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Eid of martyrs in Gaza

Kashmir Times. Dated: 7/31/2014 10:53:21 PM

Dear Editor,
Amidst bombs, blood and deaths, Gaza residents have been observing the holy month of Ramadan and now celebrated the “Eid of martyrs”. At such a time when Muslim world was busy in the preparation of Eid, destroyed homes, wounded civilians, martyred kids, weeping mothers, shells and smoke can be seen all over Gaza. Tanks shelling, naval ships striking and F16 bombarding, though all claimed humorously in self defence made the Eid special this year in Gaza. Though Eid ul-Fitr, literally means “the feast of the breaking of the fast” and is a time of great celebration. However, this year it's not the feast of breaking the fast, rather it's the feast of martyrs for Gazans. With ongoing ethnic cleansing by Israel, the normally joyous affair of Eid was rather muted in Gaza.
It is difficult to imagine the predicament of the Gazans. How would it be like to try to sleep when fighter jets are buzzing our your head and you keeps on asking your own self, “is my home going to be the next target?”, how would it be like to sit on the rubble of your home which you had build with blood and sweat over years and which was destroyed in seconds in front of your eyes, to see your nears and dears being killed in cold blood and when you were able to do nothing but to watch all this genocide helplessly, how it would be like to have the dead body of your son in your arms and when you keep on crying and asking the whole world “why, why my son was killed when he was so young to hold a small toy in his hands and how he was a terrorist for the devils of Israel”. How it would be like for your entire village to be homeless and live in an overcrowded school which does not even has drinking water and toilet facilities. Such experience can make even a stone to cry like a baby. As Allah says in Quran “Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity” (2:286) I wonder about the capacity Allah has granted to the tigers of Gaza.
While celebrating the Eid-ul-Fitr with our families, we should not forget the infants and women of Gaza who are being massacred by Israel. Muslims across the world should trim down Eid celebrations in solidarity with the people of Gaza. We should care about those innocent angels murdered in Gaza and those left with wounds on their hearts and minds forever. Together, we can turn hopelessness into determination and the forces of division into unity and Gaza will exist victoriously on earth, in heaven and in our hearts.
—Imran Khan,
Freelance Psychologist