by Gentille from the Democratic Republic of Congo
For about four months I’ve been thinking about this worldmap – many questions have arisen in my head since I saw the drawing of my friend Hannah from India. I saw the worldmap, and I wondered how I felt about the world. And why I think like that about the world, and not different.
I developed these questions and shared them with international volunteers. And today I share these questions with you and ask you if you agree with me that this drawing by my friend Hannah offers a new perspective on the world? I appreciate your answers in the comments.
Question 1:
Where do you live? Where is your home?
Question 2:
What do you think when you see the worldmap?
Why is this wrong? Why is this right?
Question 3:
If you see this worldmap, where would you like to live? Up or down?
Question 4:
Can you imagine a world without national borders? What do you think when you imagine a world without borders?
Question 5:
What dream do you have of the world? What changes do you want to see in the world?
1) I live in Germany and my home is in Cameroon.
2) when I look at the map, I think that it is upside down. It is wrong because that wasn’t the way God created it.
3) I would like to live up.
4) A world without national boarders will enable people who wish to travel from nations to nations to do so without or with limited restrictions.
5) The dream I have for the world is that of a godly mindset. People who love God and work for a common interest. The change I would like to see is a better society with less crimes and immorality.
What makes you believe that God created the world with Europe on the top?
I think it’s interesting, because essentially the Earth is floating in space which has no ups and downs and no real directions.
1: From & live in Egypt. Home not yet found as it requires a sense of belonging.
2: Diversity. Too different yet distinctly alike. There is no right or wrong. You percieve situations how you see fit; right or wrong.
3: Maybe up cause its far less troublesome. More opportunities for new generations.
4: Sadly I can’t. Seems impossible. Most have grown too attached to their borders that they won’t agree to let go of.
Chaos.
5: Become more accepting about our differences; races, ethnicities and religions. To have less violence and wars and more peace. Less politics. Less external intrusion by countries in the affairs of others. Less poverty, crime & more opportunities.
1. I live inTiruchirappalli, tamilnadu, south of India and this is my home as well.
2. When I see the map I feel like standing upside down. This is because I was looking at the map other way since I was a kid and now my mind doesn’t accept it easily. it takes more time to get used to it. I don’t think that it is wrong or correct as I never felt that I was living under or above. I did not felt the need to think very much about it. And now after seeing this map, I don’t immediately feel like I’m living upside. I don’t feel like a victim of the propaganda.
3. Seeing this map, it feels like I don’t care that if I live up or down or left or right. It is all the same for me until I live on the earth’s surface. I just like the idea of different perspective but I don’t think it changes my idea of just living in a country which has a good governmental system, with good social security and with good business opportunities, no matter where it is situated in the map.
4. It is easy for me to imagine a world without international boundaries. It would be much easier to travel and would help much with economical situations. But I don’t see any other big difference until there are domestic borders. Certainly we need borders and boundaries to denote a place or a location, hence we will need domestic boundaries, hence we will still have borders maybe not as a physical thing but as a state of mind until people look differently accordingly to the place they live, they will again group together and there could be war due to disagreements and only this time this will be called as Earth’s Civil war instead of World War III. But since we have borders, we can govern ourselves more focused and accept our similarities and differences and make peace with it. Yes, this is fragile, but when everyone is aware of the consequences, the peace can be prolonged until the inevitable.
5. My dream of this world is, everyone who is born, should live a happy and content life without troubling others and nature for their own personal gain. The balance between rich and poor should be equalled and the young generation should be planted with the idea that money is not happiness, being rich is not proportionate to success, life is not a competition, just do what you love.
1. I’m from Sri Lanka and live in Colombo.
2. When I saw the world map on this post I figured that it was upside down but when when I turned the map I saw an image of an elephant like in a modern art form which made me think how beautifully strong we all could get if we all get together as one form.
3. I would like to live in my country which is not even been marked this map of drawing but its below India.
4. A world without would be like a dream come true but I think it should be our vision as young people in this world and open gates for the future generations.
5. A world with peace and good education system for every citizen.
1. I live in Cameroon and my hometown is in Cameroon. But I am a citizen of the world.
2. Well, the world seems upside-down, based on the education I have received since childhood showing the map differently.
So it’s a wrong map because my geography teachers have always depicted the world differently.
But it could have been right also if this was the image put across for centuries.
3. Frankly speaking, I would live anywhere in the world.
4. Yes, as I said, I am a world citizen. For me, borders are man-made, so artificial. A bordeless world might be a good path towards a better understanding between people and more acceptance, provided some rules are set beforehand.
5. My dream is to see people more open to others, more tolerant in their relationships, and less arrogant. Applying the message from the Gospel (and other religions), if we see others are our neighbor or as ourselves, we can build a better world right from where we live.