I would like to address the issue of violance and how we can avoid it as a society in London since there are many different types of conflicts taking place around the world which could be resolved by the simple but affective act of forgivness. I would like all of you to make 2017 full of forgiveness.

Peace begins with forgiveness because nothing can be peaceful until you resolve all your problems and forgive people for what they did in the past, this is the only way that you can move forward. To be peaceful you'll have to forget all the problems from your past and think about the future and present so that you don't make any unnecessary enemies and problems that could be avoided by just forgiving and forgetting. When you don't forgive and forget you only make hatred and this can easily lead to violence and war which is the opposite of peace. When you don't forgive someone the hatred just keeps growing and it could become serious but if you forgive someone you will be the better person and you will feel calm instead of letting the hatred grow inside you.

When you forgive someone you remove many obstacles from your path so you also make your life easier. To be peaceful you need to remove hatred and this can be done by forgiving and forgetting. When you forgive someone you take a burden off your shoulders so you feel happier but when you don't forgive someone and keep the hatred inside you, you will feel depressed and you won’t feel peaceful. When you don't forgive someone it also leads to revenge; revenge only makes the hatred bigger and it makes it harder to forgive and forget.

Forgiveness also helps a person relax more because they have less problems and issues on their mind but when you don't forgive the problems, the hatred builds up and this could lead to depression, violence, hatred and even war in serious cases. Many wars start with little issues that aren't forgiven and resolved and in the end inocent people only lose their lives.

I asked Khadijah who is a resident from the London borough of Walthamstow about her opinions of peace and forgivness and she stated, “I think that peace can only be found through forgivness since you are less regretful and more satisfied with your actions.”

In conclusion without forgiveness there would be no peace only violence, hatred, depression and even war that could’ve easily been avoided and resolved. When you don't forgive people things only get worse and leads to revenge and this just makes both of them as bad as each other. Revenge doesn't resolve anything instead it builds up the hatred and decreases the chances of forgiveness. You should forgive, not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace.

Aishah Qureshi, Walthamstow Academy