This is something everyone needs to read.
A Sri Lankan student has become an internet sensation in the last few days thanks to her powerful blog post entitled “A love letter to Beirut, Paris and beyond from Sri Lanka.”
Sarah Jameel, who is studying in UCC, shared the post earlier this week, and its message has resonated across the world after being picked up by a number of media outlets including the Huffington Post.
It reads:
“Dear fellow human,
“I know it’s 2015 and we don’t write love letters anymore, but this one is a little different. It’s not coming to you on a pigeon or via a postman, but directly to your computer or phone screen. And if you agree with Dumbledore when he said: “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” then read along.
“We don’t choose which part of the world we are born into. It’s not a decision we get to make until we are years out of utero. And sometimes this decision may be already made for us; if you end up becoming a refugee and have to take an unsafe boat and be in the mercy of the hands of smugglers, because: no one leaves home, unless home is the mouth of a shark, you only run from the border, when you see the whole city running as well.
“You have to understand, that no one puts their children on a boat, unless the water is safer than the land.
“But whatever the reason may be, humans like you and I are strong, we are courageous and we wait it out until enough is enough.
“They (neuroscience research) say that humans are the only creatures who are able to empathize with other fellow humans because of the cognitive functions bestowed in our grey matter.
“We have evolved or, being made this way – whichever truth you believe in – to be able to feel the pain of another human’s struggle, to be able to rejoice in joy of another human’s triumph,” the post reads.
It later adds:
“Last week was an excellent example of this cognitive phenomena. A massacre in Paris, a car bomb in Beirut, an earthquake in Japan, and countless other attacks where we humans have given into aggression… makes me wonder if we are turning the evolutionary clock backwards and becoming less human.
“But the good news is that the neuroscience is in our favour. We can be trained to be more peaceful, to be more compassionate and to be kind.”
Sarah’s post has become an internet sensation (Pic:Twitter)
It continues:
“I was part of a generation that was born and raised during a war, and although I may not have lived on the frontline, the effects of this mass atrocity of three decades will forever be part of my childhood… I know what it is like to go to school every day and not know if I would make it back home safe, or if my parents would get back in one piece from work.”
She goes on to explain an event that happened at her school one day.
“Much like fire alarms and drills, you always wish you never had to use what you learned on how to deal with it because you didn’t want it to ever happen.
“But one day it did, there was a loud explosion, a suicide attack targeting a high ranking official, and myself together with my fellow Prefects had to follow what we were taught, and more importantly keep my classmates calm and safe until the chaos ceased.
“So I may not have been in Paris with you or in Beirut or in Baghdad or wherever else your dignity was shattered through fear, and you may not have had the training I was given on how to deal with such a situation, but if you came out of this experience stronger than you were before, I salute you.”
She adds:
“Even when time and again, we occasionally have to deal the distress of people driving wedges among communities; may it be through a political agenda or otherwise, I will always voice my opinion on how we need to stick together as that stunning mosaic – as serendipity.
“Because our differences make us beautiful and our similarities make us one, and both in conjunction is an unstoppable formula for success in every facet of life and development.
“So if you’re a peacemaker, never give up on that role because the world needs more of you.
“So myself, together with millions of others around the world who believe in peace over conflict, love over hate, and kindness above all, are with you every step of the way as you put your life back together.
“Let me just tell you that it is in our biology to grow stronger and more resilient after every adversity, as as it is for a bone to grow back to be much stronger after a fracture. “
And it ends with one simple message:
“In war, choose love. In despair, choose love. When the good and bad becomes relative concepts and appear to be grey, choose love.
“When you don’t know whom to blame about the magnitude of atrocities around you, choose love.
“This is my love letter to you, and I hope it will open your heart to transcend borders and reinvigorate what humanity is all about.”
You can read her post in full here.
