By Shah Bisma Manzoor
Long time ago, in a beautiful hamlet, lived a beautiful girl with her loving parents. She was enjoying the beauties her creator had gifted her with. She sang with the melodious birds, danced with the wavering daffodils, and sucked nectar from the flowers as honeybees! The unending nature seemed to be her best friend. A stream passing close by filled her heart with ecstasy and gleam.
All this went on and on, till one day, a group of people came to settle close to this mesmerizing hamlet. They all were of fair complexion, ‘whites’ I may call. Their faces shone like the stars. Their orbs presented the look of a candle light. The wavy strands of their golden hair added to their charm. I wonder if they were from other planet.
Days passed by and this group of whites began to mingle with the colony of the people who were innocent, but had dark complexion – the beautiful girl a part of it. The whites would frown on seeing these peace loving people. Though the blacks were the best hosts, still the whites would get offended finding anyone of the black community near. Gradually, resentment grew in their hearts and they began to hatch a conspiracy against the blacks.
This beautiful girl would gleefully dance and would love to go to the whites, to seek their company. Hardly she knew the matter boiling in their deep frying pans. As the little girl’s visit to the whites grew, the more they began to tighten the noose around her. She was a princess of her kingdom.
One day, while she was busy playing with the hovering butterflies, a woman from the whites grabbed her by hand and lo! stormed she with a whiff into her cottage. The princess was made a charwoman. Her innocence was ripped. She forgot playing with butterflies and running with clouds. Never did she share her nights with the galaxy. The nature too started to lament for her loss. Her fragile hands gave the look of a deserted body. She grew pale and her face corpse-like . . .
Was this a punishment for her being black? Was it her fault that she was not of a fairer race?
She was a victim of racism – killed ruthlessly, her dreams shattered and her youth razed to ashes. It was mere on the basis of her skin color that such injustice was done to her.
Stop racism!
Let the beauty be decided by actions, not by color.
Let peace prevail.
Featured Image – Photo by Maria Gulyaeva on Pexels.com