What causes wars? I have often wanted to make a list of all the wars that have taken place, but it probably would be impossible. It might even be an infinite list because there would be no end. Looking at history there are several wars that lasted hundreds of years, and there were some that were short. The problem with a long war, might be the fact that you forget what you were fighting about.
The war I wish to talk about is called, “The 100 hours War.” It took place in 1969 between Honduras and El Salvador, and lasted just a matter of days, but left over 2,000 dead, and the countries devastated. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. For decades the countries seemed to have a strange relationship, but they got along.
Honduras has a much thicker population than El Salvador, and El Salvador is mostly farms. For decades Hondurans had gone to El Salvador to farm, and it seemed to benefit both countries. That is until one day in June, of 1969, when they went to war. What caused the war? Honduras had “dishonored,” El Salvador. It was simply a matter of national pride, and was caused by a national official.
The farmers went home, and told stories of atrocities inflicted on them by El Salvador. The country’s broke diplomatic relations, and within a month war was declared. 5 days later 2000 had been killed. Each country had an army of approximately 5,000 soldiers. Honduran planes had damaged El Salvador’s industry and Salvadorian troops were 25 miles inside Honduras.
What was this mysterious event, the national dishonor suffered by El Salvador. El Salvador is seriously overpopulated with 485 people per square mile and Honduras has only 70 people per square mile. Honduras is the poorest Central American country, and the land in El Salvador is quite rich, so the arrangement for farming had worked out for decades. Everything was great until June of 1969.
Then who was the official that caused the War. It was not a government official, it was an athletic official. Two Nations that had lived in peace were suddenly killing each other, over a game. Two Nations that had had an open border, were suddenly at War. The cause of the war was an athletic event, a football game. (Soccer.) A disputed score in a soccer game. Just a game.
We sympathize with the people of Ukraine that are losing their country. It’s hard to imagine living without electricity, in the cold winter. The thing that wears on you is that you don’t know how long the war is going to last. We know that war finally ends, we just don’t know when. The only thing we can do is pray but that doesn’t seem to help. God is in control and he will take care of the situation.
Mark 13:18 Pray that your flight be not in winter.
—James Neuhouser
