Racism is not an issue unique to our island. Discrimination and even violence that has an ethnic basis is seen in most countries. While the victim usually belongs to the ‘minority’ or is an ‘alien’ the guilty party usually receives the support of society. The following case gives us a different story. The bad guy did get a death sentence and the lethal injection seemed to do the crime justice. However, what is more important to note is the forgiving nature of the victim. Rais Bhuiyan, the world needs more people like you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14199078
Rais Bhuiyan’s forgiving nature reflects perfectly what Desmond Tutu once said.
“Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering–remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.”
More often than not a particular event is what brings about a lot of racism and ethnic discrimination. Looking at America, the blacks were ill-treated because of slavery. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil-Sinhala conflict arose due to the political disharmony and greed for power. Wars are never beautiful things, and John Lennon’s song Imagine sums it up perfectly.
Written for Reconciliation 