For a better world

Changes don’t happen overnight. Even science says that it takes 21 days to change a single habit alone For a better world

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Whatever happens, happens for good,” an old adage says. This statement, somehow, has always helped me see things in a more positive light. Positivity. Yes, that’s what we are told to look for in our lives, however heartbreaking our sufferings might be. But sometimes, it turns out, we can’t simply put smiles on our faces and say, “Well, maybe this happened for good” and move on. Sometimes, as I’ve learned, we have to pause and think why an event happened and how we can help change it. The event in question is the Peshawar school attack that happened recently. It left almost 130 students dead, and reminded me of our country when it was in turmoil. The fear that marked our childhood is something I can never forget. And the news about the Peshawar attack reminded me of the bomb blasts that rocked our country during the wartime.

Back then, all I could do whenever a bomb exploded somewhere in our country was shed some tears and pray for the departed souls. But I find myself helpless even now. For even as innocent kids were killed in their school in Peshawar, I couldn’t do anything to help them. I couldn’t be of any use. All I did was scroll through my news feeds to keep abreast of all the happenings, commented on a few statuses that condemned acts of terrorism and hit ‘like’ on a few statuses that resonated with the same spirit.

On a more personal level, all I could do was change my profile picture that said “Black Day,” followed by the date of the event and the hashtag ‘PeshawarAttack’. I prayed again. That was all I could do. But I know that’s not enough. A single comment won’t make terrorist groups rethink their strategies; my ‘like’ on someone else’s status wouldn’t make a difference to them; and the picture I posted wouldn’t reverse the impact that the attack has had on the bereaved families.

These sentimental exchanges in the virtual world merely provide some consolation for people like me. Hardly any direct, tangible effect comes out of it. This worries me a lot.

But then, changes don’t happen overnight. Even science says that it takes 21 days to change a single habit alone! This means that we’ll need a lot of time to tackle serious issues like terrorism and greed. Even if I don’t expect much from the people ruling the world right now, I do hope that as an adult, in future, I won’t have to see these things happen. Because, although we can’t change the past and the present is in the hand of someone else, the future belongs to us. All that we might be able to do right now is raise our voice against these acts of extreme cruelty. But when future arrives, we must make sure that these acts don’t repeat themselves again. As adults, someone from among us will be leading the country. A few of us will be representing Nepal in the international arena. It excites me to think that one day, someone we call our friend or someone we know will be making a direct impact on the world we live in. That someone could be anyone of us. And that someone will have to make sure that no bomb blast kills innocent school kids, that no corrupt person can move around with impunity and also that democratic and liberal values are preserved and respected.

Karki is a recent +2 graduate