I am brought back to this thread by yesterday's bombing in Pune, a city that is very dear to me. Pune was the site of the very first thalassemia conference that I attended. Pune is the home of my dearest friend, Shilpa and her lovely family. This bakery that was bombed was across the street from the place I bought my first meal in Pune and was also a place where Shilpa stops for coffee. Close to the Osho compound, this area is quite popular with westerners, who may have been a target of this attack. With the attacks on the Taj hotel in Mumbai and a bombing at a market in Delhi, three places I have visited in India have been the targets of terrorism.
I hesitated to respond to this thread earlier because I have talked to too many people from this group from both India and Pakistan who have an abject hatred for those across their borders. This issue nearly tore this group apart a few years ago, and I have found that in spite of our good words and efforts, we are not even getting through to many who are members of our own group. Just a few weeks ago I saw one member post accusations against India on Facebook. This troubled me greatly.
How are we going to ever make any difference in the world when we allow hatred and fear rule our own beliefs? It is quite obvious from our day-to-day communications that we do all respect each other here, but that should not end when we are away from these pages. When someone from Pakistan expresses hatred for Indians or when one from India expresses hatred for Pakistanis, is there a realization that the hatred expressed automatically includes people they interact with right here? This really needs to change.
When people tell me that all Muslims want to kill me, all I can think of is sweet little Akka. Really? Akka wants to see me dead? Of course not, but this is the idiocy of being absorbed by hatred. When someone from India wants to blame all Indians, do they really think that sweetie, Simran wants them dead?
I am asking each one of you to stop before ever expressing feelings of hatred towards a people and just ask themselves. Do you really think so-and-so from thalpal wants to see you and your family murdered? Do you really think the average person from either country is absorbed with this violence? What I always see is that everyone is just trying to live their own lives. Please, don't ever make or even think these generalized thoughts of hatred that are based on borders. We are all people who are trying to do our best in life. If you're from India and you know Ayesha, Zaini and Umair, see them in every single face in Pakistan. When you are from Pakistan and you know Shilpa or Simran or Neeti, think of them before you decide to let those thoughts of blame form in your mind. We won't change the world but we can change ourselves.