As children across the city grappled with the tragedy in Peshawar, a large number of them put on a brave face as they made their way to schools on Wednesday.
At a majority of public and private schools in the metropolis, the day began with special prayers during the assembly to commemorate the victims of the attack. A group of militants had barged into Army Public School in Peshawar and killed more than 130 children. Students also adorned the black- and whiteboards in their classrooms with condolence messages and drawings.
The young students prayed for the departed souls of those who were made victims of a senseless massacre. They prayed for the victims, their families and for themselves - traumatised by the events of the previous day.
“December 16 will probably be remembered as the darkest day in the country’s history when innocent schoolchildren were brutally massacred in the worst incident of terrorism,” said a tearful Fatima Sadiq, a grade 10 student at the Malala Yousufzai Government Girls’ Secondary School in Saddar. “We are distressed but we do not have fear; we have come to our school.”
For Furqan Ahmed, a student at the PECHS campus of Beaconhouse School System, the best answer to such cruelty was education. “We should not sit at home but educate ourselves and share with others what we learn,” he said. “This is how the sacrifices of the innocent students will not be wasted.”
Maha A Jafarey, a teacher at the Centre for Advanced Studies School, echoed similar sentiments. She told The Express Tribune that she feels a responsibility to tell her students that education is the only answer to this violence and extremism and that they can contribute towards the betterment of the society by excelling in their education and life.
“In these turbulent times, the teachers have an increased responsibility to guide their students who are shocked, traumatised and will probably be unable to register their sentiments and anguish,” said Jafarey. “In the backdrop of the prevalent security situation in the country, what has happened in Peshawar is something that every child could relate to.”
Dawood Public School’s A’ Levels principal, Huma Thaver, spoke to over 2,000 students at the assembly that acts of terrorism need to be condemned on individual and collective levels as the society cannot afford to turn a blind eye towards the rampant violence anymore.
She encouraged the students to send condolence messages to the families of the bereaved for their irreparable loss and make them feel that they are not left alone in their overwhelming distress.
Thaver believed that the issue of terrorism and security situation in the country that affects all Pakistanis needs to be addressed through a critical debate in the society towards seeking a permanent solution.
University students mourn loss
Emaad Paracha, a student of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), was part of a large group of university students who held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening. “I was a student at Peshawar’s Army Public School,” he said. “I was in class nine when my father was transferred to Karachi and we moved here.”
Paracha lost three friends in the tragic incident and claims that four of his friends are missing. He has been trying to contact them since last night. “We all grew up together. We used to play and eat together, we used to pull pranks on our teachers and used to get punished together,” he recalled.
Along with Paracha were students from the IBA, the University of Karachi (KU), Usman Institute and NED University. With their heads and hands draped in black bands, the students lit up candles on Abul Hasan Isphahani Road, along the pavement of KU’s Maskan Gate.
KU’s Basmah Laiq admitted that she lied to her mother to attend this vigil. “The university was officially closed today but I couldn’t make myself sit at home and do nothing,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2014.
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@Aysha M: Even at this point of time, we are playing things politically. YES am from Karachi and i dont endorse your comment. Its better if we dont play politics over the happenings..
@Syed: Not point scoring but a PLEA to rise above prejudice and listen to the one who has been alerting the nation of the maddness and barbarism of the Talibans, had he been given a fair hearingnearly a decade ago, 16th December carnage of school children could have been averted.
@Ayesha M
This is not the time or place for point scoring. Please restrain yourself and pray for the innocent vics.
The people of Karachi refuse to suffer in silence. Only Karachi and the leadership of Karachi can restore sanity in the country. When Altaf Hussain raised his voice and tried to caution the government about Talibans gaining strength, the media, the government and the political adversaries responded in unison. They despised, disrespected and dismissed his concerns. He is the only leader who unequivocally condemned Talibans for decades. Karachittes are resilient and in lockstep with Altaf Hussain against the Talibans. He is the only leader who with decisive clarity and informed vision and political maturity has the ability to pull the nation out of the current abyss of darkness & confusion and provide an ideological direction.