The streets are bursting with vehicles and the markets are bursting with stylish girls dressed in glittering raiment shopping for Eid Day. The honking of the horns, the hollering of the storekeepers and the bellowing of the sellers make the city very special. All the affluent families beam and bloom preparing for idyllic days of Eid celebration. The city is more colorful than ever before with modish individuals who wear the façade of fashion models. In short, the flamboyance of the city salivates you very much.
In such hustle and bustle, Shokria, a thirteen-year-old girl, is also wandering hand in hand with her widowed mother with empty pockets swallowing her saliva jealously. Her wan face, hollow cheeks, disheveled hair and slovenly dress make her different from the others. As she is deeply stigmatized, she grimaces with disgust at tidy children of her age so as to hide her real feelings behind the veneer of fun and hatred. The truth is that the fashionable styles of children of her age make her recoil with unmitigated chagrin and she covets the same clothes. When the parents are buying their children clothes for their Eid Day, Shokria is just staring in wistful manner. Shokria holds back her tear, despite her doleful emotion and does not breathe a word. She knows that the pocket of her mother is as empty as hers. She represses her feelings, however, her repeated deep sighs of sadness reveals it to her mother. Shokria recalls the halcyon days when she was hugged by her father. She rues those memories and cannot resist her emotions anymore and suddenly burst into tears.
Shokria also wished to put on new clothes and celebrate Eid the same as other girls. She wished to hang out with her friends at the home of her kith and kin on the gala day of Eid. She sat on a corner imagining deeply an ideal Eid for herself. She was traveling everywhere mentally and sometimes the false happiness forced smile on her lips. She could allay her pain by imagining the happiness.
Her mother read Shokria’s mind, and the drops of tear rolled down her face too. Her motherly feelings made her smolder with strong emotions. What can she do with the cruelties of life? Her mother leaves no stone unturned to make the ends meet. She sits at a corner of street from dawn to dusk imploring people for a penny. Unfortunately, it is not only she in this city who is asking for money but many other widows that have lessened the chance for her by doing the same activity.
Her mother imagined her husband when the blood oozed his wound caused by Taliban’s bullet. Yes, the Taliban shot her husband dead without any reasons. She remembers that however she implored them not to fire at her husband was in vain. Being witness to the death of one’s dear is highly shocking. She got more tearful with the tragic memories. Of course, life has played very cruelly with her. The wound in her heart which was left by the death of her husband is still bleeding. Such a sad picture of the moving incident will not leave her alone for one day. The picture of the incident is repeated in her mind every day because she is always in grip with the hardships of life after the death of her husband.
The Day of Eid will compound the pain and bitterness of their life. In other words, happiness has no meaning in their daily life and if they do not come out to the street for one day, the hunger will pressurize them on the verge of death. Hence, nothing can force smile on their lips other than the pittance that they get daily. So, they have deep affection with the narrow and filthy street wherein they are fed by some affectionate passersby.
By the way, Mostly, childhood memories are very sweet and unforgettable. Children are always busy with their childish games in the streets and enjoy their times free of the sorrows and hardships of life. They are filled with joy and cheerfulness regardless of anything happening around them. They are competing to get a greater share of pleasure and happiness. Resounding laughter, happy shouts, careless noises, friendly jokes, childish games… are all childhood sweet memories which will remain forever. But, what about many Afghan children? Happiness has turned to an impossible desire for them. Their childhood memories are replete with sorrow and depression. Nothing will be bitter than wandering of a child in tortuous streets with sorrowful eyes in search of a morsel of food to alleviate the pressure of hunger for some more minutes.
This story portrays clearly the two strata of Afghan people. Some die from overeating and some other die from hunger. This is the cruelty and injustice of fate which is playing tremendously different with our compatriots. Some live the life of luxury whereas some other live the most parsimonious and miserable life. Our society is deep in injustice, those who have do not take care of their neighbors, their friends or their compatriots. This difference is also easily tangible when observing some skyscrapers beside crumbling houses. Considering this issue, one will easily understand that some will eat enormous food beside hungry neighbors.
Such injustice will put our human moralities and characters under questions. Why our hearts have turned too hard to feel the pain and suffering of others. Such incidents are the usual stories of the day which will never touch our hearts once in our life! How proudly we are boasting our moralities and human attitudes, while not thinking at all for our neighbors who live in serious penury and destitution. Of course, morality and human responsibility are departing our individual and as well as collective life. Remissness and irresponsibility are the salient part of our society. Practicing religious rules and code of ethics are not playing a vital role in our daily life anymore.