Young Writers Society

I come from a land where the peace in my people’s hearts won the war.

I refrain from searching the lives of the lost ones, I refrain from trying to find their places in this land. I refrain from hatred that has marked my childhood forever, as the bombs were the only fireworks my brothers had seen while counting the seconds till the new year of blood and tears. I refrain from everything I believed that is necessary for new beginning. Because I cannot end it. I refrain from wondering why had the war started in first place and where are the people who broke my father’s heart. Today, I’m thankful that the justice is still somewhere among us and that God still remembers us. I refrain from searching for the truth. I would probably refrain from you and me too, but I cannot because who would walk proudly through these streets of pride and glory? Who would shed a tear while looking at this shattered church and remembering our mother’s faces while our fathers were being trapped in the camps of despair and humiliation?

Who would protect my country and my people?

Someone attacked our country, someone attacked our schools, the parks where we first kissed and the movie theaters we used to spend our time at. Someone attacked our history and today we are rebuilding it. There are no bodies and souls stronger than ours, my friend. Where is the smile on your face? Where is the joy that used to make your face shine blissfully? Someone stole our dreams, but don’t you worry, because today we will gather and pay respect to the ones we lost. We will gather and relive our past - give all of our hearts to this country in order to make our present days blessed and pray for the future. Don’t worry about the ruins that surround you, we are rebuilding this country that has always been hidden in ourselves.

The country – it’s us.