Friday, December 16, 2016

Sorry Is Not Enough

I am very sorry that I have failed you.
I am very sorry that I have ignored you and remained in ignorance of your plight.
I am deeply sorry that I have stood by and allowed you to be violated.
I am sorry and ashamed that I have allowed you to continue suffering all this time, fighting to stay alive.
I regret that I have been unable to do much to help you.
I am ashamed that I have been mute, deaf, blind and paralysed and thus couldn’t come to your aid.

I am sorry. Please forgive me, the innocent people and creatures of Aleppo. My ignorance and inaction have led to your destruction. I have failed you, just as I had failed Srebrenica, Gaza, Afghanistan, Yemen and Rakhine State of Myanmar.

As we may have known (if we’re not still too ignorant or self-absorbed or self-obsessed), there was heavy bombardment on Aleppo earlier this week. The Syrian forces had pushed in with the area held by the rebels shrinking. They claim to be liberating the city from the rebels when in truth they have systematically and determinedly been destroying all public facilities: hospitals, schools, and anywhere that may provide shelter to the innocent civilians. They even destroyed bakeries, for crying out loud. I was tearful for the most part of this week and prayed to Allah for safe passage for the civilians. I was sad, I was angry, I was furious that no one seemed to be doing anything. No one, except for the pro-government forces who were relentless in destroying the city. The final straw was the clip of the people saying goodbye, convinced that their end had come.

Who is the terrorist here? The innocent civilians who just want to be left in peace, who want to continue living in the city of birth, who oppose the tyrannical president? Or the dictatorial president who clings greedily, hungrily and blindly to power, never mind that he commits genocide on his own people and destroys his country’s heritage? It was the Syrian forces which bombed Aleppo and then attacked them with chlorine gas??? How low can one go?

Aleppo has been in existence for more than five thousand years. It has seen hundreds of generations building and expanding it. And it took a generation of morons only four years to completely destroy it.

And yet, in spite of this, it’s amazing that there are still heroes there. One such man is Mohammad Alaa Aljalel or the Cat Man of Aleppo who, while himself seeking shelter from the bombings, found a stray cat. To me, it’s just amazing how this hero can manage to keep his sanity, humility, humanity and compassion in the face of fresh challenges and onslaught. He’s the total opposite of the dictatorial tyrant.

I have faith in Allah. I have faith that Allah knows best. The Almighty is in full control and has a bigger plan. The people of Aleppo are now being evacuated. The Cat Man is now safely in Idlid with his cats, Alhamdulillah. I was so happy and thankful that he and the cats are safe but couldn’t help thinking how sad and heart-breaking it must be to have to leave your beloved birthcity, not knowing if you’ll ever be back.

Oh Allah, please protect the innocent souls in Syria. You know best. Amen.


As shitty as 2016 had been at times, I don’t look forward to 2017. How can I when my fellow brothers and sisters are suffering?


P.S. This is another Twitter account of the Aleppo Catman.