Adam (Humanity)

The other day, I was helping my colleague, Maryam, with her English assignment. They had watched the movie "A Raisin in the Sun" and she was really curious about African Americans (or rather "African people in America") and their history. I gave her a few points to research: Jim Crow Laws, Civil Rights Movement, the standard. Now I feel the need for a new one: the 16th St Baptist church bombing. Never before have I tried to imagine it so vividly, such an innocent activity becoming associated with such violence. I am also trying to imagine it on Christmas Day, when members who might not make time throughout the year to attend, but follow the social protocol for holidays, are also present.

Today, on such a holiday, a mosque was blown up on my side of town. Filled with the faithful members as well as those who attended just for a holiday, the impact of the explosion killed or injured over 100 men, women, and children. Fatality numbers are rising, as there is a lack of medical resources available for the victims.

Mariam made the connection right away--the situation in my country and hers were not the same, but there were basic principles that were violated. She sees the discrimination between ethnic and religious lines everyday. It's this hope in humanity that will keep us going. For every person who is willing to blow himself up and kill innocent people in the name of an ideological cause, there are many more who are tired of violence and want to create a society where each group finds acceptance as members of humanity.