HATRED BOOMERANGS – so many times when a shot is fired at an enemy it hits a friend

INTOLERANCE of other communities in the human family has catalysed much destruction to lives and infrastructure in nations throughout the course of history. Of current times the attacks of radical Islamists and retaliatory actions by equally intolerant communities have driven catastrophic tragedies that are probably unparalleled in this history of humankind.Subsequent to the attack in Paris by Muslim extremists, the Media reported that three young Muslims had been shot dead in their home in a quiet neighbourhood of North Carolina in the United States.

According to the report, Police named the victims as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

The victims were found shot dead at the scene, while some residents described not even being aware there was an incident until police arrived. All three had been shot in the head.
A 46-year-old man, named by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder.
The women’s father, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, who has a psychiatry practice in Clayton, told the North Carolina News and Observer that he believed the shooting was based on the religion and culture of the victims and that this was a hate crime.
Allah is beneficent and merciful – so says the Koran of the religion of Islam, but in the name of this selfsame religion, a number of persons are killed around the world almost on a daily basis.

Aside from pursuing mass murder plots against innocent populations in every corner of the planet, Islamic terrorists have one other thing in common: They credit their motivation and success to religion.

The shockwaves of the terrorist atrocities of 11th September 2003 (9/11) still reverberate in the soul of the world, but especially so in the hearts and memories of those who lost loved ones when the twin towers were blasted into oblivion by Al Qaeda suicide bombers.

Guyana lost several of its citizens in that holocaust. One of them is the very beloved son of staunch Moslem parents, Nezam A. Hafiz, who was eliminated from among the ranks of the living like an insect.

Nezam is still mourned. He was the baby of the family and the only son of three children born to his parents. Until today his mother cannot speak about him without breaking down.
The recovered parts of Nezam’s body were identified through DNA testing and buried after a very private funeral ceremony, but this is also cause for grief for those who loved the very healthy young man, whose exploits on the cricketing fields are still remembered today.
Nezam was thirty-two years old and a Computer Analyst employed by insurance giants, Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. when he perished in his office, which was situated on the 94th Floor of Tower One in the World Trade Centre.
As in everything that he endeavoured, Nezam was very conscientious about his job and his mother knew that he was in the Tower when it was hit because he was customarily very early in office; but she hoped and prayed for days that he would have survived and frantically, along with other relatives and friends, scoured the hospitals where the survivors had been taken, in vain.
After leaving Guyana to join his family in New York, Nezam acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University, but he is best remembered for his contributions, both in Guyana and the USA, for his contributions to the sport of cricket.
Although he retained his membership of the Malteenoes Sports Club, Nezam entered zealously into the North American cricketing arena and became captain of the Commonwealth Cricket League (CCL) and the American Cricket Society (ACS).

President of the CCL, Mr. Lesly Lowe, described Nezam as a perfect gentleman, as did Mr. Atul Rai, President of the United States of America Cricket Association, who said that he was a very likeable person, who displayed exemplary manners on and off the field.
National First-Class Cricket Umpire, Mr. Colin Alfred, said that while Nezam resided in Guyana he represented his club Malteenoes and country at junior and senior levels in regional cricket and performed exceptionally well, so much so that a wall of fame was established in his memory at his club and a game of cricket is played to commemorate his birth anniversary every year.
Former teammate, Neil Barry, who was coaching cricket in Georgia, Atlanta when the towers were destroyed, said that losing his friend hurts until today. Although he knew that Nezam worked in Tower One, like relatives and other friends he kept hoping that his friend would have been one of the lucky ones who escaped, although he knew that this was an unrealistic assumption.
Describing Nezam, Barry said that he was a genuine, forthright, principled person and a very loyal and dedicated friend who, just the day prior to his demise, had taken the time to assist another friend, Lennox Cush, who was returning to Guyana after spending some time in the USA.

Barry said that Nezam exuded confidence on the cricket field, responding to challenges in a very fearless manner. He emphasised that Nezam always considered himself Guyanese who never forgot his roots, and that he kept in touch with his friends and his club, visiting as often as possible after he migrated.

Calling membership in the Malteenoes Club a ‘family affair,’ Barry said that Nezam’s relatives are still very much a part of Malteenoes and that they periodically make financial and other donations to the club on Nezam’s behalf.

As in the poem “Brightstar” Nezam continues to shine in the hearts of those who have loved and still remember him. Indeed, he remains an icon in the galaxy of Guyana’s “Brightstars.”

The world is one global village and hatred boomerangs. So many times when a shot is fired at an enemy it hits a friend. Bullets have no names and no eyes to distinguish friend from enemy.

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