It has been almost two days since the first blast. Trains have resumed service, schools have remained open, and people are trying to move on with their lives. For many of them, life will never be the same again. Bombay has historically been regarded as a rough and rude city - a city without a heart, a place where one must fight for every inch of space, much like an embryonic New York. But over the last two days - like the city to which she is often compared - she has shown her softer side through the actions of her people. Long lines at blood banks, free food and water being handed to victims, strangers helping each other regardless of caste or creed - it is a reminder that for all the rough façade, Bombay is at its heart a sensitive, fragile city like any other.
And it is home.
Ten years - indeed ten lifetimes - in New Zealand or anywhere else will never change that, and I know others feel the same. That is why it is so hard to just sit here and write while others need help, yet it is all I can realistically do.
It is impossible to make sense of something like this - such acts are irrational and unjustifiable. It sends a chill down my spine to imagine how coldly the perpetrators must have planned every inch of this 'mission'. From all indications, this was a well-thought out manoeuvre. We don't yet know who did it, but we will find out soon enough. Whoever it is, I wish them a long life full of misery.
We can promise ourselves "We will never forget", as we have in the past, but we will forget - perhaps it is better that we do - and we will move on from this. We shall come back stronger than ever, but will we actually remember the lessons of July 11, 2006? We have forgotten Kashmir, and we have forgotten Delhi. We have long forgotten the Gateway of India bombings, and for all intents and purposes, 1993 was just a bad dream (Pakistan still harbours some of the masterminds behind that attack, most notably Dawood Ibrahim). We must keep our promise this time, and we must ensure there are no murders of innocents in the aftermath. In all likelihood, there will be no more violence. The riots in Bombay in '92/'93 were planned operations, not spontaneous reactions, and certain incendiary parties have shown restraint in similar situations in the past.
And what of justice? No punishment will be severe enough for those responsible. We shall have to find them first.
And it is home.
Ten years - indeed ten lifetimes - in New Zealand or anywhere else will never change that, and I know others feel the same. That is why it is so hard to just sit here and write while others need help, yet it is all I can realistically do.
It is impossible to make sense of something like this - such acts are irrational and unjustifiable. It sends a chill down my spine to imagine how coldly the perpetrators must have planned every inch of this 'mission'. From all indications, this was a well-thought out manoeuvre. We don't yet know who did it, but we will find out soon enough. Whoever it is, I wish them a long life full of misery.
We can promise ourselves "We will never forget", as we have in the past, but we will forget - perhaps it is better that we do - and we will move on from this. We shall come back stronger than ever, but will we actually remember the lessons of July 11, 2006? We have forgotten Kashmir, and we have forgotten Delhi. We have long forgotten the Gateway of India bombings, and for all intents and purposes, 1993 was just a bad dream (Pakistan still harbours some of the masterminds behind that attack, most notably Dawood Ibrahim). We must keep our promise this time, and we must ensure there are no murders of innocents in the aftermath. In all likelihood, there will be no more violence. The riots in Bombay in '92/'93 were planned operations, not spontaneous reactions, and certain incendiary parties have shown restraint in similar situations in the past.
And what of justice? No punishment will be severe enough for those responsible. We shall have to find them first.
2 comments:
very well written
you have put into words what i have been trying to say for days
I agree. It's straight from the heart and that's why it's better than any piece of journalism that I have read. :)
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