ERA 911. When darkness spreads over the world.
submitted 1 month 29 days 22 hours ago by: docmood : 43 comments
Original Article is at http://www.pristinepakistan.com/component/option,com_agora/Itemid,41/tas...
When I saw the second plane hit the twin towers and then moments later a whole barrage of offensive garbage started spewing from the world media about Islamic terrorists, I knew that this was a new, dark, era in the history of humanity. The leaders of nations have a lot to answer for and it is obvious to MILLIONS of people around the world that the power hungry, greedy power brokers in these countries around the world organise and orchestrate these types of attacks to further their own strategies.
They no longer care if their own people die...in fact the more that die the better a news story it makes and the higher the chances that their objective to spread further violence and intolerance amongst the masses will succeed.
The unfortunate truth is that ordinary people who are just spectators in all of this, have become the silent majority and feel powerless to do anything about it whilst the few rich and powerful world players (of whatever creed) toy with the lives of billions. The CIA, Al-Qaeda, ISI, RAW, Mosad and all those agencies that carry out the commands of those in power are being played off one against the other with the result being the world as it is today. They are all funded from the same sources and supplied with intel and strategy from the same sources. They are armed with weapons from the same sources and are given objectives from the same sources. There IS NO Islamic terrorism ... only terrorism and the perpetrators of this terror are the greedy and vicious world leaders, power brokers, global corporations and their ilk who have sold their souls for power and money.
It is easy to find disillusioned and impressionable people in broken and war torn countries who can easily be brainwashed into fighting for a cause that THEY think is good if you supply the right resources and pressure. This is what is happening right now in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, many African countries and many other 3rd world countries. A breeding ground is being maintained so that a ready factory of suicide bombers and fanatics to a cause are available for the NEXT 9/11 or 7/7 or 9/21. There will be many more in this era.
Mark my words, these same greedy people will find that the monster that they have created will be the end of them since greed knows no bounds and it is only a matter of time before they themselves become each others targets.
It is unfortunate that in the meantime ordinary people are losing their lives and the terror that they are causing worldwide is grinding average Joe down to the level of a fearful, distrusting, xenophobic animal who is ready to blame anyone who is different from him for the problems that he faces in his daily life. This Joe, exists in every country in every part of the world, in every household and it is only by taming this xenophobic animal within all of us that we can spread the message of peace and love to those around us and thereby fight the effects of this terror. We, Americans, Europeans, Africans, Orientals, Asians - Christians, Muslims or otherwise, must understand that every people are subjected to trials that make them question themselves and that if they hold on to the best within themselves and show patience and understanding and kindness to their fellow human beings, it will strengthen their resolve and enable them to see the truth for what it really is and will cease to be misled.
My message to everyone is to show patience and kindness to ALL around you and to think before you say something that might offend and to not allow yourself to become an agent of terror in this war as we are all human and we all have the same weaknesses. Kindness begets kindness, tolerance begets tolerance...our children will learn from us...what is it that we are teaching them?
Comments
Darkness in the heart and mind is what nurtures all. This is the night time. It is not going to get better but worse. Each attack that follows has to be bigger than the one before it. I wish power was something like a bag of sweets that you could hand ova to all these power hungry lobbies and tell them to leave us alone and let live in peace for the few days that are left to live through. It is not going to stop. The recipe for disaster has been prepared.
How should you tell a kid that each pakhtun is not a Taliban and that each American is not a murderer when each day goes onto plunge him into a world of information that says otherwise? How to show light? This is the hardest tasks of all indeed.
Becoming a powerkeg was neva a solution and isn't now more so because there are no limits to how far men can fall in their power lust and followers can go in their ignorance. More and more ppl still go on to see this as the only reaction and solution to a violent world. Not education but the kind of education that you are getting is what makes the difference.
To acclimatize to this gruesome and convoluted era, we need more and more opportunities of interaction, exchange and tolerance amid ppl of different nationalities and faith. Relationships building has to be relearnt. I hope ppl learn to accept each other and an atmosphere of tolerance develops among all and just imagine at the same time that the countdown of humanity has begun.
Good point Iola. Interaction between communities and countries is decreasing tho. I've seen in many countries that communities are retracting into themselves and their own kind be they white black brown or purple!! This is a phenomenon of mankinds weakness where they feel that their views won't be shared by others or worse still they will be rejected because of their views so they choose to protect their sensitivites by not sharing at all and this just becomes a vicious circle as more and more distance appears between the communities.
How do you get these commuities to re-integrate?
If only more people thought like you do!
Many do but we are all fools. We do not know how to group together and become a force to reckon with in the world. We should have a voice that ppl are forced to hear. This shall be our ultimate failing. We preach tolerance and know not how to spread it. We talk against terrorism but know not how to use the weapon of peace ourselves to evade all that is following. We keep tolerating and putting up with everything. I have started hating this more than terrorism itself. We remain weak despite our enlighted educations. Who should become the beacon? I keep wondering. One day I might just come out of this shadow of anonymity and do something. I know there will be ppl who will stand with me then. I wish I would come to that point quick. :)
Yeah I am living in a fool's paradise. I am.
Way to go..positive mental attitude...I like that!!! ;-)
(yeah i know, i'm being sarcastic! )
Didn't show :p
You had to say it to make it sarcastic. :)
It's about attitudes and our response to those attitudes.
At my work place we employ young kids of employees (and from the community) as summer interns. In the past few years I have received several 18 or 20 year old interns in my department and have been entrusted with the duty of training these individuals. Unlike other department heads who let these kids do as they please I try to actually use the opportunity to interact with them, train them and try to inculcate real values and work ethics in them. So far it has been a very rewarding endeavour and two kids especially come to mind. One was a (hate to use the term) white boy hailing from an area that is traditionally considered very racist. His parting remarks at the end of his internship were
"Man, I tell you when my brother told me that I was going to be working with a couple of Arabs (even though his brother had told him that we were Pakistani's) I told him that I did not want to go but he forced me to. I thougt that my summer was ruined and that I was going to be stuck with stupid immigrants. But I tell you what, you guys are some of the coolest dudes I have ever met"
The other was a Jew and hailed from a family that had strong ties to Israel, in fact the boy had been visiting Israel almost every year. He used to love discussing religion, talking about the Middle East, etc and had a very strong belief that it was the Jews who were being wronged . Near the end of his internship he was sharing the prayer room at work with me and would in fact follow me into the room at every prayer time (Zuhr, Asr) and say his Jewish prayers silently as I prayed in the traditional Muslim way.
He kept in touch with me over the next 3 or 4 years and would frequently ask me to come talk to his Jew classmates (He was studying at a pretigious Jewish school)
His parting words were to the effect, "I thought I knew what the muslims believed and who they were, but never knew that they could be witty, smart, broad minded and informed"
'broad minded, informed', that was the key. I have overcome my prejudices or so I like to think and keep myself informed about other religions, ethnicities, what they find abhorrent, what they like, etc. Once you show respect and understanding of their beliefs and let them see your perspective in a new light they invariably develop a similar respect and understand of who you are and come to see you as a real human.
I even took the opportunity created by hurricane Ike to visit my neighbours, help them put up trees, fences and ask them if I could assist them in any way. From their immediate response and subsequent waves and smiles, I do believe that a little effort on my part went a long way towards making those people view 'my type' as more human
You are very right. That is the way to go. To influence the circle around us.
I am actually too taken aback by the blast yesterday to be able to think positively about anything.
KKT, beautiful!!! I must say tho, you have in your response acknowledged the fact that you had to work at it to be viewed as "more human" in western societies and to overcome existing prejudiced views even in young people.
Should it be expected from the western communities that they treat us as human just because we are and not because we try harder to be ? Don't get me wrong, I also believe that we should work hard at setting a good example so that these age old prejudices (and some new prejudices) can be overcome but where do the young people of today get their views from...their elders of course. Have you come across a way of breaking down those barriers?
I had a business partner once whose father was closely linked to the freemasons. He and I got along very well before we decided to enter into business together but as soon as we did I could feel changes in him that were coming from his father and from his background through a series of expectations that his family had of him.His father often reffered to me in conversation as "our colonial friend" which I used to let pass but this was his view of things.
For a time i bent over backwards for him but in return for the kindness or tolerance i showed of him or his views, he took it as a weakness. In the end (two years later) I had to fire him which obviously was not a pleasant affair and he tried his utmost to take down the company with him..not giving a damn about the 55 employees we had whose future careers hung in the balance.
I'm sure the Americans are a much more open minded bunch than the British but I have always found that these deep seated views amongst the older population are very difficult to break down and I can find no reason for many of these views other than the fact that at one time they ruled as colonial powers and believe that they had a God given right to do so.
Would love to hear more of your experiences with the older generation.
Iola, I feel you...last night was just pure depression for me too and I felt ready to burst with emotion...thank God for the internet. I must have setup 10 blogs last night before I found Buzzvines which at least gave me a way to try to start expressing some of that emotion. I believe that the pen (or in this case the keyboard) IS more powerful than the sword (or jlashnikov or suicide vest etc) and it is only though enlightened discourse by and between communities that we can show the world who we are and what we believe without the propoganda getting in between.
WRITE...for all your worth!!! :) .... and let us know where you are writing so we can show support.
"Bend over backwards" that was the problem. There is no need to bend over backwards. Just be so well informed that you have the ability to make people see and conform to your point of view. It's about empowering yourself and not others. You should have taken on the father, told him that you took offence to being called colonial friend and then should have gone on to describe the crimes of colonial powers to explain why.
I feel terribly frustrated. On the other hand,one wonders that if the govt and intelligence agencies knew that there were three trunks that had entered the city for some terrorist activity, could they not have paid or hired more ppl to create security checks at different points and check each and every vehicle for that reason? Would the effort and the money invested so not have been worthwhile.
Today they showed the video of the incident and the poor security guards didn't know what to do, how to react. Innocent victims died as a price of the ideals of some ppl. We can do nothing. This is the feeling that I am left with. Just what they want I guess. Just a lil more time to take out all the anger, resentment and disappointment and I'll be fine. :)
hmmmm, confrontation...tried that too..some people just don't like being told that their world view is warped by historians to be factually incorrect. Darwinism is a prime example of this...Darwin spent his life compiling what he though were great works which were readily accepted by many. When questioned by the more informed he was reluctant to accept that his lifes work could have some very basic flaws...its another human characteristic...inability to accept that a major investment in something or some part of your life may have been "wrong"
Still, I know what you mean..there is hope that after the immediate confrontation both parties will go away and think rationally about what they may have learnt and possibly alter their perspectives sightly..and bit by bit the world will change.
I was having a discussion with a white christian american who repeatedly referred to Muslims as terrorists...apparently our beliefs are of that nature.
I had to ask him why all white christians weren't referred to as paedophiles.
If a terrorist claims he is muslim and you take that to mean that all muslims are terrorists then by the same formula you guys are all paedophiles and more so since it's your priests who are the perpetrators here not just an average christian.
He finally understood how his stance could be seen as offensive
This is one of the best post that I have read since joining Buzzvines. There is always a positive side to most darkest of situations and this post is my proof. Iola, we are all making a difference, positive or negative, at all times. In fact, all KKT, docmood and you have made difference to some 199 readers who have visited this post thus far.
KKT thanks for sharing your experience with those interns and docmood for sharing yours, good and bad experiences. I see all of us as salespersons. Each day we sell ourselves, our country and faith to audiences that we interact with. Without even realizing, we are representing, through our good manners and kindness, Pakistan and Muslims.
Perhaps this is the best (long term but affective) approach to our problems. We all should discover and polish a salesperson within ourselves i.e. when we interact with an outsider, to show that we are not as bad of people. And insiders, to inspire those 100million uneducated, underprivileged Pakistanis, who looks at us for a role models. I will be happy to see our domestic maids to be inspired by baigham sbs not just to copy their mascaras and lipstick but also be educated and build a better individuals.
Plant a tree
Thanks Babarzm. I appreciate your comments and I'm sure that Iola and KKT do also.
Seeking light in the darkest of times is something we should all learn to do and thats one of the reasons I thought long and hard before writing this article. At the time, just after the Marriot bombing I felt like screaming all kinds of insults at everyone who i thought might be involved in this...but the truth is that we don't know who was behind it and there really was no point in sinking down to that level .. it;s what these people want..for us to tear ourselves and the fabric of our society apart due to unresolved anger, desperation and frustrationand to turn away from our teachings in anger. Our best course of action is to further strengthen our resolve to find ways to relate to each other and set an excellent example for those around us.
Excellent buzz, guys - thought-provoking and bursting with energy, noble ideas & constructivism! couldn't agree more with all that's been said...lurrrv it! :)
Iola - do let me know when u decide to come out of the closet, per se, I will surely be one of your staunch front-liner supporters! ;)
Until then, I too am trying to decipher a way of effectively ending all this chaos, a way of polishing up and being a better example as the days progress and spreading more and more goodness with each passing day!
May we all advance from strength to strength! =o]
Ameen !!
and why is Iola living in a closet? rents haven't increased THAT much!
Did you hear about the security guard at the Marriot?
Apparently he managed to escape the blast and then afterwards he went back to help the survivors out of the hotel.
After working for several hours he was beat and was told to go home to his family.
On the way home he had an accident and was KILLED !!
Seems he wasn't destined to die at the hotel at that time but he was destined to die that night!
The worst part is that his family won't be entitled to the compensation since he didn't die in the blast!!
Eish - that's majorly hectic...shame for the fam...can only but imagine the whirlwind of emotions they must have been through that night!
Iola likes being in the closet - that's where her ammunition and WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) are, so she takes solace in there whilst pre-meditating the downfall of someone, then liases with 915 and voila - they execute it, init, Iola? ;)
Who is next in-line?
ROFL @HawaOmar!! Did YOU just say INNIT?
Yeah - it's Brit slang, short for isn't it =o]
doh!! Ya, I know, but we Brits frown upon it's usage!!! or is it cool again!?!?
ohh - i didn't know that (neither did i know u r a Brit!) - in this part of the world, it' s norm :-/ but my lingo is always evolving =o}
Guys keep me out. 915....... Next thing I know I got FBI at my door.. :)
It is very sad to see all that is happening around us. Everyday, there's
some sort of terrorist attack. People die. But I have always been very
concerned about the people who get wounded. They’re crippled for life. How much
compensation do you think they get to help them live in somewhat comfort for life? Specially Pakistan, not being a welfare state, there’s
no future for these people. Society condemns them. In situation like this, I
would rather be dead than being handicapped for the rest of my life. Have you
guys ever given a thought?
Apologies, Saira - neither did i mean that comment to be taken seriously nor was i making light of any terrorist attacks - was just teasing Iola's teasing abt her killing instincts and u being her 'partner in crime' - it was meant all in jest...
No amount of man's compensation can ever suffice, reach or be thought to surpass a gift of God - if I had lost my legs, arms, etc - i would give all the wealth i have amassed just to get that back!
Saira - I didn't know society condemns such misfortunate ppl - why? it is no fault of their making...or is it because society finds them to be a burden? :(
HawaOmar..... My comment was only a joke as well please do not take it seriously. I'm a bit serious joker at times. by the way, I would love to meet a FBI Officer though ;) I don't get offended easily.
Yeah Saira, there's a LOT about Pakistani society that sends shivers down my spine in terms of how a lot of people survive here with things the way they are. Most of the dead in the Marriot blast were drivers waiting for their affluent employers to finish with their aftaris or security guards and hotel staff, ALL of whom earn very little but take huge risks and usually support entire families on the pittance they earn. Last time I was there (a couple months back) I had a chat with one of the guards at the gate and he was obviously very stressed out about the risks they took and specifically mentioned that they put their lives at risk daily for a very low pay...but there was nothing else for them. It is very sad.
Yeah it is :(
Saira - i do not think any amount of compensation can ever suffice for such a loss...why does society look down upon the crippled? it's no fault of their doing...is it because they are viewed as burdens? sigh!
I must say this is the best post I ever read.
But all these beautifully written words for encouragement did not help me to overcome my frustation and depression. I feel like the bomb blast actually left 15 feet deep crater in my soul. The whole night passed in tears. It was not Marriott which was burning but my poor country. My unfortunate countrymen were at fire. Their and my dreams for the betterment of our beloved country were at fire. It seems to me like all hopes have been wiped out. There is no feeling left.
Have you seen that sweeper who was taking last breaths in his fellows’ hands? He had lost his arms. His colleagues were trying to keep him in consciousness. They all were crying over him but he was not responding. Have you heard the screams of a security guard’s daughter? She was kissing his father’s uniform madly. Have you noticed the people searching for their love ones? Have they ever thought of searching their love ones in dead bodies lying in the hospital? Their screeching haunts me at night. Do you think our words would console them? Do you think they would even listen us? How many of us could make the difference? All these consolations, all these words would have nothing to do when our own love ones die in such bomb blast (God forbidden). A bomb blast takes away not only lives but also our spirits. And how much time would it take to heal the up the wounds? These wounds could be healed soon but what about those scars which have been left on our souls? Nothing can cure them. How much blood this bloody war would take? What is the worth of a human life? Three lakh rupees…..ah
One bomb blast, more than 60 people were killed, the end result, numerous suicide bombers are ready to attack from these victims’ families.
It seems to me like I am waiting for my turn to de died in the next bomb blast. Oh hopelessness is getting over me. *sniff sniff*
& yet we find all sorts of reasons to justify these horrendous actions. Even TV anchors are openly blaming government and justifying Al-Qaida and Talibans. Such a shame.
Plant a tree
True Babar, but a society that breeds villians has to share some blame of their crimes.
All is not lost, however, Pakistan has been through a lot and we can with the help of God overcome this trial as well. It is our home, who will keep it in order if not us
It;s time to move beyond being concerned citizens and instead become active citizens
KKT! It is easy to say so while sitting outside the couontry. You dont know what's degree of resentment in masses.
oh I lost the correct spelling for my country with its meaning
Yes Sophisticated, that's why I am blaming the people living there for the state that it is in. I left it in good shape :)
Only difference between Pakistan of today and yesterday is that we have decided to contradict the devil within. Pakistan has decided to wash the dirty laundry of general Zia fascist 11 years. Change is always painful but reward will surely be far bigger.
Plant a tree
And I came to get it back into shape!!! ;-)
but i have so far been unsuccessful, Mush ran away just when he was needed most and now it seems we're left with YET ANOTHER INCOMPETENT leadership!
and Sophie dear, please don't cry, remember, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger !
Reminds me of George Carlin, by no means aimed at you doc :)
Here’s more middlebrow bullshit philosophy. “That which does not kill me makes me stronger.” I’ve got something more realistic: “That which does not kill me may sever my spinal cord, crush my rib cage, cave in my skull and leave me helpless and paralyzed, soaking in a puddle of my own waste.” Put that in your T-shirt, touchy feely New Age asshole!
Here's another one...sticks and stone...you know the rest!!!
KKt and Docmood
Very well said!!!!! It's time to move beyond being concerned citizens and instead become active citizens.
if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger !
Docmood, I'm curious to know. "And I came to get it back into shape!!! ;-)"
I'm ALL for action..question is what do we do beyond the recommendations in the article. Much as we'd like to be able to take control or snap our fingers and make it all better, I'm afraid we're just going to have to work towards the longer term goals and hope that we can all follow through on the daily struggle to make life better for those around us.
I'm still shocked that the PPP accepted Zardari and then the people of this country voted him into power and allowed him to become el-presidenti .
I just don't know ...