CURRENT EVENTS

I’d swear this world has gone mad. This morning at work during our daily morning-coffee-Chitchat. I mentioned the racism killing in Antwerp to my colleague that’s an odd thing to mention at a morning-coffee session isn’t it? about 2 weeks ago I had read a short article about the proceeding of this psychopath, that has been stuck in my mind and I had mentioned this to my colleague, so today’s sentencing was something we couldn’t let pass by . This man had killed a black pregnant lady and had injured a Turkish lady if that’s not heinous enough.

The Black African lady, who was an au pair originating from Mali to a Belgian family, had brought her two year old charge out for a little walk. The article that had been imprinted in my mind was about a statement this man has made about the happenings that day. When he had shut the black au Pair, the two year old baby girl had started crying which reminded the 19-year-old Hans T of a documentary he had seen about baby elephants.

The documentary had talked about how baby elephants that had seen the death of their mothers were traumatized for life, so this 19 year old pointed his gun at a 2 year old baby girl. I can’t help thinking of those last minutes of that child’s life how terrified she must have been. I can’t help thinking of her mother, coming home to see all of the things that might have made her baby smile, knowing that her child might never hold her favourite stuffed animal.

As a response to my mention of the Antwerp Racist murder, my colleague asked if I had heard about yet another school shooting in the states.

- Yeah, last week in Wisconsin, I replied and as I heard my own voice I realized that wasn’t in a school.

- No, last night.

We live in Europe so the working day in the states is mostly our night.

As I turned to the TV in the break room, they were showing an Item on yet another school shooting in the most affluent country in the world.

About a year ago when I went to visit my friend at that time Siavash in DC, we had gotten in a cab together. Ironic enough he was scheduled to give a speech at the heritage club. Siavash had been on the phone, I believe he is actually addicted to his cell phone. In my enormous need to communicate I fell back on my old habit of starting conversations with taxi drivers. I asked the Black man behind the wheel a simple question about the scenery. He had answered me very cordially. I heard the French African accent in his voice. So I asked.

-Might I be so blunt to ask where you are from?

Within 5 minutes I knew that this man was from Congo had fled the war about 4 years ago and had ended up here, driving a cab to get him self trough college. The thought at that time had crossed my mind that this man had fled one of the mot bloody conflicts of our time to drive a cab in the murder capital. I had mentioned I was Iranian and was visiting from Europe.

He then said at home its bad, but here its worse, he had gone on to share his thoughts on the matter. At home people are killing each other, there is a horrible war famine… but here they have every thing and still the kids are killing each other. Gangs and school shootings… he shook his head and said I don’t understand.

The truth neither did I, nor do I today. I was shocked by now Siavash had gotten off the phone and asked me what the conversation was about. Which I told him briefly.
He looked at me and then in Persian said: ask him where are these kids killing each other; I haven’t seen anything like that here.

I sighed and I looked at him; didn’t you watch the news last night? It has happened so often...

The truth was my dissident friend had been so blinded by the red carpet rolling out in front of him by the republican he wasn’t even willing to acknowledge the truth. My ambassador of hope had sold his principals to the devil for a little less than anything worth mentioning.

Then in the afternoon a stabbing in a school in Amsterdam: a 14-year-old killed a 16-year-old.

In the meantime Turkey and the US are bickering wether or not the deportation of 2 million Armenians about a 100 years ago leading to the death of 1.5 million of those Armenians should or should not be labelled as genocide, how is that even relevant. Turkey is not opposing the numbers, they are not saying 1.5 million people of a certain race were killed; they oppose the word “Genocide”. In the Immortal words of Shakespeare “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose”, Would stink up the place by any other name (I took some poetic liberty their).

Call it a Rose, it won't smell as sweet though, it will still be genocide.

I long for a slow news day…. Let's hope tomorrow will be one of those boring days when all is right in the world. Thank god reading Dayi Jan Napleon still brings a smile to my face… otherwise this world is maddening.