I still remember that day quite clearly, as it was one or two days before the first school day of my last year in high school, I remember waking up to my brother’s voice, I looked at the scene and it took us all quite a while to absorb what was really happening… It was very shocking, and it was so real, we were all frozen in front of the TV screen… We wanted to believe it was only an accident, but then the second plane hit and cleared all the doubts… We knew something very wrong was taking place, we knew lots of lives were being lost… We only didn’t know that this is only the beginning of a new era of fear, an era where even more innocent lives are going to be taken, and a new tyranny is ruling the world we once knew…

The US invasion of Iraq and Iraqi refugees fleeing to Syria have had a deep impact onto the well-being of the economy, demography, education and the quality of life and even the sanity of the nation, as the influx of refugees counted in millions brought with it a new language to the streets, new traditions, AIDS, weapons, racism, radicalism, and a sudden rise of prices of commodities, fuel, food and accommodation which was easily absorbed by the Iraqi families as they had a much better financial condition to start with, not counting the thieves and criminals taking advantage of the chaos of the war and stealing large amounts of money, cars and gold and running away to Syria to live a life of kings, while Syrian families had to suffer more trying to catch up with the skyrocketing prices being doubled or tripled for food and basics of life, and up to five to ten times more for accommodation, and then it started taking a downhill curve when Iraqis started buying properties and taking over businesses once owned by Syrians, bringing in their own workforce and adding to the unemployment of the Syrian people which was already too high…

All that, and we haven’t even started talking about what Arabs in general and Muslims had to go through and still do every second when it comes to the freedom of travelling, tourism, working, studying abroad, and even moving in their own towns or visiting their own families overseas, and the horrible cases of discrimination that we had to go through even when we were clearly not Muslims, which some friends had to go through even though they were Christians! And of course, the increased security measures taken by all countries and the screaming invasion of privacy and freedom on all levels all over the world under the name of national security and fighting terrorism…

Some might say that the USA was bitten by the snake they raised, but the truth is, this snake had eggs waiting to hatch, and what they needed was a tiny bit of hate and heat, generously supplied by speeches of prejudice, falling bombs and burning grounds, now the descendants of the first snake are running amok around the globe, bringing hate, death and destruction to every child on every corner, slaughtering smiles, hopes and dreams. And now the whole world is paying the price for a world-wide war started by a handful few blinded by made-up religious fanaticism and oil-fuelled political greed…

Terrorism knows no boundaries, and has no religion, and the best proof is the last massacre in Utøya, and as long as it’s fought with fire it will only keep getting stronger, which is what politicians and arm dealers are working hand in hand to make sure is the case, for they want people to cower silently in fear, watching their rights being shot down one by one, as more weapons are being manufactured and more are being sold to the very enemy we are fighting.

But it has always been this way, an endless greed and an unstoppable crushing force in search for money and power is leading the world to an imminent fall… But this has to end now… And I know that only you and I can make it happen… And only we can make a change…

Blessed be the dead… R.I.P.

H.Q.
Sunday
13:04
September 11, 2011