THE images are stark and troubling: hundreds of people lying around on the ground, flailing and panting for breath like beached amphibians.

But the one that perhaps struck a chord the most is the one with the half-naked little boy of no more than three or five, chest heaving, as he fought for his dear life. The scene is the aftermath of last Tuesday’s deadly air strike on Khan Sheikhoun in north-western Syria, which left at least 84 civilians dead, among them 27 children and 19 women, and another 546 injured.

As UN humanitarian adviser, Mr Jan Egeland told reporters in Geneva on Thursday, it’s a sight that he and his colleagues have had to live with every day, and that he hopes world leaders will finally see it as a wake-up call to action. “I hope that this is a watershed moment,” he said, adding: “With all of these world leaders again saying they have woken up to the suffering of civilians that we see every day, I hope it is a re-birth of diplomacy, and of humanitarian and political efforts.” The United States responded on Thursday, firing at least 59 cruise missiles, targeting an airfield, which many believe was the launching base of the Syrian army for its chemical weapons last week.

From all accounts, as confirmed by the medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), each of the casualties to date showed signs of having been exposed to the deadly nerve gas, Sarin, used in chemical warfare and widely considered to be a weapon of mass destruction. According to medical sources, Sarin can be lethal, even at very low concentrations, with death occurring within one to 10 minutes of direct inhalation. And even with immediate medical attention, the prognosis is not heartening, as chances are, they may have already suffered permanent neurological damage.

Some here may very well say, “But that’s in Syria, thousands of miles away! What on earth does it have to do with us here in Guyana?”

Good question. But again to quote Egeland, it’s the price we pay for war, if something is not done to arrive at a speedy political solution. Which brings us to the situation here in Guyana, where for centuries we’ve been grappling with two border controversies, one to our left and the other to our right; and where, in spite of every effort to arrive at an amicable solution for the past 25-odd years, they still won’t go away. Add to this the steady rise of despots to political office these days, there’s no telling what can happen. What with the prospect of “liquid gold” on the horizon and the chain of events, born of greed, that can occasion.

Again, who would have thought that relatively safe Guyana would have fallen prey to climate change, as happened back in 2005, when almost the entire East Coast was so inundated by unprecedented levels of floodwater that for weeks, residents had to get around by boat, and leptospirosis became the new buzzword due to stagnation. Again, who would have thought also that relatively safe Trinidad & Tobago would have had known links to the terrorist organisation, ISIS; as many as 150 or thereabout, according to recent media reports.

And the short answer is: times are changing; what once was no longer is, and the things one once took for granted are no longer certain. But as Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC) colleagues of old, and even the great Mahatma have taught us, there’s no better way of resolving conflict than through peace and dialogue. And a peace born of meaningful dialogue is just what Guyana needs at this point in time when there’s so much at stake. We’ve seen what war can do; there’s no point in fanning the flames.