“Don’t be disheartened” — Staying Strong in Times of Pain
“How could they be silent? Don’t they have daughters? Don’t they have a heart or conscience? I am crying as I type these words — somewhere, a sister of mine is getting raped now”, I ranted to a friend I consider trustworthy, mature, and understanding.
Yes, the rational side of me knows. It knows reality. Nobody that is active on social media and is updated with the news in the recent times can even pretend that they don’t know what is going on. They all know. No, not all of them are heartless. Not all of them are supporters of injustice. There are so many voices that are still quiet or apolitical, but still, there are women who are quiet, too, and no woman that is in a healthy state of mind would consciously support rape. With each news update adding to the list of injustice and hate crime, I have been having a very hard time coping up myself. I had to cancel a few sessions even, and that could be damaging for my career even. In the meanwhile, when I see silence, the question pops up: “How could anyone be silent, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister?”
What I sort of knew already, the friend expressed even more affirmatively and compassionately. The fact is that not everyone is in a position to fight. yes, there could be selfish people that can’t care for anyone else but themselves, but a majority are watching. They are aware. They just can’t afford to risk their lives and the lives of their family members. Don’t be so harsh on everyone. Probably they just need time. Beyond a point, even they would have to speak up and they will.
The friend’s words seemed to be on point! Fear is how the oppressor keeps the oppressed and anyone that protests against them quiet. That’s what the Britishers did as well, but we Indians, rather Indians from three or four generations back did manage to win freedom. What’s currently going on is a struggle for freedom, too.
A number of activists, social workers, writers, journalists, and those that express dissent in any form have been targeted one after another with baseless charges or on false charges. Their latest target seems to be Father Stan Swamy, on false charges, yes. An 83-year-old gentleman!
Even the liars and apolitical people can’t lie or remain indifferent for long. They all have to speak up sometime.
“But the Dalits also seem to be divided. For instance, see, some of them regard Ram Vilas Paswan as a true leader and some are against him. They differ in their ideologies. There are some communists that seem to find fun in the rape case — they just see this as another opportunity to mock Dalits and feminists for not being strong enough, and worse, they can actually make jokes and puns out of a woman’s suffering without even realizing what they are saying! What is going on?” I asked the friend.
“They are not really communists, maybe, or they are men coming from upper caste or upper class”, the friend explained. On point again. they have probably never seen suffering in real life or they have never fought alone, without the support of their people, or they have never been on the receiving end of oppression! Who else could make such nasty jokes?
“And for the liberals, this seems to be just another occasion to express their strong dislike for the ruling party. They seem to have already moved on! But look at the crime rates, the rape rates …!” I had to rant further.
“Don’t be disheartened”, said the friend politely. Those words seemed like magic that minute. “Every little bit counts now and adds up. It is a critical time.”
True. Every little bit counts right now. For those of you who are already active, I don’t know you, but I appreciate what you are doing. I am grateful. Please continue to do what you have been doing. Please don’t lose hope. Soon, others will also speak up because beyond a point, intolerance towards injustice would be the only language of love. For those that are armchair critics and do nothing more than criticizing and mocking, maybe they are incurable, or they will also change after a point when they realize what is really going on.
Don’t get disheartened, my friends. Someday justice will win, and for that day to come soon, we all have to come together. There are only two sides now, black and white. Those that support injustice and those that protest against injustice. Decide for yourselves where you’d like to be.
To quote father Stan Swamy,
“Let us hope that some human sense will prevail. And if it does not, all of us, all those who know me, who are concerned about me will also face what is to be faced. What is happening to me is not something unique, happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers, writers, poets, activists, student leaders, they are all put in jail just because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers. We are part of the process. In a way, I am happy to be part of this process because I am not a silent spectator. I am part of the game. I am ready to pay the price, whatever be it.” — Father Stan Swamy
How calm, committed, satisfied with himself, and confident he sounds! Let’s look up to leaders like him. Love.
