Everywhere is War

Living, as we are, in times of war, it has become apparent that our collective condition is one of deflection and denial. We must choose between surviving pathos and unilateral triumphalism, amidst the numbing bombardment of the media, or we can detach ourselves completely, thereby fragmenting our already fragile humanity.
In neglecting the reality of our times, 0we have lost touch with the notions of resistance and struggle that coerced our current civilization, our present-day society, into being. The disregard towards Iraq and Afghanistan, the deplorable inertia of the Palestinian/ Israeli conflict, and the murderous tribulations of border control  around the globe are not far from the travesty we call Kashmir  or the tireless bloodletting that continues to plague Sri Lanka.

Asia is a battlefield, a continent in which the traumatic butchery of its citizens, from within and without, continues into the new millennium. Incendiary  devices have replaced cash crops and hate mongering and machismo have replaced a mix of stagnant policies and unkept promises for change and peace.

The media, consistently focused on international catastrophes, refrains from reporting the continuing abattoir that we have learned to call "independant nations." Strength honour in the media have been sacrificed for indifferent neutrality and the sham of silence, negating any and all potential for mediation and for the invaluable education of its audience. However, artists, filmmakers, and writers have found fertile  ground amidst the wreckege in which to express their despair, not only about the loss of lives, but also about the loss of responsible, empathetic and, above all, active voice in our current, tumultuous times.

Shaheen merali