The world that we live in

In some places right now children are running around in the meadow, laughing with the joy and innocence of childhood. Some others tie little polythen bags with rope to make balls and they running around playing oblivious to the scorching sun. In some other places, a child is working to clear the family debt, denied of all basic rights and hardened by the bleakness of their world. A child is wed to a man old enough to be her father. Somewhere out there all a child has ever known is pain, terror and tears. It’s the world we live in. In some places right now young people are enjoying the pleasures that come with youth: music, dance and ever changing fashion and social trends. They see the world only in black and white. They are making plans and dreaming big. At the back of their minds they aware that somewhere remote in the world, things are very different. In some other places, young people were forced to grow up before they were of age. They struggle to feed their families, have never seen the inside of a classroom and everyday life is brutal. Some have fallen in love with the ‘highlife’ drugging themselves into oblivion. Some are lonely and humiliated into suicide. Some have never known neither a kind word nor a gentle smile. It’s the world that we live in. Some people carelessly wear their virtue on their sleeves living the high end of life, it’s just for fun. For others, their innocence was brutally stripped from them. They were physically and emotionally abused till they become shadows and shells of who they used to be. It’s the world that we live in. Somewhere in the world today streets have been torn up by war, burning tires line every street corner. Gangs, Mafias and rebels have tormented lives and destroyed homes and families. Children are now soldiers, men and women are collateral security. They are disposable. In other parts of the world, streets are impeccably clean. Life is regarded as an asset that should be protected by all means. People watch television to see where the world they have never truly known has reached. They can’t believe what they see. How can such things happen? Alas, they soon forget even these when they switch off the screen set. It’s the world that we live in. In some places right now, Parents are sacrificing all they have for the sake of their children. They are dripping blood and sweat for the sake of their families. They enjoy the simple things in life and understand how to treasure the things that money can’t buy. A mother’s hands are calloused and a father’s face has wrinkled before time. Somewhere else in this world, new mothers have abandoned their defenseless newborns and sentenced them to the fate of the elements. Fathers have denounced their children leaving and never looking back. They have left them forever easy prey to perverts and socio-paths as they seek ‘affection’. It’s the world that we live in. While some have never been anywhere, others have been everywhere, they have no place to call home. While others have no food, others have enough to waste. Somewhere in the world problems that would fill the sky where it a piece of parchment have bound people in misery for ages. In other places, people debate about these problems and thank the Almighty others, not them are devastated. It’s the world that we live in. It’s a contrast and a mosaic of differences. How can we fix what we pretend not to see? How can we solve what we would much rather avoid? Who among the scorned and afflicted will surface to love and give? Who among the privileged and whole will learn to live for more than themselves? Who will speak when no one else will? Who will stand when everyone one else won’t? If you will then you might leave this world a little better than you found it. Simply because you chose to be when others wouldn’t. Simply because the sun will rise and set. Tomorrow,I promise you it will rise again. The earth will keep spinning and we shall all receive darkness and light. Shall we rage against the onset of darkness or smile as we welcome destiny like an old friend? We need to break free of the bondage of hatred that still imprisons us. Let us learn to understand and celebrate our diversity. Let us learn to speak for those who can’t. Let us learn to unite against evil. Only then may we stand a chance in this remorseless, wicked, unforgiving, unfair and sick world that we live in. I hope to see you on the banks of joy and freedom standing tall for we chose to stand when the sickening waves of gross irresponsibility and selfishness were at their worst. I hope to see you there. For now, I rest my case.

Education

The world that we live in