I had a dream that thousands of people were being killed by someone. An invisible source was bringing the most powerful of us down to our knees. Then I woke up and realized that it wasn’t a dream.
It is our reality today. During this chaos, I am focused on how my students are going to access today’s assignment that I posted on different online platforms. For an educator, every day comes with different struggles. From curriculum development to classroom management to administrative work, every day is full of nonstop challenges. However, the most difficult struggle for all of us today is “uncertainty”. We live in such a day in age where we have each minute of our day planned and penciled in. We have planned every second of our life from the second we wake up to the second when we close our eyes at night. We are so busy that we have forgotten who and what we are. We have become machines! And, suddenly, our lives are at a standstill!
Confined to our homes, we are so lost. Even though, there are still a million things to do at home especially for us moms in this world, we feel lost.
This makes me think about those people in the world living in war occupied countries such as Kashmir, Syria, Yemen, Palestine etc. It has only been a week that we have been off from schools and work and we are already losing our minds. What about those children, men and women in places like Kashmir who have been living in curfew and lockdown for years? Government of India, put Kashmir (Indian military occupied territory) under severe lockdown starting August 2019 to this day, following the cancellation of the special status of Kashmir through scrapping of the Article 370 of the Constitution of India. India cut them off from the rest of the world by cutting off internet services for over six months. I can only imagine how people in war zones survive such subjugation. COVID-19 has made me realize that no matter how much control we think we have on our lives, we really don’t.
As a woman of faith, I understood that the Almighty has once again confirmed that human beings have no control. A miniscule creature has brought the most authoritative beings on earth to their knees. This organism does not discriminate. Whether you are poor or wealthy, white or black, man or a woman, people from any faith or non-believer, this tiny virus is damaging us all. The one above has showed us once again that we are all equal in His eyes. No walls, no deportations, no travel bans on certain ethnicities is going to stop this virus. This is a lesson for humankind to stop and reflect on our actions, how we treat one another and what we think of one another. For a moment let us take religion and faith out of the equation and simply talk about human justice.
I spoke to a very knowledgeable man this morning who said, and I quote “Prior to WW2, powerful nations used to go for expeditions to enslave people and countries in Asia and Africa. After Soviet Union, whom West projected as an “evil power “got dismantled, Europeans and Americans went back to business as usual. That “business” was driving violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen etc. which resulted in the massacre of innocent men, women and children for no fault on their part. “Civilized World “not only didn’t care and remained indifferent but they added fuel to perpetuate the cycle of violence to further their vested interests. Perhaps the creator wants to remind us that we need to behave like humans and should not tolerate injustice.”
“A miniscule creature has brought the most authoritative beings on earth to their knees”
Those world leaders who have abused their power and deliberately killed and oppressed the weak need to take a hard look at this virus and understand that the creator doesn’t need a nuclear weapon to end oppression! We are so consumed with the material world, authority, and enmity that we have forgotten that the one who created this universe can end this charade whenever He wants.
Wake up Humanity and comprehend that life is very short. Don’t waste it on hatred and animosity. At the end of the day, we will all have to leave this world. Death is the reality of life. Do good in this world and try to bring peace! May God have mercy on us all!
Author: Asma Syed – Buffalo, NY
