning to:

• Iceland – #1
• Tanzania – #86
• Kenya – #120
• United States – #129

This photo was taken February 7, 2022 with a zoom lens from my bedroom window, as a Memorial Service was conducted in the City Park behind my house. A young man was killed in a shoot-out near the Park a few weeks earlier. A large crowd attended the Memorial Service, lighting candles and offering prayers for better community relations in Little Rock. I have lost count of the shootings in Little Rock this year alone.

I too pray for peace – in my community, my country, and my world.