Hazar Ganji area massacre

Yet one more incident of targeting a particular minority sect.  Around 14 people, including two policemen and a woman, have been reported to embrace martyrdom whereas 30 others are still in critical condition; authorities believe it as a suicide attack on a bus carrying pilgrims returning from Iran.

Not a surprise that our so called independent and liberal media just covered the incident as main headline once and then coverage to given incident went low i.e. little clip about incident. Again not a surprise all major political parties just issued verbal statements against the incidents. Chief Justice on the issue of targeting minority sects has remained quite or not as vocal as he is on issues relating to current government. From Mastung incident to Kohistan incident where innocent and un-armed civilians were made to stand in line and executed just because they belonged to a specific community. And now massacre in Hazar Ganji area of Quetta.

When you see mass demonstrations against incidents like Salala check post attack just because it was a breach of our sovereignty; a question rises that isn’t killing of ordinary, innocent and un-armed citizens in such a manner, just because they follow some other ideology; is a breach of our sovereignty? Why doesn’t the civil society speak against such terrorist organizations? Why doesn’t the lawyer community demonstrate against such incidents? And why doesn’t the Chief Justice of Justice League take suo moto action against such incidents?

It is an agony when people belonging to these outfits are arrested and then released by our independent judiciary on grounds that evidence is not available. On the other hand the men being released openly confess that they have persecuted and will persecute minorities. 

My only plea to an ordinary Pakistani, if you cannot take stand against such barbarians, what you can really do is to to raise your voice against such killings. Why? Because today somebody else has lost their loved ones in this bloodshed in name of religion, tomorrow it could be your house.

Just think over it.

Story of Appreciation

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview,  made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic  achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a   year when he did not score good grades.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "None." The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it   was my mother who paid for my school fees." The director asked, "Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner." The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a   pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me."

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning." The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands.   His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her   hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and son talked for a very long time. Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes."

The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."
 

The youth said,

1. I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not be the successful me today.

2. By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

3. I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager." I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team.   The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put him first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn   piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please   let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and   bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you   do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love   them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich   their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the   mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid   learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty & learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

The carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. 

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. 

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" 

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. 

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? 

Source: Roger Darlington