It seems as if the entire world is falling apart, especially because the United States is slowly crumbling under President Donald Trump’s new administration, and it is only week two. Though it may seem as if the U.S. election is the only thing that has mattered for the past few months, thanks to relentless coverage by Western media conglomerates, I am here to remind you that it is not the only country undergoing political and cultural changes.
Colombia has officially ended a 52-year civil war. Western media did an excellent job of covering the initial rejection of the treaty in October but seemed to forget to cover the new treaty, which addressed people’s initial concerns and became the official peace treaty Nov. 24. Though the Colombian Congress is being lenient with punishments for the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for the sake of moving on, it is safe to say it is the first time the country’s legislative branch has taken responsibility for the well-being of the Colombian people. Keep in mind this is the same branch that granted Pablo Escobar house arrest after being convicted, making it easy for him to enjoy the luxuries of his drug ring even though he was incarcerated.
The United Kingdom has yet to finalize its decision to leave the European Union. Though there was a referendum June 23 in which the U.K. decided to leave the EU, the U.K.’s Supreme Court decided parliament was to have the final say on whether or not the U.K. was to leave the EU. The Supreme Court’s decision has Prime Minister Theresa May and the British Conservative Party scrambling to show a united front, while the Labour Party — which opposes Brexit — is taking the opportunity to put up an even stronger fight.
Russia, Turkey and Iran have agreed to support a cease–fire in Syria. The talks held in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, the week of Jan. 23 have made progress in helping end a civil war that has killed almost 400,000 people, according to the U.N. These talks serve as a preliminary exploration for peace before the United Nations–led political negotiations at the end of February in Geneva. The key part of the negotiations in Astana was not only that the three nations came together but that they agreed on how to move forward given their own political hostilities.
While the U.S. sorts out its domestic issues, the world is not ending. It’s changing.