Recent Acts Against Humanity

Muslims attend Friday prayers which are religious obligations that gather families together. On March 15, 2019, in Christchurch, New Zealand, 50 individuals, both old and young, were killed as an inhumane terrorist shot families while they were praying. This was a horrible act of terrorism. On April 21, 2019, six suicide bombers and a total of 24 assailants took away the lives of over 290 Christian victims in Sri Lanka.   Today as we live in a world of technological advancements, yet prejudice and inequality seem to proliferate. There are cruel men lost in thoughtless notions of bloodshed, murder and inequality. The people attending the prayers were innocent human beings all fulfilling their righteous purpose on Earth.  The main lessons we can learn from maladies like the shooting or bombing is that we, the young, can make a difference in the world and fight for our rights. As Stephen Hawking once said “However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope.” At Brentwood, we are provided with multiple opportunities to voice our opinion in society and make a difference. Some students leading by example include Amelia H, Allard ‘20 and Jalynn B, Allard ‘19 who voice their thoughts and perspectives through debate. I personally volunteer at the Cowichan Intercultural Society to help share the diverse cultures in this world. It took a long time for the media to accept this event as a terrorist act. One of the victims from the New Zealand incident was a five year old girl that was impaled in the face as she was praying. She has recently awoken from the coma with vision loss. This violence has taken away the future of a young girl who had barely stepped into the real world. These immoral acts prevent humankind from advance and devolve into cruelty and non acceptance of different religions. The radical solution to these maladies includes educating the world on different religions and cultures to strengthen the links between culturally different beings. All of us have the potential to make a difference in this world no matter what ethnic background we come from or what religion we devote our life to. The time is now for all of the youth to stand against prejudice and guide our generation to a future of equality. Areeb S, Rogers ‘20