It is astounding to see the ease with which time turns people into mere numbers. It falters living, existing beings into memories of yesterday and allows the dark shadows of obscurity to overcome the warm golden glow of their being. A similar tragedy occurred with the martyrs of APS attack 2014.
When the news about the attack first came out, the entire nation of Pakistan was stunned. Hearts gapped and eyes wept in mourning. A rare sight of true unity was witnessed to avenge the blood of these youngsters. Vigils dominated streets and pledges were taken to not let another massacre like APS take place again. International world was also not inactive. The suffering seemed to be mutual. So did the duty to take avenge. It seemed like that aura would never end, like the martyrs will really live forever, that their blood will never fade away.
But those who said that time turns flames to embers forgot the fact that with those flames also burn the memories and the people that should’ve been kept alive, that were too important to be put into oblivion. It is painful to see how those 151 people became mere number, 151.The ones who once walked through the doors of life with immense freedom and bliss and were then captivated by inhuman terrorists, who were pledged to be never forgotten, are today no more than posters and paintings on our school walls.
These 151 souls who turned from ‘is’ to ‘was’ within a matter of seconds, became obsolete rather than becoming infinite. They were 151 dreams that will never become reality, 151 buds that’ll never blossom into flowers, 151 books that were half read and then perpetually closed due to a war. A war in which those sinners of morality were up against the entire humanity but still, it was those 151 who lost their lives. They breathed their last in the desire to water down the evil aims of the enemies, to uphold the banner of truth in the midst of falsehood. Didnt they deserve to have their cause live forever ? Or was this unparalleled sacrifice made just to become photos and hashtags and numbers?
The point was not just to remember just the sacrifice and propogate it around. But to believe in their dream of defeating the enemy and to bring it to reality. To adopt the same valiance that rushed in their blood and tie our lives to a goal. To illuminate the darkness of falsehood with the light of education. We failed to live up to their cause.
They were much more than 151 corpses.They were promises, hopes and expectations that we had to fulfill but unfortunately, forgot. It is tragic to see how despite such a matchless show of bravery from those youngsters, our nation has still not recovered from its non-chalance. Their blood did bring tears to our eyes and pain to our soul but we couldnt wake up from our naps of inactivity. We couldnt be triggered into action for the fulfillment of their incomplete dreams. We couldnt understand what we were supposed to do. That is our flaw and their misery.
However, its still not late to grasp the actual message and mould our lives in order to achieve the ends that those courageous martyrs handed over to us. We can still get back to the drawing board and be totally engrossed in our education, avoid wasting our time in unproductive activities and establish the humanity with such strength that even the cruelest of our enemies could be dwarfed by the very thought of attacking it.
So lets not forget the sacrifices made and lets use our time in this world for truly productive ends because time was the only thing that those martyrs didnt have, the only thing their parents couldn’t earn them.
