Black. Lives. Matter.

Let me begin with the universal greeting of peace:

Assalamu-alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

Which directly translates to “Peace be upon you with the mercy and the blessings of Allah”.

What is so sad about me using this greeting is that there is no peace anywhere. From Palestine to Afghanistan. From South Africa to America and from China to South America – peace is a concept that we can only dream of.

I thought long and hard about whether I would write about the current events and of course, I decided that although my platform is nothing big, it is big enough to use my voice. But I will refrain from giving my opinion. Rather I want to address the issue and inform people of what is happening and why it should matter.

On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis policeman, Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck and definitely not with an intention to restrain. His murder led to an uproar across the world, mostly in America where there have been peaceful protests regarding police brutality and more specifically, violence against black people. These protests have only been met with violence from police forces.

What is so infuriating is that George Floyd was not the first to be wrongfully killed by the hands of a white man.

In February of this year, Ahmaud Arbery went for a jog in Georgia and was shot and killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael. He was unarmed. In March, Breanna Taylor was shot by police officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department, officers who entered her home and shot without provocation.

These are just recent events. There are hundreds… maybe even thousands more who were wrongfully killed. And not only in America. All over the world. Even here in South Africa – so many have died at the hands of officials or at the hands of racists, xenophobes, homophobes and Islamophobes.

Who do you call when the police are the ones doing the killing and posing a threat???

People who swore to serve and protect are the very same people who we need protection from.

That is not the only thing. People are continuously using the phrase “All Lives Matter” which is true but is now the time to use it???? I do not know about you but do white people get wrongfully killed every day for simply walking down the street?

What is happening is Black people are screaming “I can’t breathe” and getting killed for no reason other than their skin colour, Muslim women are getting assaulted for wearing their Hijab or Muslims, in general, are being labelled “terrorists”, Asians are having to face continuous racist comments regarding Covid-19 or just “jokes” and so many other races, Mexicans and Mixed-Race, have to constantly prove that they are not what media portrays them as???

BLACK. LIVES. MATTER.

This is racism.

Racism is not a new concept and it is something that has been going on for far too long. Is it because we are not screaming loud enough? Or is just because those screams are falling on deaf ears?

Do we really want our children – future generations – to relive this nightmare again and again? We are living in a moment that will go down in history. If something is meant to be historic, should it not stay there, in the past? If the next generations are to learn of these concepts, should they have to experience it like we have to now? I mean, we all learnt about Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm x and Nelson Mandela – we learnt what they fought for so why is it that we have to still fight for the same things???

I ask you to do your part. Not as an American, African, European, or Asian. Not as a black, white, Indian, or coloured but as a human being.

Fight for what is right.

If you cannot fight then pray for the world, pray to the Almighty to remove the hate from their hearts and pray that your children or grandchildren do not have to fight this fight again in the next 10 years. That someone’s child does not die next month because of these crap mindsets.

Do something but do not just sit behind your screen and watch the world go up in flames. These are trying times and we have to stand together.

Use your social media to spread awareness. There are petitions that take less than a minute to sign and there are emails that do not take longer than 5 minutes to type.

Make a difference. Do not think you will not make an impact because trust me, even if 3 people see that you are taking a stand; they will too.

Speak up for George. For Ahmaud and Breanna. For Collins Khosa. Please just speak up.

Please.

Please.

Please.