It can happen anywhere

CALL FOR PEACE: A school photo of Boston Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard

MY friend BP who lives in America with her husband and three lovely children has been greeting the world by posting pictures of Spring for the past week.

Indeed, the signs of spring are everywhere.

But on Tuesday morning (Monday in America), she re-posted a link from the Incourage.me site: “Praying for Boston, our hearts ache” accompanied with a prayer of St Francis of Assisi that reads: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy.

Many from far and near joined in and echoed her thoughts.

Among them, a note from someone who lives in Boston that says: “My best gratitude to all for your thoughts and prayers. By the grace of God, this world is in dire need of peace. I live in the city of Boston and to bear witness to the horror and traumatic attacks that occurred here on Monday is beyond my comprehension.

“We will recover from this assault in time. Please, dear people, continue to pray for us. I will speak for all Bostonians in saying how very grateful we all are and how much we appreciate each and every one of you. Love, light, joy, blessings, and peace on this planet.”

A marathon is the most unifying of sporting events that attract large crowds – runners and cheerers.

The city that show up to cheer on thousands of runners do not really want to know or care much about who wins. There are no sides to root for or against.

Those who stand at the finishing line and on the sideline – as they have been doing in Boston since 1892 – come to celebrate with the runners from around the world.

It is an uplifting event.

But two bombs on Tuesday unleashed chaos, claiming three precious lives and injuring many others, leaving behind a carnage of pain, loss and suffering.

One of the victims, Krystle Campbell, 29, was described by her grandmother as beautiful, happy, outgoing and a hard worker.

Summer Shack, a seafood restaurant where Krystle worked before, posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying she was beloved.

“She was an incredible woman, always full of energy and hard at work but never too tired to share her love and a smile with everyone. She was an inspiration to all of us. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers,” the post said.

The mayor of Boston described eight-year-old victim Martin Richard as a young boy with a big heart. He was also deeply saddened that a Chinese girl Lingzu Lu who came to Boston in search of education, had also fallen victim to the attack.

Who would have wanted to target such a sunny event and so many innocent people?

Who would have kept so much hatred in their hearts and transferred all into pressure cookers and let them blown off to take away the lives of happy runners and cheerers?

It is a highly stressed society that sees tension boiling over on several fronts. The amount of rage bottled up inside many people, even here in Malaysia, can be felt if you are a frequent internet user.

If we think Boston is too far away for us to feel unsafe, the truth is we are all less safe – even as far away as Malaysia.

With the election fever running high, different political beliefs have been a cause for many to engage in hate languages.

Celebrities like Datuk Michelle Yeoh and Eric Moo who are rightly the pride of Malaysia shining on the international entertainment stage, are not spared hate messages either when all they have decided to do is to be present at a Barisan Nasional function.

Lest we forget...

One does not wake up one Spring morning and decide to kill. One is taught, directly or indirectly, that life is not valuable, that the human condition is not respected and shared.

People who commit acts like the Boston bombers’ are not necessarily born with murderous streaks.

Indeed, the young Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (the second suspect in police custody) is described as a “wonderful, outgoing, grateful” kid. His father asserted: “My son is a true angel.”

So, where is the disconnect between everyone’s perception of Dzhokhar and the reality of unimaginable violence that officials believe he and his brother (first suspect had been shot down by the police) committed?

There are many unanswered questions.

But we know, sometimes they are created and condoned as well as taught, somewhere along the way, that human life is worth less than their desire to terrorise.

When you have been taught to recognise the value of life, you will respect and fight to save it – just like many responders at the bombing site.

When you have been taught to respect and share life, life will be cherished and celebrated.

Don’t let the election fever uproot your values and respect for life. Don’t let hatred take root in your heart because of different political beliefs.

President Barack Obama brought a mixture of reassurance and defiance in an interfaith memorial service in Bostin’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

 “Everyone of us stands with you,” Obama told the crowd.

“Boston may be your hometown – but we claim it too. For millions of us, what happened on Monday is personal.”

The Boston bombing is personal. It can happen anywhere.

As President Obama looks ahead to Boston’s next year race, predicting that “the world will return to this great America city to run even harder and cheer even louder for the 118th Marathon, let’s not take peace which we are enjoying in Malaysia for granted.

April is the promise that May is bound to keep – we need to keep April free from hatred and make room for love!