The Guardian - October, 7th 2022

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Yuval Noah Harari: ‘Peace begins in the mind of a poet’

Israeli professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the author of
books including the global bestseller Sapiens

Wars are usually fought over stories. People think that like wolves and chimpanzees, we
fight over territory. But that is rarely true. Wolf packs and chimpanzee bands fight over
hunting grounds and fruit trees, without which they would starve to death. Humans fight
over the fantasies that they attach to certain places. Israelis and Palestinians don’t really
need Jerusalem in order to eat. Hitler didn’t invade Poland because Germans ran out of
space to build houses. If people really fought over territory, then Russia – the largest
country in the world – should also have been the most peaceful. What do Russians need
more territory for?

Most wars originate in the mind of some poet. The generals come much later, and while
they think they obey the laws of realpolitik, they actually follow the dreams of a
mythmaker. What drove Putin to invade Ukraine are fairytales about imaginary threats,
and fantasies about power and glory. The war can ultimately be traced to the stories Putin
loved as a child in the 1950s, and to the stories Russian children still learn at school today.

But peace too begins in the mind of some poet, able to see a better world through the
smoke of war. When the cannons roar, the muses must speak louder than ever, and be
extra careful about what they say. In the midst of carnage, we are tempted to sow the seeds
of future hatred. But it’s our responsibility to sow the seeds of future concord.

Samar Yazbek: ‘Writing truth offers justice to the oppressed’

Syrian author of novels including The Crossing and Planet of Clay

When facing destruction, our weapons are our words and our freedom to use them.
Literature exposes the ugliness of war and its impact on human destiny, always looking to
the future. It will not stop the war, but it will confront its ugliness with its aesthetics and
imaginative vision. Literature strips the face of war and delves into the horrors of its brutal
machine and its impact on the tragic fate of man.

For me, when the popular uprising began in Syria and then the war followed, I did not
hesitate for a moment in my full commitment to the act of writing – about war and against
war – through my novels, my documentaries and my journalism, not only because writing
against war and violence is part of inventing a better future, but because writing against
war and about war is an attempt to make our words part of an act of justice and a
movement for change. No matter how slight, writing truth offers justice to the oppressed.