Pattern 1010...(Just a paper in the Box?)

Governments change

(but they don't bring no change)

but that doesn't matter,

because the world is stuck in a recurring defected pattern

1010101010...one zero one zero

it's either money or reputation driven

(there is nothing pure, except for 'pure' evil)

corrupted and bitter

perverted and cruel

it follows a pattern one zero zero

it's a machine

heavily virus infected

loaded with brutalities and atrocities

that have torn down the firewall,

the fortress of the afflicted!

***

unfortunate, but change is minimal and trivial

following strictly the pattern one zero

new faces, new statements,

new news for the day

but it's all in the pattern,

it's just a parade!

i've seen it, i've heard it

i've swallowed it all,

it's a cycle of 'pure' evil

a chronic disease prevailing in all...

***

it's the dilemma choice that rises in me

a citizen who believes in the emancipation of the weak

i'm holding my ballot,

with a religious assurance

that this little paper will bring us ultimate deliverance.

i'm counting on it, casting my hopes

all my fears disappear and i feel things moving on

a citizen, a man, a woman, me...

i'm treated equally!

justice is given for free!!

***

time has past, the votes have been cast,

the results announced

the winners pronounced..

here it comes...

this moment, when i finally realize...

i haven't had a real choice...

...it was just a paper in a box!

another follow-up of the familiar pattern

one zero zero one...

how can i build back the firewall?

can i or this paper bring justice (positive change) to all?

Check out the rest!

The High Price for Pursuing Knowledge in Some Parts of the Developing World

how much does it cost to go to school?
you might automatically answer - much.
but just how much?

well, most people will argue that no matter the cost, education is an invaluable and essential asset for the development of any individual. i will not refute the least such a statement, since i, myself, believe in this!

nevertheless, despite all arguments in support, i want to ask you -

what if it might cost you your life? will you still go to school? will you be willing to expose yourself to life danger just so that you can get to the classroom and learn?and why yes, or why no.

i suppose there will be those denying the possibility of such radical outcomes as the loss of life, but the facts are against such claims.

the reality in which some people 'survive' and actually pursue knowledge and development is utterly different from ours,immensely complicated and striking, and while we might wonder how to pay for the best schools, how to take advantage of the best options available to us and in one way or another consequently to succeed, or simply how to skip going to school...some people go to school at the risk of their lives.


who are these people? where is schooling being persecuted and why?

whether we talk about a war-torn area like Somalia or Darfur, or a radical Islamist town in a country like Afghanistan, controlled by the Talibans (or other extremist groups for that matter), or destitute places like Cambodia or Ethiopia, we can find parallels everywhere!

the 'price' of reaching school might differ, from being raped and beaten to being sold into prostitution or..as the latest of these cases shows, being the victim of a an attack with acid by some coward who just couldn't stand the thought of women's empowerment and emancipation.

the story of the several Afghan girls who were attacked with acid in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan just days ago, is another proof of the high price some children, and especially girls, have to pay, to have the chance to overcome poverty by acquiring education. Education is Power. And those who seek to halt the educating of girls know that very well. They fear immensely even the slightest possibility of being overthrown by an empowered new generation of women who have sacrificed much in their lives and who are ready to see radical change and improvement in society. And they have definite reasons to fear because their cowardly attacks will ultimately prove unsuccessful! Some people are ready to pay the High price...and pursue knowledge. Take Shamsia, for example, she received the most severe injures in the recent attack, and yet, while still in the hospital, with her face burned from the acid, she claimed: "I'll continue my schooling even if they try to kill me. I won't stop going to school"... this is courage, this is spirit, this is strength, this is power!

you might wonder, why on earth will someone walk 5 miles a day, like some girls in Sudan and Congo (or many other areas around the globe where the protection of the citizens is beyond any measure!), just to attend classes, at the risk of being attacked and raped; you might think why some girls will not let their chance of being schooled pass by and choose to risk their lives to learn merely how to write and read...and here is Shamsia's answer to you all: "I'll continue going to lessons. I'm studying to be able to build our country"...the response to the same question, given by a little girl whose leg was chopped off by some rebels in Congo and who nevertheless, continued walking the 5 miles to school, without protease, just a crunch (risking to be raped by gangs on the way to and back)...was this "I dream to become a teacher when I grow up and be able to teach children and help them "...

the answer to "why would someone be willing to pay a price so high for education?" is simple: it's the will and desire of every man and woman to develop and reach their full potential, to be all that they can be, dream and pursue their dreams, and live a dignified and decent life!

the answer is simple - it's man's highest aspiration to reach to the stars, and to fly with the eagles, to be all that God made him/her to be, and live like a human!!!

the next time you start complaining about how much you wish u didn't have to study for exams, attend classes, or have to write papers and listen to lectures...i urge you to take a deep look at yourself and see...just how very blessed you truly are.
and when you see it, i urge you to give the Lord the glory and the praise and Pray that all may be privileged to have a chance like yours, a chance to become all that they are meant to, a chance to fulfill their dreams and reach their stars...a chance to be free (of torture, fear, abuse, despair, poverty) to not just survive..but LIVE!

Check out the rest!

Real Life Survivors vs. entertainment 'survivors'

it's early in the morning. i wake up, take a long hot shower, prepare my coffee, take a glass of water, put my clothes in the laundry...and get to work...the day is busy, i run the errands, chat with friends, manage my finances, eat, shop, cook, clean...etc, till it's time to relax. but first: 'It's been a tiring day', 'money is not enough', 'life is too hard', 'life is unfair', 'i'm so unlucky'...sounds familiar?

our lives have become so facilitated by all kinds of gadgets and amenities, yet instead of being simplified, they have become way too complicated (and meaningless). now, we (by 'we' i mean that percentage of the world's population which actually has access and enjoys fully this so-called 'modern life') don't try to survive and live day for day, scarcely meeting ends...no,we don't. and we don't know what it means to see your kids die because you couldn't provide for them, no, we don't. we don't comprehend the struggles and the human will to Survive, to Live, to Be, because we've been given a chance by birth (or so).

So, instead, we resort to more sophisticated ways of understanding the grudges, the hardships and 'tricks' of survival...entertainment.

Shows like 'Survivor' have become so popular all over the world. We admire the men and women who push themselves to extremes to 'survive'...and eventually win a million dollars or so...ye, but survivor is nothing like that! ...anyway, who wants to know. it's enough to see a few photos of starving children on the news, hear about hundreds of thousands of people 'displaced' (one might not even understand it well)...that exhausts our engagement in World Affairs, which are for politicians to solve... and then we can switch back to our Entertainment channel.

I'm not against entertainment in general. i suppose it is beneficial in some ways, enriching our lives or just helping us relax, but these particular forms of entertainment have exposed and perverted some of human's most honourable qualities, like will power, determination, vigour, courage etc. What do these shows encourage and inspire us for? Seeing how far a man can be pushed, the limits of his/her strength, will, hope? But it's all fake...because no one will be willing to do these things if there were no incentives. So, then, is this kind of show really displaying the heights of human courage and will power...or the depth of his/her desire to attain the prize (simply the greed for money)? I guess stimulation is not a bad thing, it is indeed necessary, since humans operate better when they are given a carrot, rather than nothing...but we are missing the point.

If you look closer in the news next time, and instead of ignoring or avoiding the faces of the displaced, the refugees, the starved, the underprivileged, the sick, and the weak...you will not see losers, but real life Survivors, heroes who have fought more battles than soldiers in wars have! Then you will be moved!
It is these people who aspire admiration and honour, the ones who Never give up, who strive to Survive on a daily basis...whose courage is beyond our understanding. These are the Survivors of this world. And this is NOT entertainment!

Don't encourage shows like 'Big Brother', which deprives people from growing and only engages them in meaningless gossip and trivial stories. Don't encourage shows like the World's Eating competition, during which, tons of food is wasted and which, despite all the food being devoured, leaves your mind and soul empty. Don't encourage shows like 'Survivor', or even 'Fear Factor', which despite being quite amusing and exciting, only prove the ultimate power of money to control people, to push them to do...just about anything.

When you wake up tomorrow, let your first words be of giving thanks, for just how blessed you truly are, and let your life not be 'devoured' by the media, 'consumed' by the multi-million corporations, but let it be moved and transformed by the stories of those to whom heaven belongs...the real survivors of this world. Jesus said,

" Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me....

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me...' Matt.25:31-46

Check out the rest!

A Congolese woman on the Road (To all the displaced people and all refugees everywhere)

(a displaced woman)

Again on the road

carrying bundles of clothes,

pieces of bread, empty bottles for water...

i am going ahead.

It's the road to my past

paved with strife, blood and pain,
there is no way out...

i am a stone thrown away.

It's a crossroad with no choice

and i'm stuck in the middle
guns, rape, violence, grief

blood money and greed

take over everything...

the rebels suppress us

the government's a mess

this road is our only shelter, ally in this chaos.

i' m holding my son, he's quiet and still

looking straight in the eyes, he whispers:

"what are we punished for? are we so evil?"

are we preys for the beasts?

are we migrating birds?

are we victims of men?

are we people or dust?

are we remnants of the past?

do we have human name/face?

we are the citizens without homes

the forced travelers, always on the road

the free slaves of this land

we are children of this demolished place

even the foxes have holes,

the birds have their nests

the cattle sleep in stables

but all we have... is the stars and our Faith

***

(the world)

are these shadows from our nightmares?

or ghosts haunting us for our wrongdoing?

or are they just the reflection,

of what we cannot see but what's true and apparent?

how would we know...

when their voices are silenced

when Someone has muted the truth

when the world is trying to cover

the names of these human faces

with mere numbers in the news...?

Dedicated to all displaced people and all refugees around the world: Hold on!!!

God has proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah:

"I myself wil gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I
will place shepherds over them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing, " declares the Lord! Jer.23:3-5

Check out the rest!

Is Peace just a delusion or an arm-stretch away shore?

Inequalities, Regulations
Incentives and Ratios
International crisis and global response
constipation
Contradictions, world puzzles
Paradigms and Dilemmas,
Paradoxes and Distortions
Truth is False
and
Falsehood True
how come 1+1 still equals 2?

should we live in a cave (of ignorance)
like Plato's heroes do?

***

Justice or Order,
what's on your mind?
again in opposition,
it's - Either / Or
Peace or War -
mutually destroyed?
can Man reconcile
the Self-interest and that of All?

***

Lots are distributed
stocks piled up
flows of money come and go
yet the bottom is lied down
with bodies of the invisible
and the unknown...

***

step on them! close your eyes!
it's clear, you've chosen your path
demise and lethal end are on the way...
but who will dare take a different path
(and be doomed wrong) ...anyway...

***

put down the guns, raise up the flags
is Peace an oasis (delusion)? or an arm stretch-away shore?

...how would you know...if you don't stretch your own?

Check out the rest!