"I Am Afraid"

I took the title from the blog of a sweet Pakistani girl who is paying for her words with her life.  As we speak, Malala Yousafzai is in a hospital in Peshawar, Afghanistan, lucky to survive an attack on her life because she was brave enough to say that enough was enough.  It is in her honor that I write.

Backstory.

Malala Yousafzai is only fourteen years old.  Her wisdom seems far beyond her years.  But I think that is because she has had to grow up in circumstances that do not allow for her to enjoy her youth.  She lives in fear because she is held in the oppression of the Taliban.  She began an anonymous blog a few years ago describing her life under Taliban rule in her community in the Swat Valley.  Even at eleven years old she understood the consequences of a life lived contrary to the medieval rule of the Taliban.  One night, with her fears and anxiety coming to a head, she dreamt of helicopters and Taliban militants and wrote the now-famous "I Am Afraid" post.

SATURDAY JAN. 3: I AM AFRAID     I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools.
     Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taliban’s edict. My three friends have shifted to Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi with their families after this edict.
     On my way from school to home I heard a man saying "I will kill you." I hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone.

High Praise. 

In 2009, Malala was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize, and was given Pakistan's first-ever National Youth Peace Prize for her outspoken support of girl's education.  Recently she led a delegation of children's right activists, sponsored by UNICEF, that made special presentations to provincial leadership in Peshawar.  Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said in Parliament, "she is our daughter" and her urged support for her cause.

Gunshots.

Malala boarded a school bus to head home after a day of studies.  Reports claim that a gunman boarded the school bus and began asking some of the girls if there were Malala Yousafzai.  When the first two girls said that they were not her, they were shot.  Eventually Malala was found, and shot twice - once in the neck, and once in the head.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying that Malala is "the symbol of infidels and obscenity."

At this hour.

As of the time I write this, the bullet has been successfully removed from her neck and doctors at the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar have said that she is "out of danger."  Doctors have confirmed that her brain did not suffer permanent damage.  They say that the next 3-4 days are critical.

I Am Afraid.

I have fear also.  I am afraid that what we have seen is only the beginning.  I am afraid for a society that believes it can solve issues by subjugation and oppression.  I am afraid for communities that struggle to survive against their own people.  I am afraid for children who grow up too quickly, understand war too well, and die too young.

It is easy for me to look across the span of many oceans and say, "I fear for them" and then, just as easily, forget them.  But then I look inward.  What about me?  I'm afraid for me, too.  I fear that I have within me nothing that is braver than a few meaningless words on the internet.  I fear that I do not have courage enough to stand up and say, with a voice bigger than my oppressor, enough is enough.  I fear that in the face of danger I will cower, instead of standing up for what is right.  

This fourteen-year-old girl has done so much more to advance her culture in her short years than I have ever done in all of mine.  I celebrate her.  I honor her.  I want to be like her.  She was brave in the face of conflict, and fierce in times of struggle.  

Change.

I was recently told, "Dana, you can't save the world."  At first, I felt a deep sting.  I felt offended.  I realize that this statement is not altogether false.  Alone, I cannot save the world.  But if everyone on the planet decided to defy that statement, something amazing could happen.  Maybe the world would not be transformed immediately into a peaceful place of harmony and love, but we could give it a head start.  If we treated the planet with respect, and the people on it with value, how much better off would it be?  Maybe there would be far fewer Malalas being airlifted to hospitals with gunshot wounds.  Maybe there would be far fewer roadside bombings.  Maybe there would be far fewer ozone watch days, and fewer patients suffering from shortness of breath.  Maybe we would be economically safe(r) and maybe we would be able to really talk about issues instead of slinging mud.  I cannot promise these results, but is it not worth a try?  Malala would think so.  Malala did think so.  I am willing to bet that at some point someone told her she could not change the world, either, but generations of school girls in Pakistan will think differently.

Enough is enough.

It is easy, looking through the red, white, and blue glasses of the American way to say that it is wrong for any government to oppress women in this way.  But a little tolerance would go a long way.  I understand that religious differences and cultural freedoms are what makes each country and culture unique and special.  I would never be in favor of Americans busting in to make a society more like American society.  I think America is great, but it wouldn't be so great if we weren't a society made up of so many other unique societies.  I respect the religious beliefs and cultural etiquette of other countries and groups.  If Muslims or Afghans believe that women should not be educated, I respect that.  It's difficult to accept, but I respect that.

What I do not respect is using the threat of death for anyone who disagrees.  What I do not respect is "bullying" your people to follow your rules.  And I do not respect the violent blood bath of a child to prove your view.

At some point, we, not as Americans or Canadians or Afghans or whomever we associate with, but we, as human beings, must stand up and say enough is enough.  There has to be a better way to communicate our feelings and our views than through the vicious slayings of our own citizens.  This message I not only speak to those in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Mexico... but right here at home.  

Enough is enough.