Just two days ago on the sixteenth day of February 2017, it was dusk as I left office and was on my way home when the news app on my mobile phone popped up a notification which made this darkest phase of twilight even darker. Yet another news update which filled me with the same anger, aghast, damnation and a feeling of helplessness as it has done for umpteen times in the past.
A suicide bomber blew himself up after hurling a hand grenade at a peaceful crowd gathered at the shrine to Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, a town in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, Thursday, killing around 100 and leaving another 250 wounded. It being a Thursday, which is considered a sacred day for Muslims to pray there, the shrine, one of the country’s oldest, was packed with devotees and thus, it is being considered as one of the deadliest terror attacks claimed by the IS and other militant groups recently. As told by witnesses, the worshippers were performing a sacred dance when the attacker blew himself up after throwing a grenade. And then, there was chaos, panic and devastation with bodies lying all around in a pool of blood. Such attacks are not just physical, the pain of the mental wounds which the victims suffer from for years to come is hard to even imagine, let alone bearing it.
An injured Pakistani blast victim is treated at a local hospital after a bomb explosion in the shrine of 13th century Muslim Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in the town of Sehwan in Sindh province, some 200 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital Karachi on February 16, 2017. A bomb ripped through a crowded Sufi shrine in Pakistan on February 16, killing up to 35 people and wounding 60, officials said, the deadliest in a series of attacks to strike the insurgency-wracked country this week. A bomb ripped through a crowded Sufi shrine in Pakistan February 16, killing up to 35 people and wounding 60, officials said, the deadliest in a series of attacks to strike the insurgency-wracked country this week. / AFP PHOTO / STR
It was not really the first time that these perpetrators of cynical violence carried out such an inhumane act, but it just reminded me once again of the huge skewness in the stance taken and variance in the expression of condemnation and sensitivity shown by people at large when such attacks are carried out in Muslim majority nations as compared to when the West and other non-Muslim nations suffer from such atrocities. By far the majority of sufferers of terrorist attacks over past two decades has been Muslims killed by Muslims. I still remember the worldwide outrage shown over social media after the November 2015 Paris attacks. I hardly remember a single Facebook friend whose profile picture didn’t change to that translucent French flag signifying their support for the Parisian attack victims. But, I don’t remember many who might have condemned with the same earnestness, the attacks in Peshawar, the atrocities of Boko Haram in Africa, the ruthless and mindless battle going on in Syria and Iraq and many such attacks which do not get the hype and media attention, especially of the West. It is just like taking such people for granted and having a view that they are destined to live and die this miserably.
The point I want to make here is to those who take no time in linking any or every terror attack to a specific religion and giving it the same colour. There have been numerous cases where even the motive of such attacks never becomes clear. Can one really and logically not infer what a living hell such places would be for the natives where such demons, such monsters display this naked dance of terror every single day? I, being an atheist, am not writing this to support or oppose, praise or condemn one religion or the other. It is only a way to express my anguish over and condemn the loss of the most important and gifted resource in this world- THE HUMAN LIFE. Carrying out such acts can achieve nothing except inflicting mortal wounds on the biggest religion- HUMANITY. It is high time that all of us come together to condemn and fight against every such act of state-sponsored violence and conflict over political command. These radicals, these hardliners neither do nor can ever represent any religious majority. They are rather a digression from pure religious values.
This very incident pained my heart just like every such atrocity, which has resulted in the loss of human life, has. But it made me remember and share below something that I wrote to express my heartache when the 2014 Peshawar school massacre took place. The inspiration to write this poem came when I saw the first cut of a short film made on this incident which was directed by one of my best friends. It was dedicated to those 141 innocents who became the sufferers of purposeless cruelty of some monsters at Army Public School in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar. Please try to read it from the perspective of an eight-nine year old innocent boy who, on the occasion of his birthday, here tries to narrate that heinous act of terror.
THE MORNING OF MOURNING
I remember that morning when Ammi woke me up and laid her head on my chest,
That moment of unconditional love put all my fears and inhibitions to a rest.
Couldn’t have asked for anything better than a sweet kiss on my forehead,
Only that could provide me a ray of hope, in this land of the living dead.
–
After rounds of cuddling and pampering she got me ready for school,
And the whiff of special delicacies had started making me drool.
While saying prayers she promised me to keep all problems at bay,
The reason for this overflowing love was that it was my birthday.
–
While she was busy in preparing the dishes,
I took this opportunity to put forth my wishes.
Asked her for toys, candies and a lovely jacket with a hood,
Not realizing that she might have arranged the best she could.
–
Escorting me to the bus, once again she kissed on my cheek,
Unaware that the chance of my coming back might be bleak.
Yes, this U-turn in my story might make us all frown,
It’s marked by an odious act which let the humanity down.
As me and thousands of others offered morning prayers to the almighty,
The moment got overshadowed by angst, fear, screams and anxiety.
A place that dwells ideas and shows the society a mirror,
Witnessed what could be said as the deadliest act of terror.
They appeared like demons with only destruction in their mind,
Showing up their horrifying faces and posing a threat to mankind.
Be them kids, teachers or staff, they just didn’t discriminate,
As widespread bloodshed for them is the only means to elate.
–
I didn’t know what really is like life’s dead end,
Until I saw those bullets entering inside my best friend.
Screams so loud that I could barely hear mine,
Out of nowhere I heard a voice saying, “Son, you’ll be fine”.
Ammi always tells me that ‘Good always happens to good’,
How could I be killed then before even tasting that yummy food?
They say that God resides in every child’s heart,
How could these monsters then make its working thwart?
–
Just when she was waiting for me to come,
She came to hear about this news so gruesome.
Manifold more than the pain felt in labour,
Was her grief when she heard of this massacre.
Drowned in rivers of sweat and cold as a stone,
She froze where she stood and began to mourn.
Just the thought that her only son has been killed in cold blood,
Made her feel like her heart is being drilled with a spud.
–
Suddenly came a knock on the door and she anticipated her worst fear,
Unable to move her feet and drenched in a pool of tears.
Gathering courage she opened the door and got absolutely torn,
When she was asked to join others, on the day to mass mourn.
I just want to tell Ammi up here from heaven,
That I feel much better in Allah’s peaceful haven.
What threat did I pose to them who made me receive their wanton aggression?
When you come up here Ammi, please answer my innocent question.
Mohak Chaudhary
-19.02.2017
The Screaming Introvert 