Today's post was either going to be about the dog that showed up on our doorstep, or abalone diving here in Salalah. Instead many people here are stunned by the news that the Taliban murdered over a 130 children in a school in Peshawar, Pakistan.
We have a large, varied population of Pakistanis here in Salalah, from educated professionals to underpaid and undervalued laborers. I promise you, every one of them is in pain. We know that children die every day all over the globe. Syria and Yemen, for example. Unfortunately all this death becomes an abstraction as as a result of so much information. I don't watch the news anymore. It's a form of cowardice I know, but it makes me cry. I tune out so much that when a dear friend changed his profile picture on Facebook to reflect his sorrow about the tragedy in his homeland, I went "huh" and had to start googling.
I almost wish I hadn't. It's heart wrenching. I am sure it's all over CNN back in America, but as awful as it looks on the news to my American friends, not a lot of the people I know back home are part of a Pakistani community. I look around here and wonder if the fellows walking along the street in their tired kameezes know someone who lost a child. It seems so close to home you know? This wasn't a monsoon or a natural disaster, difficult as those are to endure, but grown men slaughtering children. What the hell were they thinking?
The Taliban (a large amorphous group, not all of whom approve of this action it seems) released a statement to the effect that the massacre was retaliation for the Pakistani army killing THEIR children. Well that makes sense doesn't it? Who was it that said if we follow the "eye for an eye" edict then the whole world will be blind? Ah..right. Ghandi. Now Malala has weighed in condemning the attacks, and honestly I wish she would just keep out of it. She is certainly beloved by Western media and celebrities, and is surely a composed young woman, but her input for the Pakistani community is divisive at best.
We have a large, varied population of Pakistanis here in Salalah, from educated professionals to underpaid and undervalued laborers. I promise you, every one of them is in pain. We know that children die every day all over the globe. Syria and Yemen, for example. Unfortunately all this death becomes an abstraction as as a result of so much information. I don't watch the news anymore. It's a form of cowardice I know, but it makes me cry. I tune out so much that when a dear friend changed his profile picture on Facebook to reflect his sorrow about the tragedy in his homeland, I went "huh" and had to start googling.
I almost wish I hadn't. It's heart wrenching. I am sure it's all over CNN back in America, but as awful as it looks on the news to my American friends, not a lot of the people I know back home are part of a Pakistani community. I look around here and wonder if the fellows walking along the street in their tired kameezes know someone who lost a child. It seems so close to home you know? This wasn't a monsoon or a natural disaster, difficult as those are to endure, but grown men slaughtering children. What the hell were they thinking?
The Taliban (a large amorphous group, not all of whom approve of this action it seems) released a statement to the effect that the massacre was retaliation for the Pakistani army killing THEIR children. Well that makes sense doesn't it? Who was it that said if we follow the "eye for an eye" edict then the whole world will be blind? Ah..right. Ghandi. Now Malala has weighed in condemning the attacks, and honestly I wish she would just keep out of it. She is certainly beloved by Western media and celebrities, and is surely a composed young woman, but her input for the Pakistani community is divisive at best.
The proud avengers? Come on.
Words fail.
I haven't said anything in this post terribly profound, or anything that adds to the discussion. I am simply very, very sorry for the pain my Pakistani friends are in here, and abroad. They have been good to me. I am sorry for all of it. A friend of mine, an Indian friend, is going to the police tomorrow to see about a permit for a flower vigil outside the Pakistani school. No flags, no politics. Just a candle or a flower. I think it's a laudable idea. Assuming the permit comes through, we can meet after Isha prayers on Friday. If you do not live in Salalah, I think a moment of silence for ALL the wee bairns killed as collateral in an escalating global conflict would be nice. Don't you?
Honestly, I did make a cake. I just don't think today is the day to write about it. Tomorrow there will be time for dogs and cakes. But not today.
Love,
Felicia El Aid
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