A Frustrated Writer Requests For Peace

The year 2015 has brought about a new surge of hate in today's world. Switching on any news channel or social media website, you are bound to see some anti anyone(whether it be Christians, Muslims, Jews, Blacks, Whites, etc) posts or news. This kind of energy makes you wonder about the human race. Have we learnt anything from our past? Have we even progressed in the centuries we have been on this Earth? Or are we in the same primitive place we were during those years of hate, of greed, of lack of education? Normally, I would be positive and say we have left those primitive ideas behind and are now united. But recent events have made me realise that we are still full of hate and prejudice. Our biggest issue is that we are selfish. Lives don't matter to us, not unless someone close to us has passed away. It doesn't matter what colour we are, what religion we are or where are from, most humans are all the same: full of hate and prejudice.

Is it too much to ask everyone to live peacefully, and counter today's problems with peace and love rather than hate and anger? Yes, terrorist groups are a problem, but so is poverty, so is racism, so is corruption, so is cancer and Ebola, so is war on innocents all over the world. The government and media take advantage of our hate, pinning us against each other. And instead of being logical, wise and accepting, we seem to fall into their trap. The organisations which are the cause of today's problems will only continue to benefit and cause more problems for the rest of us if we continue this way. We need to get over our selfish selves, and care about humankind as a whole. If we don't, then the problems of terrorism, corruption, poverty, diseases, racism and many more will never end. If humans continue the way we are currently, then one day there will be a third world war and we all will be dead. Honesty, it seems like there are small third world wars going on everyday in various parts of the globe.

This is too much negativity for one post, but it's mainly because as a citizen of this world, I'm frustrated. Who wouldn't be? Every time you open the computer or the television, so and so number of people have died in some country due to racism, terrorism, or whatever issue. Where are you supposed to go to escape this hate ridden world? We need to conquer today's problems, stop hating and spread peace. Yes, there are many people in the world today who preach peace and are not as hateful as I'm making humans out to be. But there isn't enough of them. If there was enough, then we would not be in the mess we are in currently. There would be no racism, no prejudice, no terrorism, no Ebola, no wars, etc. So I appeal to the human race, I appeal to you to forget yourselves for one moment, to let go of your hate and to unite. Be united so that you can counter today's issues. Do something nice for the person you hold prejudices against. Give a gift to someone you dislike at school or work. It's quite simple, just be peaceful and loving.

The world loves to celebrate Valentines Day, well now is the time to make all of humankind your Valentine. Spread love, not hate. Spread love to save humanity, to save each other. It does not matter if you are Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Sikh, Christian, Atheist, black, white, brown, yellow, red or whatever other difference you can think of. Everyone is a human, everyone lives in this beautiful world, everyone should love and care for one another. Because if we don't, then we are not only destroying this world, but are also killing ourselves.

Stop being selfish and hateful, be loving, kind and peaceful. Be peaceful to save yourself, to save ourselves. Be loving to save all of humankind.

A Different Kind Of Snow Day

It falls,

gently, 

As light as the air itself

Guided by the wind

it falls,

Falls until it decorates the ground.

Settling patiently,

Hardening as quantity increases,

Those picturesque flakes,

Paint the earth white,

until the pure beauty is embellished overnight.

The sun rises,

the earth is silent,

Still,

Then the first crunch is heard,

the first slip occurs

Those flakes strike fear,

those flakes call for caution,

Passing through the colourless park,

One only feels their tranquility,

The fresh snow has taken over,

Pale serenity is evident,

Covered in snow, they stand tall;

Trees with their bare branches scratching the wind,

The snow has control,

But

the bare pathway goes on

December 16th 2014: The attack on APS Peshawar

Blinding sirens rang,

Hearts wept

The world was still,

Eyes wide

fingers shaking

Watching,

Peshawar burned,

while those monsters laughed,

Mothers, fathers broken,

their angels departed

their strength shattered,

their world destroyed,

All was black,

The blood of 141 coloured,

Fear struck

shock and dismay attacked,

Pakistan's future burned,

The inhuman rejoiced.

We watched,

Our hearts broken

Our laughter killed,

Our children stolen,

We had failed,

And our failure was black

The battle between Serenity and Violence

Stepping out, many things are visible:

the sky, a gorgeous azure,

The clouds floating gracefully,

like candy floss, tickling each other,

The wind blows through you,

pushing you behind

The pavement rough, uneven

footsteps sinking in the holes below,

The cars whiz by, their tires screeching,

the silence of the land and air is broken

the delicacy of nature is broken

by the harshness of creation

Walking forwards, the sun peeks in,

its rays decorating the verdant leaves,

The wind takes over once more,

brushing pollution aside,

the green grass of Victoria

dancing to the beat,

Serenity

Violence

They battle,

A battle that never ends

A Letter To The World

On Tuesday, 16th December 2014, an inhuman incident took place on the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. Terrorists from an organisation called Taliban attacked a school, murdering 141 innocent people. 132 of these individuals were harmless children. Throughout the day, the Pakistani army fought tirelessly against the terrorists, finally succeeding in defeating them as night fell.

As a Pakistani, this was a day of great tragedy and sorrow. I woke up to the news of the attack, and my heart fell as I switched on the television. It was chaotically painful. I was not alone, Pakistanis all over the world were just as dumbfounded, just as sorrowful as I was. To us, it seemed that the children who were being killed were ours, that the future of Pakistan was dying. To us, it felt as if our children, our brothers and sisters were being murdered in front of our eyes. There are no words to describe what happened in Peshawar, there are no words to portray our sorrow, our pain. All I can say is that there are some events which unite people; sometimes these events are pleasant, sometimes they are tragic. The December 16th attack was one of the tragic events that united Pakistan in standing together against this barbaric act, in standing together with our children.

Here begins my letter to the world:

The terrorists who committed this inhuman act today are not Muslims. The terrorists who are killing in Syria, in Afghanistan, in a lot of other countries are also not Muslims. They do not represent Islam, and they most certainly do not follow it. Islam is a religion of peace, it condemns the killing of any innocents whether they be Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu or of any other religion. Islam also does not allow the killing of the elderly, women and children. A verse in the the Quran states that whoever kills a single human being, it will be as if they are killing all of mankind, and whoever saves a human, it will be as though they are saving all of mankind. 

Dear World, the extremist organisations such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban and many more have distorted the teachings of Islam to fit their own propaganda. They are using my religion, the same religion of 1.6 billion Muslims around the world to conduct inhuman and unjust acts. The 1.6 billion Muslims ask only one thing of you: please do not believe the lies the terrorists are feeding you. Please do not hate us because we are Muslim; because we are from a Muslim country, because our religion is different to the one you follow. Please do not judge all Muslims simply because a group of people who say they are Muslim are killing innocents everyday. We, like you do not want these killings to continue, we like you want to defeat these extremists who are ruining lives all around the world. 

Dear World, a Muslim conducts their lives just as you do. We wake up, go to school or work, we come back home, spend time with our family and then sleep. Yes, during the day we do pray five times a day, we read the Quran, some of us wear the hijab, some of us wear religious attire. But what I want to ask is that, don't Jews or Christians indulge in their religious practices? Why then, are we targeted, why is every terrorist attack blamed on us, why are we called terrorists wherever we go? I ask you: how can a small group of violent people represent the Muslims all around the world?

Dear World, we want peace, we want to help others. We donate to charities, we help orphans, we help the disabled, we help the injured, we are just as humanitarian as people from the other faiths . Yes, there are immoral people who follow the same religion as us, but there are followers of other religions who also lack morality. If they can be ignored whilst the pious are highlighted, then why can't the same be done for us?

In light of the attack in Peshawar and the siege in Sydney, I would like to tell the world one thing. Muslims do not want this, we do not want the destruction of innocent lives. All we want is peace. Dear World, peace can be achieved if we unite against this threat, this menace which can ruin us all. We saw this unity in Sydney and India, who stood up alongside Muslims, who see us as terrorized rather than terrorist, who stand united with us against the brutal terrorists. Dear Sydney and India, you restored our faith in humanity on two days where we had lost that faith. Thank you for protecting us Sydney, thank you for standing with us India. Those who defended Muslims in Australia with the #IllRideWithYou have shown us that we are not alone, that the world stands united against these wrongdoers, and that we do not need to be afraid of practicing Islam because there are many out there who will always protect us. Those in India, who treated Pakistan's greatest tragedy as their own with the #IndiaWithPakistan have warmed our weeping hearts, as we saw two rival countries become one when faced with the great sorrow of 132 children being killed. For that, India and Sydney I would like to thank you on behalf of the Muslims worldwide. You have shown us that we are not alone and even when it may seem that all is lost, there is always a ray of hope. I thank you for your support; you have restored my faith in humanity on two very dark days, you have shown us that we are united to attain a better future. In return, I promise that I will stand with you, just as you stood with us. And to the rest of the world, I hope you may stand with us too, because after all unity is all we need.

Rainbow

The thunder rumbled. Outside the sky was as black as coal, the clouds hung low; dark and foreboding. The warm morning breeze had become icy wind, howling for all its worth. The houses on top of the hill had disappeared. Then it started to fall, heavy blocks of ice, crashing down on the ground. Although they were tiny ice droplets, they made torrential noise. Then, rain fell, beating down on the ground. Minutes later, colours enveloped the sky. Blue, green, yellow, violet, red and orange fired out of the ice droplets, painting the earth until all was bright again.

Being at home makes everything beautiful

Stepping outside, the bright yellow light shone on her. It kept her warm, it was comforting. She swung open the coal black gate, her fingers resting on the lock for a moment. The air was dusty, polluted and dirty yet she took it in, walking on the uneven grey road. The trees were a deep, lush green; their leaves floating gently in the wind. Red flowers bent down as the gust blew harder.

She stepped into the car, directing the driver to her destination. As the journey ventured on, she gazed out the car window. Other cars rushed by her's; some honking, some screeching, some releasing a dark cloud into the air. They were all bright in some way or another despite the fact that they were covered in dust.

The busy roads were still gentle to her, which was a thing only those who lived there would understand. They stopped at a traffic light, and she quickly averted her eyes from the window as lines of beggars appeared. One; an old woman with deep sunken eyes came up to her car. She knocked on the window, her eyes saying more than her mouth did. Shadows of tear stains were visible among her dark circles and wrinkles, her face weak and fragile. In her arms she held an infant; a dark, malnourished boy with dry skin which thirsted for a drop of water. Her heart melting, the girl lowered her window and slipped a twenty rupee note into the women's lifeless fingers.

The light turned green and she left the woman behind. Passing by the huge red school, she saw the country's green and white flag raised in the air, fluttering freely in the wind. She smiled when she saw it, watching the colours come alive in the people around her. Warm skinned individuals roamed the streets. going about doing their usual errands. The wondrous thing about them was that despite the colours they wore, they were all bright; shining, full of joy. Some were frowning, some had their eyebrows scrunched up, but in all of them there was a happiness which she had never seen before. Maybe it was because they were all at home.