Battle For Mosul - A Tribute To Journalist Shifa Gardi. Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Don't hold that kit of hatred so closely
don't carry the box of anger so heavily
don't direct the cannon of vengeance so bitterly
it will all backfire and explode in our own faces;
you will search for our eyes
you will search for our ears
you will search for our lips
you will not be able to see us, hear us
as we will not be able to cry or shout out for help.
Man names his child when flesh and blood
holds itself and heartbeats begin,
and his child into this world evolves to live
he grows, he weds, he makes a family,
love, commitment, concern
holds them together so consistently
for years, for life-times.
In this cross-fire at our city
which recedes and exceeds,
your actions and intentions though so noble
take our lives away and destroy our homes;
weary and rigid are our minds
acceptance and tolerance our only recluse;
as the fragile creature called man
lives in a house that is built with stones
to protect himself from weather and wrath;
the fragile creature called man
on those roads of time travels
using vehicles made of steel
and drives around cautiously
not hurting others and
not letting others hurt him;
the fragile creature called man
eats meats, fish and vegetables
to keep himself alive and healthy
and to dwell on this earth
just one great life apportioned to him;
but just one grenade, one bomb
one gunshot suddenly makes him
violently, unexpectedly succumb to death.
Where is respect for years of care?
where is value for years of upbringing?
where is education with years of school?
If only could war identify whom it is killing,
before the trigger is pulled
before the bomb is exploded,
loss of life would never be so demeaning.
How will enemies ever get separated
from that clean circle of friends
who helplessly sit and eat together with them
as the firearms under the cloaks of the enemies
pose a threat and compel them
to hide the truth that they hate their foes?
And as they face those explosions day by day
they pray, they plead- 'don't harm our humanity'.
If thou cannot help us live, don't let us perish
if thou can't help us survive,
don't dismantle our existence,
let horror and terror be our routine;
for living with an enemy is much easier
than to see our mothers, fathers,
our brothers and sisters, our children die
in front of our very own pupils
their bloodstains engulf our hearts
so unforgettably, so painfully.