life on the tenterhooks
Life on the tenterhooks
By: Amna Saeed
Dr Ali
Haider didn’t die. On Monday 18th February, He was murdered brutally
on the streets of Lahore. With his 12 year old son. There is a difference,
because what must follow his tragic demise is not just the grief of a tearful
city but also the protest of an enraged nation. Then how is it that just 3 days
after his burial the memory is fading already. The event is already less of a
tragedy. This, of course, is a tragedy in itself.
It is very
important to keep reminding ourselves that an innocent man, a talented
professional and an amazing doctor was killed and so was his little child. For
no crime other than driving out in the morning in a country that’s called free.
And we will have forgotten about this whole thing in a few days just because we
live in a society where hearing of tens of innocent people being killed daily
has become a common occurrence. You only have to switch on the TV and there it
is. Target killing. Bomb blasts. Karachi. Quetta. Lahore. Everywhere. I think I just might know why these vicious
acts of terrorism don't stop. Because we forget. Because somehow or the other
we have stopped caring. Hearing of it
every day, we have fast adapted to a community where no one’s life is ever
safe. Not in public places. And not in their own homes. How on earth did we
get used to this? We have adjusted ourselves to injustice and crime, and it no
longer unnatural to us. There are people who get killed in this country but
they don’t have a high enough profile for their names to be mentioned in the
news. Its just 10 dead now. And 20 dead tomorrow.
So think of
it as a wake-up call. Do not listen to people who label this as a religious
targeting. Wake up and see that a child was killed. An innocent child going to
school with his father. If we don’t protest now, then we never will. And we’ll
head down the spiral even farther. If we don’t put our heads up, if we don’t
respond, then no one will. If there is
any hope of change for the better in this country, then it has to be brought by
youth, and why is it that we’re called the cream of the nation. So don’t
let this be just another murder, just another man. Please don’t let this be
just another day!
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