Conflict, Inequality, Insecurity and Natural Disasters - Realities of 2016

Spring is neigh, yet the deathly reminders of a withered winter are obvious in the brown and parched trees of the temperate zone areas, in the humanitarian tragedy of war deaths and injuries in war zones and in the likelihood of full blown war again in Syria and in Ukraine and elsewhere.

The soon to be floral stems, yet still dry branches of deciduous plant life, appear as an omen of both the good and the bad in terms of the stark reality facing humanity: peace or war; equality or insecurity; division or unity - all under the umbrella and at the mercy of acts of nature.

While green prospects of Spring would appear to augur well for peace and for the good; bitter reminders of winter's cold and dampness of migrant filled fields of Europe, to the reality of Russian intervention and death in the Levant, to the harshness and divisiveness of political campaigning rhetoric in America, to the rise of right wing anarchists in Europe - all represent impediments to civil and cooperative relations, while offering strife and violence as alternatives.

But the history of 2016 in still unwritten and humankind has time at hand to ensure a progressive, peaceful and developmental year in spite of the possibilities of conflict, inequality, insecurity and natural disasters.