#aps attack

144 dreams ,144 families, 144 children

All gone within an hour.

"Smallest coffins are the heaviest."

Hum nahi bhoolay 💔

No one knew, no one could have guessed that these 150 children would never get to go home.

That they would never see their families again.

That their lives would come to an end so abruptly.

On the 16th of December, 2014, terrorists stormed the school. Army Public School, Peshawar, Pakistan, wasn't a hub of learning that day.

It was the site of a massacre which was to shake the whole world.

These terrorists, they wanted revenge for the operation being carried against them by the country. So they took it out on the kids. The students were congregated in a hall.

These vile animals, they forced their way in.

And opened fire at the audience.

Oh, but they didn't stop there.

Around 150 children died that day. Around 115 were injured. Teachers were also killed. The principal of the school was said to have been martyred trying to save her pupils.

The entire world was watching this on their TV screens; the sirens blaring, the parents crying, the children wailing, the reporters struggling to contain their tears.

And even after 5 years, my heart still burns with rage. I'm still just as heartbroken, and I still cry. This happened hundreds of miles away, yet I feel as if I was there, witnessing it all.

Please remember these innocent souls in your prayers

16 December 2014

This is a meme going around Facebook and Twitter a lot, and I felt like I had to speak up.

I salute Waleed Khan and agree that it was indeed an act of courageousness to go back to school, but I don’t think this comparison is justified. See, this is why our growth remains stunted - because we pit our own people against each other. You may think that it isn’t that big of a deal: it’s just one meme, after all. But it really isn’t. It’s our mindset as a nation, and it’s bringing us down. Both of these brave young people, and countless more, have given so much just to protect their rights and their country, and it’s unfair to compare them. This is what happens almost every time someone - especially if it’s a female - makes a contribution to Pakistan. We start hating on them.

Despite what we think, Malala didn’t just get shot in the head randomly. “It could’ve been anyone else,” we say. “Hundreds of women were denied the right to education. What makes Malala so special?”

And we’re absolutely right. But it wasn’t someone else, was it? Why do we look up to Jinnah so much? There were hundreds of other Muslims who wanted a separate homeland too. What made him so special? And Iqbal and Sir Syed were the ones who came up with the Two Nation Theory, which means Jinnah was an unoriginal leech who gets more credit than he deserves. Right? Wrong.

If we bothered actually reading up on what Malala stood for, we’d discover that she was a blogger who wrote about her life in Swat and the hardships her people, especially the women, were put through by the Taliban. She was one of the few people in the area who stood up for her right to an education and she was punished for it. Did it silence her, though? No, she bounced back stronger than ever.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but 99% of her own people disowned her while she addressed the UN, while she received the Nobel prize, while she raised her voice for female education and visited schools around the globe to talk about the importance of going to school. Was it jealously, sexism or just plain idiocy? She was supposed to be OUR asset, OUR hero, but instead of providing her with the medical facilities that she needed, the education that she had been fighting for, the protection that she required to continue her efforts and the support and recognition that she deserved, we subtly cast her out of her own country. And so the West welcomed her with open arms and we didn’t even bother trying to get her back. Instead, while millions of European children sent her cards and gifts and wrote essays about how she inspired them, we called her an American agent. We told our children that she was secretly working against Pakistan, that she had betrayed the country by moving abroad (oh, the irony - what about your own failed immigration attempt? Or that Chachu of yours who moved to England ten years ago and hasn’t been to Pakistan since?) Pray, did WE provide her with a home and a free quality education? Did WE promise to help her achieve her goals and spread good in the world? Did WE invite her to seminars and conferences? Did WE support her in her mission? Do we even know of, or care about, her cause?

I don’t claim to know all the facts, but what I do know is that we Pakistanis never get tired of conspiracy theories and portraying everyone who tries to do a grain of good as a villain. Two years ago, Waleed Khan shielded his classmates from the Taliban. Four years ago, Malala did the same. Today, they’re both determined to not let negativity get to them and keep moving forward. In a few years, Waleed wants to join the armed forces and defend his countrymen. Malala aims to do the same, using the power of words instead. So what exactly are we fighting about? What heinous act had one of these two committed that we refuse to acknowledge her work? On a slightly unrelated note, why are we so hesitant to acknowledge our people’s achievements (unless they’re politicians or chai-waley. Because these people are so great and hero-worthy) until they go through a life-threatening situation? Why wait till they’re shot; why not recognize their potential before it comes to that? Why are people like Shirmeen Obaid-Chinoy deemed to be villains by the majority of our populace? Care to educate me? Because maybe I’m just blind to the obvious truth.

Two years ago, we lost 145 dreamers who believed in a brighter, more progressive future. Don’t let their deaths be in vain. I, for one, am proud that I belong to a country that has a knack for producing so many heroes, in the real sense of the word (that this meme grossly misrepresents). Because our real heroes are all those who dare to speak up, take action and believe. Believe in themselves. Believe in Pakistan.