Global News Podcast - Young voices special

Episode Date: March 25, 2022

Is the nuclear threat real? What does Putin want? Who is winning the war in Ukraine? We took questions on the invasion from young people around the world and looked for answers from BBC correspondents.Jackie Leonard speaks to Martin Forster, a senior child psychologist with the healthcare company, Kry, in Sweden. Listeners' questions are tackled by Vitaliy Shevchenko, Paul Adams, Theo Leggett, Lyse Doucet and Mark Lowen.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC podcasts. It's a month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and amid all the talk of military tactics and analysis, some of our younger listeners have questions

and this special edition of the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service is dedicated to them. I'm Jackie Leonard and in this edition... My name is Dachena, and I'm from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. My name is Edwin, and I live in Serna. I'm Nolan, I'm from Liechtenstein. My name is Molly, and I'm from Nicaragua. We'll be putting their questions and others about the Russian invasion of Ukraine to our own experts

and to a child psychologist about how young people and their adults can keep informed without getting overwhelmed. Before we share some of the big political and strategy questions you've been sending in, let's hear from some students in Copenhagen, Denmark, because they've been sharing their reactions to what's happening right now in Ukraine. My name is Floyd. I'm 11 years old. Well, I am very annoyed at Putin for attacking the Ukrainians. And I also feel bad for all the immigrants who have left their homes, pets or family behind because they're scared. I'm Mark and I'm 11 years old. I feel very sad for the children

who can't sleep and rest when there are bombings and gun shooting all around Ukraine. My name is Ellie. I'm 12 years old. Something that has scared me is thinking about children my age going through all this war. I couldn't see myself in their position and how they are trying to get away and they're all so scared. I'm 14 years old and I've lived in Denmark for 10 years. I think it's a really horrible situation also because I'm part Russian so it's kind of like your country is doing something that's completely wrong which is very stressful. So lots of different feelings among the students there. Dr. Martin Forrester is a child psychologist who works at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and he joins us now. Martin, we heard a lot of different feelings there from the students.

It's difficult because we want to know what's going on in the world. And at the same time, the news can be very hard to watch or read, can't it? Yes, it can. And especially the massive flow of news can be hard to handle because it's difficult to get a break and to think about other things if you're bombarded from every corner in your everyday life with this information. So it is hard. One of our listeners had a quite good idea. My name is Albert. I'm 12 years old. I try to limit myself from seeing too much news articles, so I only read them once a day. Very good idea. If you feel overwhelmed or you feel that you can't

stop worrying about what's going on, this is the number one action to actually try to limit the ways you're consuming news. And when you're 12 years old, it's very much up to yourself because it's hard for the parents or other adults to control. So you need to set your own boundaries. And we heard from one student there feeling stressed about her Russian heritage, almost guilty, even though obviously it's not her fault. What could you say to someone like her? That's also a common reaction from both young people and adults. And I think it's a responsibility from schools, from adults to really be clear about who's responsible here. It is the leaders, the regime in Russia that lie behind and we need to keep that separate from Russian people. Thank you, Martin Forrester, child psychologist in Stockholm. And

it is important to say that there are ways we can help. We are not completely powerless in this situation. And later on, we will have more on that. First, though, with the situation in Ukraine changing on a daily basis, it can be easy to get lost in the details. So let's go back to the beginning. My name is Abigail Rose. I'm 11 years old old and I'm from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. My question is, what caused the war and who's winning it? My name is Manon and I am from Bordeaux, France. What are the elements that lead to this war? Well, Vitaly Shevchenko, who works for BBC Monitoring, is here.

That's the bit of the BBC that reads, watches and listens to news outlets in dozens of different languages around the world. He's the Russia editor and he is from Ukraine himself. Paul Adams is our correspondent who was in Kiev when the invasion began. He is now back in the UK, though. So you are both experts. What answers do you have for Abigail Rose and Manon? It seems that Russia, the Kremlin and President Putin personally, they've never really accepted the whole idea of Ukraine's independence. I've been watching Russia for 20 years and this rhetoric of claiming that Ukraine is not a real country. It has no right to exist. It has been rising, becoming more aggressive and shrill

until it culminated earlier this year with President Putin's remarks along the lines of parts of Ukraine belong to historical Russia. We need to liberate Ukraine and so on and so forth. That suggests that Russia still sees Ukraine as something that belongs to Moscow. And Paul, what do you think the triggers were? Well, I mean, you could argue that this is something that Vladimir Putin has been building up to for a very long time. He's been spending a lot of money on his military, which in the past would

not have been capable, frankly, of launching an operation of this kind. And, you know, he's also been waving a red flag when it comes to some of the things that the NATO Western Alliance had been doing in Eastern Europe. He felt that he was being ignored about some of those things. And so perhaps for a variety of reasons, he reached this point right now where he felt he had the opportunity, where he felt perhaps the West was a bit distracted and a bit weak. You know, he might have seen the departure of Western forces from Afghanistan last year as a sign of weakness. And so for a number of reasons, he decided to move now. I'd like to just go back to Abigail's question for a moment, because she asked who's winning.

And that's a really difficult question, and obviously one that everyone wants to know the answer to. In some ways, it's a little early to tell. But I think what is clear is that something that Vladimir Putin thought was going to be really easy and quick is turning out to be anything but. And I gather we have just been joined by our chief international correspondent Lise Doucette, who's actually in Kiev. Thanks for talking to us. From where you are, what sort of impressions do you get about how the actual fighting is going? Many are surprised that the huge Russian military, it has far more men and women fighting, far more firepower than the Ukrainian military, but it is stalled in all of its advances. It has made some progress in the south and the east because that's closest to Russia's border. But in other places, it's not.

And many think that perhaps he thought that when he came in this time, like he did in 2014, eight years ago, where he didn't have much of a fight with the Ukrainian army, and he was able to take over an occupied territory, it would be the same this time. But he's meeting a very different Ukraine. The Ukrainian army is much better trained. It's much better armed. It's getting a lot of ammunition and weapons from its partners and friends in the West. But also the Ukrainian people are standing up. You might have seen some of the images. They're absolutely astounding. You see people walking down the street where Russian troops are opening fire. You see people raising the Ukrainian flag when Russian troops move into their city.

There was even a story that a woman was on her balcony when she saw a drone. You might know about drones for taking pictures, but they're all they're used in war. And she thought, my goodness, what am I going to do? And all she had on her balcony was the pickled tomatoes that she did. So she picked up a jar and threw the pickles at the drone and brought it down. And that is what I think has inspired the world, the effectiveness of the Ukrainian army, but even more that the people are saying to President Putin, yes, we have a shared history. And in fact, a lot of the people in Ukraine speak Russian, but even they are shocked by what is happening, what their neighbor, what the president of a neighboring state is doing to them. And so

for the people of Ukraine, including people your age, this is not just a conflict about borders or between two countries. It's also about a fight for the very future of their country, which of course is the future of people your age. And that brings us to some more specific questions about the Russian leader. My name is Molly. I'm 11 years old and I'm from Nicaragua. What is President Putin trying to accomplish by invading Ukraine? Hi, I'm Benjamin. I'm 12 years old. I live in Colombia. Why does Putin want the Ukrainian territory when the Ukrainian territory already became a republic? My name is Benning, and I'm from the United States. If Russia is supposedly a democratic federative law based state, then why did the government go to war with another

sovereign nation without the support of the people and their judiciary system and government. Vitaly, can we come to you? Because you listen to and read media in Russian for a Russian audience and elsewhere. What are you seeing in terms of how people are speaking about Mr. Putin and the Russian leadership right now? In the Russian media, it's seen very, very differently from how it's seen in Ukraine and in the West. It's a parallel reality, but we have to remember that it's an artificial reality created specifically to justify the war. And in this fantasy, Russia is not waging a war against Ukraine. It's involved in a special military operation to liberate Ukraine. So it's doublespeak, really. But the big question is, okay, we have an idea of how they're doing it, but why he is doing it is much more difficult to answer because as things stand now the Russian economy is under huge stress even if we were to accept the possibility that the Russian army is going to

capture much of Ukraine are they going to be able to hold it because the local population is hugely opposed to what's going on both in the West and in the East, in central Ukraine. There's no doubt about it. So President Putin hasn't really done any favors to his country, his economy, and himself. from accessing independent websites. They're blocked in Russia, but there are ways to circumvent the blocks. And young people in Russia know how to do it by now. They can access those websites. They can access social media and see all those horrific pictures emerging from Ukraine. The government is trying to stop them from seeing those pictures by blocking Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. It's not working.

And we've seen over the past weeks that thousands of young people in Russia have been taken to the streets to protest the war. And they're very brave to do so. They're very brave to do so because right now Russia's got a new law under which you can end up in jail for 15 years if you challenge the party line on the war. They're extremely brave. Thank you for that, Vitaly. We will come back to you shortly. Now, Vitaly was talking about the Russian economy under huge stress. Let's hear a bit more about the international response

and ramifications, starting with 12-year-old Yelta in Copenhagen. I've seen all these things about how the German government is trying to limit Russia's resources by cutting down trading things and stuff. And I was wondering if that would also have an effect on the citizens of Russia who don't want to be part of this. I'm Lorenz, I'm 13 years old and I'm from Liechtenstein. How can we make ourselves more independent from Russian oil and gas? My name is Edwin, I'm 15 years old and I live in Suriname. What are the economic, political and environmental consequences of this war? Well, to answer those questions, we are joined by Theo Leggett of our business unit.

Very good questions, Theo. What are the answers? Western nations, the United States, the European Union and others, their response has been to try to cripple Russia economically in whatever ways they can. And they've done this in different ways. Money flows around the world through the international banking system. Steps have been taken to stop money from Russia going through those channels, to make it harder for Russia to trade abroad. Russia also has reserves of gold and dollars and euros and other foreign

currencies that are held abroad. It no longer has access to those reserves, which means the central bank of Russia can't get its hands on a lot of the money that it would normally expect to. And then a number of very wealthy people in Russia have bought up property, large yachts and other things in foreign countries. Those assets, as we call them, are now frozen. In other words, the people who own them can't get at them. And the idea is that makes their life more uncomfortable. So, Theo, we're talking about big yachts and planes and things. I think Yelta was wondering what sort of impact it might have on ordinary Russians who don't have these yachts and these big assets.

Well, that's the problem. Ordinary Russians are going to suffer. One of the consequences that all of this has had is that the Russian money, the Russian currency, the ruble, isn't worth as much as it used to be. Now, you don't immediately notice that when you're going around Russia paying for things, because you still have the money in your pocket. But the money is worth less. So whenever Russia wants to buy anything from abroad, it'll have to pay more rubles for it, effectively. And that means that anything brought into the country from outside becomes more expensive. So you start to see this in the shops by prices going up. I've been speaking to my friends in Moscow, and even though the full impact of the sanctions

is going to be felt months and years down the line, things are happening, and it's very noticeable. First, prices are going up hugely. And even if you're happy to pay the higher prices, some of the things you're used to, like your favourite food, for example, they're gone. They're not on the shelves anymore. Shops are imposing restrictions on how much you can buy. Sugar.

I've seen videos of people fighting for sugar in shops. There are huge queues outside cash machines. Trust in the banking sector has collapsed. People are trying to withdraw whatever rubles they have. So the impact is there. It's felt now. And you talked to us about Russian oil and gas. That was another one of those big questions, wasn't it? Can we make ourselves independent of Russian oil and gas? Yes, but we can't do it tomorrow. That's the problem. There's been a lot of political pressure for Europe to stop buying oil and gas from Russia.

But it does take time. Oil, there is a global market for oil. But the problem with it is that many of the countries that supply oil are not very democratic. They don't have a great record of treating people well. So these are countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Venezuela. You know, if you're going to buy from them, you're kind of holding your nose a little bit because they may not be seen as bad as Russia is at the moment, but they're not great countries to do business with. But you can do it. You can get oil from elsewhere. Gas is a bigger problem because we use a huge amount of gas to generate electricity for lighting, to generate heat, all this sort of thing. And a country like Germany gets half of its gas from Russia,

and that can't be replaced overnight. We can get some from places like Qatar in the Middle East, where they produce the gas, they cool it down, they put it aboard tankers and ship it around the world. But the cost of those tankers is already going up very, very steeply, and there simply isn't enough of it. So all that Europe can really do is work on weaning itself off Russian gas slowly, finding other resources. We're going to have to use a bit more coal, which is not very good for the environment, but we are going to have to use that.

But also other resources like solar power, wind power, you can invest in that, but it all does take time. Thank you. Now for another angle from our listeners. My name is Eliana. I'm 15 years old and I'm from Bermuda. My teacher told me the Cold War ended in 1989 to 1991. Was my teacher wrong? Hi, my name is Amina. I live in Oregon, USA. Is this World War III or is it not a big deal? Because everybody tells me something different. My name is Kasper and I'm half Swedish, half English.

I have little fear that maybe if the war spreads, maybe bigger countries will be forced to use nuclear weapons. So, Paul Adams, first of all, was Eliana's teacher wrong? As someone who remembers the Cold War when I was growing up, no, her teacher was not wrong. It did end then. But in a funny kind of way, you know, we are back in that world now in which Russia and the United States find themselves pitted against each other. Now, obviously, the United States hasn't entered this war. This is not as Alina, I think it was Alina who said, is this World War III?

It isn't. But I think that is the thing that is causing everyone a little bit of anxiety and it's causing everyone to pause and hesitate. So, for example, the Ukrainians would like for the Western countries, the NATO alliance, to create what's called a no-fly zone over Ukraine. That would basically mean making sure that Russian aircraft are not able to fly over Ukraine. Now, in order to do that, someone has to police it. And that means sending Western aircraft over the skies to keep the Russians out. Now, clearly, that comes with a real danger, a danger that this war, which is currently being fought between Russia and Ukraine, could end up being fought between Russia and the West. And everyone wants to avoid that. So they're very happy to send more weapons and equipment into Ukraine to help the Ukrainians fight their own war.

But they do not want to have their own fingerprints so clearly on this that Russia decides that somehow, you know, this is a global conflict. That is something that everyone wants to avoid. And Casper was asking about nukes. Well, yeah, that is the ultimate fear, isn't it? That is something that, again, as a child, I grew up in a world in which the United States and Russia faced off against each other, each armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons. And there was a time back in the early 60s when I was just a baby, when there was something called the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world held its breath for a few days, while it seemed that Russia and the United States

might actually go to war using nuclear weapons. And we haven't been in that world since then. And it was a very long time ago. But the other day, Vladimir Putin made some remarks that suggested that should the West get involved in this war, he might resort to using Russian nuclear weapons. And obviously, everyone found that deeply, deeply troubling. And I think that is one big reason why Ukraine's friends in the West are being extremely careful about what they offer in the way of support for Ukraine, because no one wants to get back into that kind of conflict. And our listeners have also been wondering about how the invasion should be handled internally and internationally. I am 13 years old and I am from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Do you think it's better to help Ukraine and risk a third world war or leave them alone to face the consequences of this conflict? My name is Jade. I'm 16 years old. I'm a Canadian student. When the Soviets invaded Hungary in 1956, it was estimated that more than 20,000 Hungarians died in the fighting. In 1968, the Czechoslovakian leaders told their people not to resist when the Soviets invaded. Do you think President Zelensky was right to tell his people

to resist and to give out arms to ordinary civilians? And let's start with Lise Doucette, who's in Kiev, on those questions. They're very, very good questions, but they are difficult questions. And I have to say that a country should be able to make sovereign decisions about its future. The days are over when a neighbouring country can dictate the fate and decisions to suit their own designs. And also you have to allow for a people. You know, now we're getting down to individuals, not just the president. I haven't met a single person here, and I'm sure Paul was the same, who said, I want to give up. Now, some people have fled, but everyone we meet here says we're going to win. We're going to win. They don't want their president to give up. Now, some people have fled, but everyone we meet here says we're going to win.

We're going to win. They don't want their president to give up. There's a dignity about it. Even in war, when terrible things happen, people want to maintain their dignity, their sense of self. They want to be able to have a say in their future, which is why they say, in some ways, Ukraine is a democratic country. It's not perfect, but it's trying to build a democracy and it's also fighting against authoritarian rule. So I think it's not for me or you to say, well, you know, why are you doing this? And maybe it's better to do this.

People have to be able to make their own decisions. They don't want history to remember this. As a people who gave up, this war isn't over. Lise is right. This is a country which has taken a decision both at the top, but also at a very, very popular level to defend itself. When I left and drove out to Moldova from Kiev, what was really striking was that every little village and town we passed through, places that were miles and miles and miles from any of the fighting that was going on at the time, they were all getting ready. They were all putting up barricades.

There were men manning checkpoints, checking vehicles and so forth. Now, that wasn't the result of a direction from the central government. That was because everyone in the country is getting ready to defend their own communities and their own homes. And it was a really striking indication of the determination of an entire country of more than 40 million people to resist this invasion. So, you know, it is inspiring to see.

And there's no way anyone should, you know, should somehow tell them that it would be wiser to lay down their arms and let the country be invaded. They're simply not going to do that. As for the West, well, you know, they are going to great lengths to help Ukraine to defend itself, sending in ever more sophisticated weapons, but conscious all the time of it being really important not to get directly involved, because that simply could inflame the situation and turn it from a war between two countries

into something much bigger and much more damaging. So, you know, it's awful as it is, but it could get worse, and Western leaders are very, very keen that it doesn't, it doesn't get worse. Well, some of our listeners wanted to dive a little bit deeper into what the future might look like. My name is Mattson. I'm 16 years old, and I'm an American student living in Greece. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and Ukraine previously in 2014. So this is clearly a pattern. Which, if any country, do you think Russia will attempt to invade next? My name is Sisi. I am 11 years old. I come from Denmark and China. If Putin wins the war with the Soviet Union, then come back.

And Mr. Putin is reputed to have called the breakup of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. So does he want it back? And Ruben from London asks, do you think the current situation in Russia, what with unrest towards Putin, could lead to threatening his position or even overthrowing him? Very big questions there. Let's start with Lise. Yes, President Putin has talked about that time when the Soviet Union broke up. He even shared with the world that he had to become a taxi driver to make ends meet. So it's very personal for him. I think, you know, we've been reminded again that history can take turns that none of us expect. But I don't think the Soviet Union is coming back in the first place. A lot of the former members of the Soviet Union are now members of the NATO military alliance. They're looking westward, not eastwards, and you can't roll that back. But certainly after Russian forces invaded

Ukraine, the Baltic states, other neighbours of Russia suddenly said we could be next, which is why NATO has been reinforcing all along the borders, also sending troops and weapons to neighbouring states of Russia, former members of the Soviet bloc, because they We can now go to our correspondent Mark Lowen, who is in Poland, because another big concern for our listeners are the people who have had to be coming to Europe and America and all that. And I'm just wondering if everyone is prepared and has a way to help people and like give them jobs and places to stay. My name is Imani and I'm 16 years old and I'm from Bermuda. I wanted to know how are the neighbouring countries dealing with their Ukrainian refugees? For more than 3 million people as we record this podcast and still more on the move. Most have made for Poland, but Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia have all been taking in refugees too. Some of them will stay there till they can return home. Others perhaps will go on to other countries where they have friends or family. Mark Lowen is in Poland,

and I think you heard those questions, Mark. What sort of help is there for people? Well, a lot of the help, Jackie, is coming from ordinary people who are rallying around and showing quite extraordinary solidarity with the Ukrainian refugees. So the Polish government has passed a bill, which is about $1.75 billion to allow Ukrainians to stay here and have work visas for at least 18 months, to give them access to the labour market, to schools, to social security. And then there are volunteers. So we have seen volunteers at reception centres.

We've seen volunteers at the border itself giving out food. So you really get the sense of kind of pan-European solidarity towards the Ukrainian refugees. I have to say that this does, of course, stand in very stark contrast to previous waves of refugees who have come from the Middle East, from Syria, from Iraq. You'll remember those scenes just before Christmas of Polish border guards repelling Iraqis mainly who were trying to cross illegally from Belarus. And back in 2015 and 2016, countries like Poland were erecting border fences and stopping refugees from coming. So there's been a very, very big difference

between the refugee crises from the Middle East and elsewhere, and this one from Ukraine. We have heard from people, Mark, young people who are particularly concerned that people of their own age are going through this terrifying upheaval. Have you seen Polish young people welcoming Ukrainian young people? Yes, very much so. This is a story that has absolutely hit home and touched a very, very raw nerve with people, young people who grew up with their parents and grandparents telling them about how they were refugees, fleeing the Nazis or fleeing the Second World, you know, attacks in the Second World War, the echoes of history have cut through this continent with this story. And it is really

extraordinary to see it. And I think if there is one positive that is coming out from the horror of this story at the moment, I think it is that awakening of Western solidarity and a sense of purpose and a sense of altruism and a sense of generosity towards those in need. And, you know, there are a lot of people who say, well, that should have been opened up to those fleeing other crises. Absolutely. That argument, you know, has a huge basis. But, has opened up now, and the refugees who are fleeing Ukraine are not just Ukrainians. They are also many from the multicultural community in Ukraine, Pakistani doctors who I met, people from Cameroon, people from Uzbekistan. I think that Ukraine's multiculturalism was little known, actually, by many people.

But there are large communities of foreigners there, and they are also fleeing here. And on the whole, they are also being welcomed by these countries because they also realise that they also are fleeing Russian attack. Mark Lowen in Poland, thank you very much. I know you're very busy, so we will let you go. But thank you very much for talking to us and for answering some of those questions. And Lise, I know we still have you with us. What sorts of things have you been hearing from children and teenagers in Ukraine? These are the kind of wars waged by adults that even the youngest kids find themselves knowing about it because, as all the questioners have confirmed to us, they are the most curious of us all.

And Paul will remember, in our own basement shelter, there's lots of kids. There's 13-year-old Sasha. When Russia's invasion first started, she would sit in the corner on her phone. But then within a day, she was standing up with her mother, Olga, night and day behind a pot of soup. Because I'd say, Sasha, where's your, where's your, why aren't you on your iPhone? And she, I could see the pride in her eyes that she

was working with her mother and helping to feed people in our shelter. And Rustam, also 13 years old, he never left. His phone was like an extension of his body. And I'm sure many of the teenagers who asked us, in fact, many of the adults, phones are an extension of their bodies. He never left his phone. He often used to ask me, do you think this video is true? What do you think about this?

He was worried about his grandfather and his grandfather's home just north of Kiev, sadly, was occupied by Russian soldiers, and then his home was flattened. We meet young people every day. They are also part of their fight. But it's also sad for young people because, you know, as we heard from Mark, you know, they're more than half of the refugees,

and now it's up to 3 million, 1.5 million are children, and they're leaving without their fathers or their big brothers because they are staying back to fight. I've seen young children in Syria, in Afghanistan, in Yemen. As the expression goes, they grow up all too quickly. But the courage you see even in the youngest is most inspiring. They grow up fast and they grow up with a sense of self and a pride in being able to do whatever they can do, even if it's just a question of making their mother feel better or taking care of their brothers and sisters. In a war like this, everyone pays a part,

no matter their age. And so all the young people listening, you too can get involved. You know, you too can, you't say you don't know about this war. It's as close as your pocket in your phone. You can you can volunteer, you can send money, you can send letters, you can you can volunteer at a local centre. This is a war where everyone can play their part. Lise, thank you. That was Lise Doucette in Kiev. And that's nearly it from us for now. If you are a teenage person who wants to find out more about Ukraine and other issues that matter to you, there is more content on YouTube. Just go to youtube.com forward slash BBC My World. It just remains to say thank you to all

the listeners who sent in their questions and our apologies if we didn't get to yours this time. Our thanks too to Vitaly Shevchenko, Paul Adams and Theo Leggett in London, Lise Doucette in Kiev and Mark Lowen in Uroszaw in Poland. Our email address remains globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on Twitter at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Francesca Dunn. The producer was Theo P. Scarlatos. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard. Let's end with some positivity from some very, very little students in Rujia in China. So powerful, so, so powerful is the light of humanity. I am Lilia from Cuba and I'm eight and a half years old. My question is, why can't we stop hating each other?

I am Benson from America. My message is love is the most powerful weapon. I am William from China. All countries need to love each other. I am from Russia and I am five and a half years old. Why we can't just love each other? Why don't we stop fighting and build a better future. Illuminate the whole world. Did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story,

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