The year has barely begun, yet violence is already dominating the headlines. Repression, executions, unrest — the same old cycle. Power keeps excusing brutality. Greed keeps demanding sacrifice. But history is clear: might has never made right. It only multiplies graves and silence.
In moments like this, I think of those who refused to kill — and were punished for their conscience. The Mennonites chose peace not as a slogan, but as a discipline: no weapons, no hatred, no war, even when history tested them harshly. Today I share something deeply personal: my English translation of “Germans of Khorezm” by Uzbek writer Nur Ahmad has been published. It tells the story of a peaceful German community that once lived and worked in my country, Uzbekistan — building schools and fields, not armies. In a world addicted to force, choosing peace is not weakness. It is defiance.
