To be part of a protest today was humbling.
We gathered outside the Press Club in Karachi to protest the brutal killing of Mughees and Muneeb, two young boys who very well could have been my own. I have been unable to watch TV for the past few days and I certainly haven’t been able to look at that beautiful picture of theirs, smiling so innocently and unaware that life could so brutally be snatched away from them. I can’t even begin to imagine what their mother must be going through.
I keep thinking how simple it would have been to stop those monsters from beating these kids to death. One voice from the crowd of 1200 zombies could have prevented this inhuman act. One voice could have made a difference. One. And yet no one raised it.
What are we doing that is stripping us of all humanity? Can we even call ourselves human anymore? I know that at least the people who let this happen in front of their eyes certainly are not. And they aren’t the only monsters out there.
We give violence and bloodshed such a cushion in this part of the world. Women and young girls are beaten to death under the pretext of honour killings, graphic visuals of bomb blasted human remains are played on our TV screens and in the name of religion, children are made to bear witness to the annual slaughter of animals every Eid. It may be like comparing apples and oranges but it all boils down to our growing comfort level with blood and violence. The kinds of games our children play on their PS3s and the kind of movies they are allowed to watch…the only thing we administer parental guidance on is a kiss or a sex scene. ‘Make love not war’ may be a well-worn cliché but it rings so true in this day and age.
We call ourselves Muslims but Islam is a religion of peace, of social welfare. It does not preach the kind of violence that certain radical mullahs have brought into our lives. And if we are going back to the stone age, if we are going to act like barbarians, then let the punishment for our sins also be as radical as the sins. Eye for eye, I say…blood for blood and life for life.
Is this justice that the policemen on duty be transferred or suspended? No, it isn’t. They should be sent to the guillotine, hanged upside down, sent to a death punishment so severe that they become a lesson for everyone to dare tread that path.
We want justice!
