Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Is Our Nation Bound to Starless Night?

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Is Our Nation Bound to Starless Night?

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our bleeding nation seems to be deeply involved in political quagmire. One is saddened by the death of his/her loved one in a suicide bombing; the second is charged with blasphemy and lynched by angry mob, the third has fallen prey to honor killing or suffers from mortal wounds inflicted by her spouse and ultimately, one is abducted on the way to his home after being forced by civil unrest to live a long period of time outside his country. These incidents are not the films’ denouements but our national news and the newspapers’ headlines. The terrorist victims leave a handful of hapless mourners behind – who either have lost their breadwinners or sweet children. It is likely that Afghan nation is doomed to suffer militancy and violence for the whole period of life. Our dream for peace and prosperity never comes true.

I feel a strong sense of nostalgia for our historical glories when our patriotic nation fought for freedom and for protecting religious values and moral norms. Each drop of their blood, used to save the humanity from decadence. In another item, they sacrificed themselves to ensure an honorable life for the next generation and to break the chains of slavery. The devoted Mujahedeen of Islam, who fought against colony and dictatorship, cultivated humanity and code of ethics in our history. In short, our glorious history is the product of our people’s blood and sacrifices. But their devotion and dedication are eroding and our cultural and moral values are waning.

Our historical glories are in a moribund state. Our megalomania and voracious appetite for worldly pleasures force us to discard the call of our conscience. Rather than dying for our brethrens’ safety, we kill them to comfort our own life, rape to satiate our carnal desires and humiliate one on the basis of sex, color, race or belief to deem ourselves superior. The schism between our past (glorious history) and present widens with each passing year. If this trend continues, we have to be on the alert for more horrible consequences.

Martin Luther states, “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

Murder on the grounds of discrimination and intolerance will lead to endless violence and bloodshed. The macabre story of death and aggression is highly toxic to our social norm. Our children and youth will be affected psychologically by hearing the hackneyed phrases of violence twenty-four/seven.

To the unmitigated chagrin of our people, democracy, which was a dream come true, was not a panacea for their wounded hearts. The human rights’ discourse, the equal rights and suffrage of man and woman, the binding law, etc. palliated the problems to some extent but there is much to be done. Nonetheless, one’s rights and dignity are trampled upon with impunity. Violence and violation of rights are the inveterate genre which continues relentlessly. To put it succinctly, the escalation of terrorism, aggression and carnage is a matter of great worry which has raised the public concerns.

Whenever I imagine the pungent smell of a human’s burnt limbs in the bedlam of a suicide bombing, the painful sobs of the injured, the bloody bodies of street vendors, the children’s beheaded corpses, the mothers who seek their kids tearfully and the profound anguish of the victims’ families, I recoil with unmitigated disgust and wish I was not born so that I didn’t hear or see the lurid reports and poignant incidents going on in our surroundings. I feel ashamed of being called human – who is devoid of humanity and compassion. Are we really bound to suffer violence and bloodshed for the whole life?

Lawlessness adds insult to injury. The citizens’ equality in the eye of law is only in written form, but practically the law is strict only for the poor. Our people suffer from injustice and nepotism on a large scale. “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.”

We have to break the chains of egotism and megalomaniac feelings. We should believe that we are equal and the racial and linguistic differences matter not in the realm of humanity. We are all human, born with certain and inalienable rights and dignity. We will not gain peace and freedom unless we respect the rights and dignity of our brothers and sisters, cherish religious tolerance, value the code of ethics and yield to the call of our conscience. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” We are not “bound to the starless midnight of racism and war.” We are able to end this conflagration and cultivate the morale of brotherhood and sisterhood on the prolific land of our society. We can revitalize our historical glories and cultural norms through acts of virtue and moral practices.

Hujjatullah Zia is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at zia_hujjat@yahoo.com

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