"War is over Mom...!"

Suicides among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are reaching epidemic proportions. More than 6,000 veterans took their lives in 2005 alone, according to a study by CBS News. By some estimates, veterans are attempting suicide 1,000 times a month. Marine Corporal James Jenkins of New Jersey was one of these unsung casualties of war. A decorated veteran of the Iraq invasion and the Battle of Najaf, he took his own life after serving 22 months overseas. His mother, Cynthia Fleming, shares his story with ANP - a tragedy that is being repeated 15 times a day in this country. ( Source: American News Project)

Un aankhon main...

Bichadte Wakt Un Aankhon Main thi Hamari Ghazal
Ghazal Bhi Woh jo Kisi ki Abhi Sunayi Na Thi......!

Adawaten thi, Taghaful tha, Ranjhishen Thin Magar
Bichadne Waale main Sab kuch tha Be-Wafayi Na thi.

Woh Humsafar tha Magar Us se Hum-Nawayi Na Thi...
Ke Dhoop Chaoon Ka Alam Raha Judayi Na Thi...

Pfc Joseph Dwyer, (1977-2008)

"The photo above captures everything that Americans wanted to believe about the Iraq war in the earliest days of the invasion in 2003. Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, an Army medic whose unit was fighting its way up the Euphrates to Baghdad, cradles a wounded boy. The child is half-naked and helpless, but trusting. Private Dwyer’s face is strained but calm.

That story turned bitter years ago, of course. And the mountain of sorrows keeps growing: Mr. Dwyer died last month in North Carolina. He was 31 and very sick. For years he had been in and out of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. He was seized by fearful delusions and fits of violence and rage. His wife left him to save herself and their young daughter. When the police were called to Mr. Dwyer’s apartment on June 28, he was alone. They broke down the door and found him dying among pill bottles and cans of cleaning solvent that friends said he sniffed to deaden his pain"....(New York Times Editorial, July 15, 2008)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/military_the_enemy_within

"When people would teasingly call him "war hero" and ask him to tell about his experiences, or about the famous photo, he would steer the conversation toward the others he'd served with. But Dwyer once confided that another image, also involving a child, disturbed him.

He was standing next to a soldier during a firefight when a boy rode up on a bicycle and stopped beside a weapon lying in the dirt. Under his breath, the soldier beside Dwyer whispered, "Don't pick it up, kid. Don't pick it up."

The boy reached for the weapon and was blasted off his bike." - Yahoo news

It is unfortunate that a day after my last blog entry I found this news about Pfc Joe Dwyer. Dwyer told Newsday that he'd lied on a post-deployment questionnaire that asked whether he'd been disturbed by what he'd seen and done in Iraq.

Sad indeed...

Old men start wars...

Jaane kiya Soch ke Rota Raha Qatil Tanha...

"Old men start wars. Young men fight them. And everyone in the middle gets killed. War is natural. Peace is an accident. We're animals." - A dialogue from Sylvester Stallone’s last movie Rambo (2008). Sylvester Stallone edited this dialogue out and you don’t see him say those lines anymore.

Artists are the conscience of any society and no artist should be afraid to tell the truth, otherwise he or she is not an artist but a glorified baniya!

Above an American GI holding a dead baby in Iraq after the bombing that killed her. It is apparent that the baby is dead but a little sensitivity can conclude that a part of this GI is also killed along with her.

No amount of training can prepare you for this and you just can't walk away from this experience "alive". This guy or gal will be in the US whenever his/her time is done and would re-join the civilian life. Everything will go back to normal like parties, shopping, graduation and ball games - only he or she would know that he or she is a "dead man walking!"

War will come to an end sometime. Deads will be counted, memorials on both sides of Atlantic will be built and re-construction will begin. But war will never end for this GI as long as he/she is alive!

This is how it is in the death lane...

She...

My mind is jumping from one thought to another after experiencing this picture. While we went about our business of living life, God knows what happened to this poor thing.

Looks at her closely. It seems like she has not take bath for days. Notice her dress, shoes and hair. Apparently someone did her hair a few weeks before this picture was taken. Her brother has no shoes, no proper cloth, and the reason he is in his senses is because she is taking care of him- somehow. She has her arms over him indicating protection and love.........

Kids gets excited when their picture is taken.....but she is so depressed and down that she does not care anymore...

What the f***k they are debating F***g nuclear deal in the Parliament, when we have more urgent issues to attend?

Qatl ke Baad...

Sab ke Cheron pe Tabassum the Mere Qatl Ke Baad
Naa Jaane Kiya Soch ke Rota Raha Qaatil...Tanhaa?

And then...

This has been a traumatic month for me. Three deaths, two colleagues and a relative in two weeks have disturbed me tremendously. One died yesterday, second one died last week while driving home, and third one died in a hospital at a young age. One was an ex marine, the other was an engineer and the third was a professional in faith based programs.

Where have they gone? How come they just go like that? No good byes no see ya...nothing. I am trying to be normal but cant stop thinking about them. Mullah says" you think too much man and every generation will have to go one day", but that does not help......Its going to be some tough nights for me...

I am not scared of death, but I want a good exit strategy. An exit strategy that calls for thanking folks for loving me, leaving me and coming back to me. A strategy that calls for realizing the dreams and goals, of helping dreamy eyed orphans and adding some value in some lives before I call it quits.

An exit strategy that I do not have right now..

PS: The above grave stone sculpture called " Asleep" was commissioned by Ms. Christina Matheson in the memory of her late husband Mr. Laurence Matheson ( April 25, 1930-Jan 12, 1987) who died at the age of 57 in Australia.

(Artist Peter Schipperheyn, Location: Mt. Macedon Cemetery, Macedon, Victoria)

Yuvraj...

a 7th grader in Bhopal: If you were Prime Minister, what would you do to remove the line between the rich and the poor?

Rahul Gandhi: "There are two ways. First, connect the rural poor to the rest of the world. Part of the reason why people living in remote villages are poor is because they are not connected to the rest of the world. They can be connected by roads, internet and markets which would offer them better prices for their agricultural produce.

Second, seeing it from the human angle, I feel poverty is only a state of mind. Poverty does not mean you don't have money. Even a rich man can be poor if he has not opened his mind to perceive and understand people of different religions, castes and persons from other countries and cultures."

If spontaneous answers are anything to go by, then he sure sounds like a jebroni.

India will be in safe hands - me think....we shall see!

Sunita!

I am enjoying these words since the day they were spoken. The story goes like this: I had called her up a few weeks ago when she was feeling low. I tried to make her laugh by saying whatever I found necessary. This line mirrors my conversation with her that day...

This "Mishra ki Bacchi" can get away with these lines simply because she is one of those revolutionary types that believe in changing the world before their time is up. I suspect it is just a matter of time before she leads one. As you can see she loves good words, good music, good poetry and some not so good looking people as well...

A great friend to know and keep for as long as life permits...

Tanhaiyyan...

Kash Kabhi Zindagi main Yun hota
Sath Tera aye-Hum Nasheen Hota!

Hum Daryaft Aasman Se Ye Karte
"Chaand Tanhaa to Ab Nahi Hota?"

Bad Rukhsat woh Ghar Nahi Lauta
Dil Apna Ek Taraf Nahi Hota?

Itni Tanhaiyon Ka Aadi hoon
Khwabon ka Bhi Guzar Nahi Hota

Jaane Kahaan, Kis Haal Main Hoga?
Ek Chera Jo Dhundlaa Nahi Hota

Shahid, Wohi Manzilen, Wohi Hausle...
Uthaa Kadaam ke Dekh Kiya Nahi Hota?

(c) Shahid Sayed, July 1, 2008