Thursday, November 27, 2008

Mumbai

As the attacks on Mumbai continue, I'm thankful that my family back home is all accounted for and safe. Everyone is shaken--at the span, coordination and intensity of these assaults. And now, as we wait for resolve of some sort, I'm sure the city is holding its breath for the next phase that will inevitably follow. This city is sadly all too familiar with communal backlash that happens in moments like this, where the real perpetrators become conflated with communities they have no business trying to represent or speak for. And fear and frustration translate into hatred in order to feel some semblance of control in such chaos.

But as the nauseating media over here continues to describe this as an attack on Westerners, the violence against those in cinemas, hospitals, and train stations clearly means that this is a coordinated assault on humanity.

We're about to leave our home to spend Thanksgiving with family in NC, specifically an aunt and uncle who worked for years at the Taj in Mumbai. They've just learned that their best friend, the executive chef at the hotel, died this morning after being shot point blank, as well as another friend who was the general manager...along with his wife and kids. As stories like this start to trickle in, it makes me painfully aware how thankful I am for my family being safe, around the world, but how many more families are dreading similar news.

My thoughts are with that city, in its entirety.

2 comments:

Tariq said...

so sorry to hear about your family friend... love to you and yours. This is so horrible.

Honora said...

I couldn't agree more with your thoughts about the media. What ever happened to a moment of pause for those who are grieving? So sorry to hear about the lives that were lost.