Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
The boy who lived: Mastung attack survivors find solace in unexpected compatriot
By Rabia Ali
Published: January 29, 2014
Eleven-year-old boy lifts the spirits of survivors at hospital.
KARACHI: It is at times of severe distress that a person’s true substance really comes to the fore. It is at these times too that events happen that inspire us to believe there is still hope for this world. One such tale is that of one of the survivors of the Mastung bus bombing, Muhammad Ibtihaj, who has taken up the task of lifting the spirits of the other injured.
The 11-year-old chubby faced with a cute smile can hardly be found at his bed in the children’s ward at the Aga Khan Hospital where he is being treated for scars on his right side of his face – courtesy of the explosion. Rather, the boy takes slow steps, climbs up the stairs and walks up to the ward where seven adult pilgrims are being treated for their burns and other crippling injuries. Unaware of the loved ones he has lost in the incident, Ibtihaj has become a source of welcome relief for the other injured.
“I want to help them because they are in trouble,” smiles the boy shyly, as he shows the thumbs up sign to one patient and then hugs him tight.
“He is more than a brother. His strength keeps us alive,” whispers Hussain Saadat, one of those injured in the explosion, as his eyes fill with tears.
Clad in a blue patient’s shirt, white trousers, and a muffler he was wearing when the attack occurred, Ibtihaj, whose name means happiness in Arabic, has certainly become a source of joy for those battling for their lives. He sits with them, laughs and jokes and even complains to his father when they don’t eat.
Zakir Hussain, who has lost both his legs, shakes his hands and smiles, “We became friends on the bus and now we are here together.”
The boy does not show signs of being traumatised by the tragic incident, and only says this about it: “They should be punished – those who did bad things to us.”
A student of fifth grade at the APSC Seven Streams School in Quetta, the boy and his sister came into the limelight after their picture in school uniforms, winking and rolling out their tongues, was shared and circulated by many on the social media, including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Looking at the picture now in his elder brother’s phone, Ibtihaj, who is a Barcelona football fan, and has four Karate belts, recalls, “I like this picture. It was taken five months ago.”
Also present at the hospital is Ibtihaj’s father, Jawad Hazara, who had stayed behind while his family had gone for the pilgrimage. A businessman by profession, Hazara is visibly traumatised by the tragedy he has faced. “Imagine a man’s condition when he can’t recognise his own family. I could not discern the burnt bodies of my loved ones.”
Ibtihaj’s elder brother, Mairaj, was one of the other lucky survivors of the incident. They had both been sitting at the back of the bus when the explosion occurred. This is probably what saved their life.
“He is very brave. I’m more scared than him. He wants to join the air force when he grows up, but now impressed by his behaviour, I want him to work for humanity.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2014.
Published: January 29, 2014
Eleven-year-old boy lifts the spirits of survivors at hospital.
KARACHI: It is at times of severe distress that a person’s true substance really comes to the fore. It is at these times too that events happen that inspire us to believe there is still hope for this world. One such tale is that of one of the survivors of the Mastung bus bombing, Muhammad Ibtihaj, who has taken up the task of lifting the spirits of the other injured.
The 11-year-old chubby faced with a cute smile can hardly be found at his bed in the children’s ward at the Aga Khan Hospital where he is being treated for scars on his right side of his face – courtesy of the explosion. Rather, the boy takes slow steps, climbs up the stairs and walks up to the ward where seven adult pilgrims are being treated for their burns and other crippling injuries. Unaware of the loved ones he has lost in the incident, Ibtihaj has become a source of welcome relief for the other injured.
“I want to help them because they are in trouble,” smiles the boy shyly, as he shows the thumbs up sign to one patient and then hugs him tight.
“He is more than a brother. His strength keeps us alive,” whispers Hussain Saadat, one of those injured in the explosion, as his eyes fill with tears.
Clad in a blue patient’s shirt, white trousers, and a muffler he was wearing when the attack occurred, Ibtihaj, whose name means happiness in Arabic, has certainly become a source of joy for those battling for their lives. He sits with them, laughs and jokes and even complains to his father when they don’t eat.
Zakir Hussain, who has lost both his legs, shakes his hands and smiles, “We became friends on the bus and now we are here together.”
The boy does not show signs of being traumatised by the tragic incident, and only says this about it: “They should be punished – those who did bad things to us.”
A student of fifth grade at the APSC Seven Streams School in Quetta, the boy and his sister came into the limelight after their picture in school uniforms, winking and rolling out their tongues, was shared and circulated by many on the social media, including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Looking at the picture now in his elder brother’s phone, Ibtihaj, who is a Barcelona football fan, and has four Karate belts, recalls, “I like this picture. It was taken five months ago.”
Also present at the hospital is Ibtihaj’s father, Jawad Hazara, who had stayed behind while his family had gone for the pilgrimage. A businessman by profession, Hazara is visibly traumatised by the tragedy he has faced. “Imagine a man’s condition when he can’t recognise his own family. I could not discern the burnt bodies of my loved ones.”
Ibtihaj’s elder brother, Mairaj, was one of the other lucky survivors of the incident. They had both been sitting at the back of the bus when the explosion occurred. This is probably what saved their life.
“He is very brave. I’m more scared than him. He wants to join the air force when he grows up, but now impressed by his behaviour, I want him to work for humanity.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2014.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Letter to LEJ by a Young Kafir
January 26, 2014 · by shahwar hasan · in Editorial
Assalam-0-alaikum and good morning MUSALMAN. It’s me. Do you recognize me? My name is Kafar. I hope by now you do know who I am. It’s been a while that i wanted to write to you and share with you what I am feeling right now, and probably give you some advise as well, just in case you’ve become lesser and lesser conscious about me due to army’s recent (Dramatic) tanning of your’s and by dramatic I mean to say FAKE but nevertheless it looked real and therefore i felt compelled to write to you.
Let me give you a recall. You’ve already killed 2000+ members of my family ranging from a 3 year old kid to 60-70 year olds, but I haven’t acted seriously yet and therefore i think you owe me your life for that. I have been patient, I’ve been tolerant. I’ve gulped all my anger. You know why? Because I don’t think you deserve my wrath. You are just too pathetic. You come and kill in the name of Islam. What Islam is this? Is this Islam, which you so heroically represent even a religion? Does Islam tell or show you how to blow yourself up and kill a dozen more along with you as well? Does Islam command you to chop off the heads of un-armed civilians? Does Islam teach you to kill women? Does Islam teach you how to torture a captive? Does Islam teach you how to incite violence? Does Islam teach you how to demolish a Mosque with bombs and rockets? NO you ignorant fool. Islam teaches brotherhood. Islam shows how to help someone who’s in need. Islam shows you how to respect each other. Islam teaches you Manliness. Islam teaches you bravery. Islam teaches you how to treat a woman. Islam teaches you to take care of an orphan if you can, not try to turn an innocent into an orphan by killing his/her parents.... Continue Reading ....
Assalam-0-alaikum and good morning MUSALMAN. It’s me. Do you recognize me? My name is Kafar. I hope by now you do know who I am. It’s been a while that i wanted to write to you and share with you what I am feeling right now, and probably give you some advise as well, just in case you’ve become lesser and lesser conscious about me due to army’s recent (Dramatic) tanning of your’s and by dramatic I mean to say FAKE but nevertheless it looked real and therefore i felt compelled to write to you.
Let me give you a recall. You’ve already killed 2000+ members of my family ranging from a 3 year old kid to 60-70 year olds, but I haven’t acted seriously yet and therefore i think you owe me your life for that. I have been patient, I’ve been tolerant. I’ve gulped all my anger. You know why? Because I don’t think you deserve my wrath. You are just too pathetic. You come and kill in the name of Islam. What Islam is this? Is this Islam, which you so heroically represent even a religion? Does Islam tell or show you how to blow yourself up and kill a dozen more along with you as well? Does Islam command you to chop off the heads of un-armed civilians? Does Islam teach you to kill women? Does Islam teach you how to torture a captive? Does Islam teach you how to incite violence? Does Islam teach you how to demolish a Mosque with bombs and rockets? NO you ignorant fool. Islam teaches brotherhood. Islam shows how to help someone who’s in need. Islam shows you how to respect each other. Islam teaches you Manliness. Islam teaches you bravery. Islam teaches you how to treat a woman. Islam teaches you to take care of an orphan if you can, not try to turn an innocent into an orphan by killing his/her parents.... Continue Reading ....
Know my name
FOUZIA NASIR AHMAD
Published 2014-01-26 07:39:10
It was Jan 13, 2013, when 21-year-old Eltaf Hussain was on his way to the dharna outside Bilawal House, Karachi to protest against Hazara killings in Quetta. “How can the rest of the world go on with their daily business, when such a terrible incident has happened to us?” he thought? “Why doesn’t the world stop after so many people have been killed?”
Hussain belongs to the Hazara community of Quetta, a city where he has spent most of his young life. “After completing my intermediate at the Tameer-i-Nau Public College in Quetta, I took a year off as things became dramatically worse for Hazaras. One day my father said to me: ‘you can’t live your life like this’. I then decided to move to Karachi with the sole purpose of continuing my education as it was impossible to do that in Quetta.”
While the Alamdar Road massacre projected the plight of the Hazara onto the national consciousness, it was by no means the beginning of the pogroms against this community.
“I remember that a long time back I was with my father at Sariab Road and he wanted me to wear dark glasses to cover my eyes. I was annoyed even though I knew that anybody can tell from our eyes that we are Hazara.
Later I realised why my father was saying that. He always wore glasses himself. Not long ago, I had to go to the Board Office in Quetta and I covered my face. I wasn’t happy doing this but I knew that this way I would be safer. Things have changed for us over time.”
The year 2008 was a turning point for Pakistan’s Hazaras, when individuals from the community began to be targeted regularly. “Government officials from our community, professionals and even police officers were killed,” recalls Hussain. “There was an incident in Jinnah Town, and then two people were killed on Samundari Road. Wherever they would see a Hazara person, they would kill him,” said Hussain.
While the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has claimed credit for the mass casualty attacks, Hussain suspects there are also those who are seeking to exploit the situation.... Continue Reading.....
Published 2014-01-26 07:39:10
It was Jan 13, 2013, when 21-year-old Eltaf Hussain was on his way to the dharna outside Bilawal House, Karachi to protest against Hazara killings in Quetta. “How can the rest of the world go on with their daily business, when such a terrible incident has happened to us?” he thought? “Why doesn’t the world stop after so many people have been killed?”
Hussain belongs to the Hazara community of Quetta, a city where he has spent most of his young life. “After completing my intermediate at the Tameer-i-Nau Public College in Quetta, I took a year off as things became dramatically worse for Hazaras. One day my father said to me: ‘you can’t live your life like this’. I then decided to move to Karachi with the sole purpose of continuing my education as it was impossible to do that in Quetta.”
While the Alamdar Road massacre projected the plight of the Hazara onto the national consciousness, it was by no means the beginning of the pogroms against this community.
“I remember that a long time back I was with my father at Sariab Road and he wanted me to wear dark glasses to cover my eyes. I was annoyed even though I knew that anybody can tell from our eyes that we are Hazara.
Later I realised why my father was saying that. He always wore glasses himself. Not long ago, I had to go to the Board Office in Quetta and I covered my face. I wasn’t happy doing this but I knew that this way I would be safer. Things have changed for us over time.”
The year 2008 was a turning point for Pakistan’s Hazaras, when individuals from the community began to be targeted regularly. “Government officials from our community, professionals and even police officers were killed,” recalls Hussain. “There was an incident in Jinnah Town, and then two people were killed on Samundari Road. Wherever they would see a Hazara person, they would kill him,” said Hussain.
While the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has claimed credit for the mass casualty attacks, Hussain suspects there are also those who are seeking to exploit the situation.... Continue Reading.....
A state of siege
MADEEHA SYED
Updated 2014-01-26 18:07:04
Madeeha Syed speaks to Human Rights Watch's Ali Dayan Hasan about the state and predicament of the Hazara in Quetta
A year after the deadly attacks on the Hazara community, what is the situation now?
While Shias across Pakistan have faced increasingly vicious attacks, a disproportionate number of attacks - the latest being the Jan 21st attack on a pilgrim’s bus in Mastung - have targeted the small Hazara community. Of Shias killed across Pakistan in 2012, around a quarter of the victims were Quetta Hazaras. In 2013, a little under half of those killed were from that community. It is true that major attacks on the scale of January and February 2013 have not taken place since last year. But major attacks are only one aspect of the crisis faced by the community. Survivors and family members of victims describe the effects of a campaign of killings that has targeted all segments of the Hazara community. Hazaras live a ghetto existence, fearful of going about the normal business of life. Hazara religious pilgrims, students, shopkeepers, vegetable sellers, doctors and other professionals have been targeted leading to not just widespread fear but increasingly restricted movement leading to a ghettoisation of community members, increasing economic hardship and curtailed access to education.
How many are opting to flee their homes? And where are they going?
Large numbers are fleeing Pakistan in panic and seeking asylum abroad, even risking their lives in the process. Unable to cope with death stalking them at every turn, many hundreds have fled Quetta for Karachi or other parts of Pakistan. Yet further hundreds have fled Pakistan altogether. Those fleeing usually seek to go to Australia risking a dangerous sea journey that has repeatedly proved fatal. In April 2013, some 60 Hazaras died when their boat sunk in Indonesian waters enroute Australia. These journeys are not only dangerous and expensive, they are often deadly. Almost 1,000 people have died on the crossing from Indonesia to Australia over the last decade — scores of them Hazaras from Pakistan... Continue Reading....
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