A Message To The

World

Rasha Zaghloul

2014

“How can you enslave people when their mothers bore them as free

men?” 

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiaAllahu ‘anhu)1

1 One of the most powerful and influential Muslim guardians in history. He was a Sahabah or companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr as the second Rashid of the Rashidun Caliphate. He was an expert Islamic jurist and is best known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the title Al-Faruq.

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Content

- Preface

- Introduction

- Death Machine

- Life

- Dream Houses

- Illegal Tourism

- Dreams

- Faith

- Statistics

- About the author

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Preface

This book is intended to be written in a sarcastic tone

because it is written by a broken heart. I cannot write in a kind and

nice manner because I do not want your sympathy; I want your

reaction in actions not in words or tears. The word "YOU" in the

book is addressed to every single one of you on this earth regardless

of your religion or nationality because we are all the sons and

daughters of Adam and Eve. We are one family living in the same

planet.

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Introduction

Allow me, first of all, to thank you for practicing a good

exercise for your health which is SILENCE. Many benefits can be

obtained from practicing this amazing quality in human beings such

as lowering blood pressure, calming anxiety, making life decisions

and making you dumb. There is wisdom in Arabic that says "silence

makes consent." Hence, it is obvious that you agree and approve of

what is going on in the world.

Allow me also to thank those who were never silent and

fought to make their desires, wishes and voices heard, whether they

were successful or not.

I am quite sure that silent people can read with their eyes if

they do not want to open their mouths. This book is; therefore,

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addressed to you silent people to read if you have eyes and react if

you have hearts, if you care and if you have the slightest mote of

humanity.

You may have been disturbed by images and videos of

bombs, explosions, fires and corpses; yet, it is all your responsibility.

It is all because of your silence and ignorance.

A message to the world; therefore, has to be written and

shared so as not to keep you in the dark and so as to enable you to

reconsider your life which you are living in this world. The book

addresses different problems. Choose what problem you wish to read

and shed the crocodile tears upon.

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Death Machine

Two months after the uprising started the shelling of innocent

people began. The killing machine could not recognize young

people, elderly, women, children, terrorists, animals, schools,

hospitals or houses. They are all even; they are all radicals. With

amazement, the whole world watches with eyes widely open and

mouths quietly shut. The bombs have been and still are blindly

thrown upon people.

I dare anyone just to listen to a bomb exploding near him \ her

and see if he \ she can endure. Tell me what effects does this bombs

leave on you? Deafness? Concussion? Shock? Amputation?

Paralysis? Death?

To your knowledge, hundreds of people in my country end up

having one or more of these effects every single day. For almost four

years now, my country has been bombed on a daily and continuous

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basis. Day and night and the helpless people couldn't rest or be

relieved. FOUR YEARS!

I want you to remember your life for the past four years. What

have you accomplished? I am not blaming you for living your life. I

just want you to do something and to react because we have the right

to live just as you do.

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Short story

"Please, do not take photos; I am not wearing my Hijab2."

The title above is a simple sentence that carries a much deeper

meaning. These spontaneous words were uttered by a little girl to a

rescue team, operating with the most basic of tools, as she was being

rescued from under the rubble and rocks of her demolished house

which had been targeted by heavy shelling.

She forgot her pain. She forgot her misery. She didn't care about

her cuts and wounds. All that worried her was her reputation! She

knew that this photo will spread on the media and she innocently

defended her honor. Her Hijab is somewhere under the rubbles with

her toys, books and maybe her family!

2 Hijab: is a veil that covers the head, which is particularly worn by a Muslim woman in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. It is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy and morality.

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Life

When was the last time that you were being checked inside your

country? Have you ever lost your ID? Have you ever walked on the

street to your school, collage or work and were afraid of anything to

fall upon your head? What are you having for breakfast, dinner and

lunch today? (Please, list the meals down on paper). How many

bottles of water are there in your fridge? Do you have electricity in

your house?

Have you answered all the questions? Okay! Listen to my

answers. In my country, we are being checked every 100 meter by

checkpoints. They check your ID and where you come from. If it

happens and you forget to take your ID, then you have the advantage

of visiting prisons, jails and all the security centers in the country.

You may thank Allah for being sent to jail rather than being shot the

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minute they discover that you do not have an ID, or simply because

they don’t like you.

Parents give their children a farewell goodbye everyday because

they might not see them again; they might die from the falling

mortar shells while heading to schools or work.

We thank Allah everyday that we could provide a loaf of bread

to share with the other 11, 12 or 50 members of the family. Remind

me of what you are having for lunch today? As for the water, it is so

much available. Do you know how? Our people, young and elderly

have learned how to purify sea water and dig the ground to get well's

water. Sometimes, we can provide our children with fresh water that

comes as a gift from heaven when it rains.

We practice the exercise of meditation in a room of four walls

since there is no electricity; hence, no TV, mobile or any connection

to the world. See how lucky we are!

Every single family has a heartbreaking story to tell, a martyr

father, an arrested father, a jailed father, a kidnapped father, a

widowed mother, a dead mother, a raped mother, a hostage child, a

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handicapped child, a mentally or psychologically-disturbed child,

stolen money, a destroyed house, an immigrant partner, a homeless

family, or a displaced family.

Can you endure seeing your child sick? I am sure not! In our

country we see our children dead not sick! They die in front of our

eyes and in our hands! A chemical attack on parts of the country

killed hundreds of innocent people, many were children; they died

suffocating.

Each bomb that is thrown kills one or two people and leaves

many at the hospital to a slow death or a permanent handicapping.

Some people die unintentionally by random bullets and some are

intentionally killed, in mass executions. This has been our life for

four years now. Remind me of yours!

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Short story

"I have never wept bitterly as I did today!"

These words were uttered by a doctor who spent 20 years

working in the medical field and watched various cases. A child in

the age of ten had died in his hands. The child's father entered the

operating room begging and crying: "Please do your best! Maybe he

can survive unlike his brother! His brother died in the explosion.

Please, help my second son"

The doctor rushed to the operation room. The boy was in the

throes of death! All operations and electric shocks to keep him alive

were useless. After he died, the doctor came out of the room silently.

His father cried, "My second son died? Is that right? Did he

die, doctor? My two sons are died? The doctor then cried bitterly as

he has never cried in his life.

The father of the two martyr children then approached the

doctor, dabbed his shoulders with tears and said, "It is okay doctor!

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It is all in Allah's hands. You have done your best and even more.

Please continue your job and help other children and be strong!"

This happened in one hospital and it is still happening every

day.

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Dream Houses

Do you know that we left our houses with happiness? It is

because we could leave them before they were destroyed and before

they fell upon our kids. Living on streets, parks or offices is better

than having our children injured or buried alive. Living with

neighbors, hiring an expensive apartment that your salary can hardly

afford in a so-called safe area is better than seeing your children hurt

or buried alive. Watching your house destroyed is better than

watching your children suffering. Leaving the house you spent all

these years of your life working hard in order to buy, decorate and

furnish is better than saying goodbye to your family. Selling your

gold and spending the money you have to buy new furniture is better

than spending it on coffins. Leaving millions of memories behind is

not comparable to the new present where your kids are still alive.

What are the things you would take with you if you have to leave

your house within five minutes? Yes! Five minutes because the

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shelling has started on the area. It is a matter of living or dying. Your

favorite books? Your best clothes? Family photos? Certificates?

Come on! We are leaving! Shouts! Screams! Blood! Corpses!

Nothing was taken. It is only you and your family. There you are!

You are now among the ten million or more who are displaced. You

look back and say, the smiles on your kids' faces is not compared to

any of the trivial material things. And the journey of survival begins.

You start from zero, if not minus one!

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Short story

It was the last installment to pay for his house. Finally, the

house is now registered in his name in the government. Ten years of

hard work and saving money has finished. He has his own house

now. He will decorate it and furnishes it with whatever he likes.

The party to celebrate this event was on a sunny and lovely

day. It started with happiness, laughs, and tears of joy and ended up

with a tragedy. A blind mortar was thrown on the town. It directly

hit his house. All he owns now is the key to the house! The rest is

silence!

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Illegal Tourism

First of all, I want to share this information with you. We are

now in 2014 and only one country allows us to travel to it. It is

Turkey. From the bottom of my heart I thank Turkey, its president

and people for their concern and care. They received us as their own

families, they helped us and opened their houses and hospitals for us.

Thank you Turkey.

Special thanks also to Lebanon and Jordan for accepting huge

numbers of refugees in their countries. Though they closed their

doors in the face of new comers now, they have all our respect and

thanks.

About 230 countries in the whole world have closed their doors

and refused to accept us. Anyway, you taught us a lesson! Thank you

gulf countries, thank you Arab countries, thank you Asia, Europe,

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America and Australia because closing your doors increases our

dignity! We do not need you; we have Allah with us. I am more

proud of my nationality because you are now too small in my eyes.

You are too small to accept us, the honorable. 230 COUNTRIES!!!

Special thanks to Saudi Arabia for preventing us from exercising

Hajj 3and Umrah 4and praying to our God. To your knowledge,

everything is recorded and we will meet one day in front of Allah.

What excuse will you tell Him?!!!

Let me now tell you about the journey of travelling to another

country. It is a journey because our young people do it illegally. Yes,

illegally because there is no other legal way to travel. They have two

choices; either traveling illegally or dying in our country. The

journey begins by selling all their properties for them to be able to

afford the expenses of a fraud boat owner who will take them in his

boat to the promised land, Europe.

3 The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims which must be carried out at least once in lifetime by every adult Muslim.  It is one of the five pillars of Islam. The gathering during Hajj is considered the largest gathering of people in the world. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to (Allah)4 The Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, performed by Muslims that can be undertaken at any time of the year. The pilgrim performs a series of ritual acts symbolic of the life of Ibrahim.

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In most journeys only 25% of people make it to the foreign

countries, usually Europe to live there on the aids provided to them

from the governments. The other 75% unfortunately die on their way

there. They die because the greedy boat owner doesn't care whether

they arrive or not. He only cares about his money. He leaves them in

the middle of the ocean to drown, or if they are lucky enough they

arrive to their destination swimming.

By the way, not only young people do this journey; there are

also babies! You can Google heartbreaking images of people of

different ages who arrive to Italy as corpses! They were searching

for a nation. They were seeking your aid and care. They were

looking for a better future, but where were you? Where were you?!

This is an ongoing tragedy, so still where are you!?

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Short story

She was dreaming of a better life for her and her daughters

after their house was destroyed. She trusted a fraud boat owner to

take them with his boat to Italy and there to start a safer life. They

were given one life jacket only. Ten minutes after the death journey

started, the boat owner left them in the middle of the sea to drown!

"My daughter grabbed my arm; she was handicapped. My

other daughters tried to grab my hand, but I did not succeed in

keeping them above the water. The waves were very high. Then, my

handicapped daughter stopped breathing. I kissed her and said

goodbye, my daughter. May Allah be with you. I left her to the

waves and tried to help her sisters. They could catch my hand but

they lost their grip one after the other. I was not able to do anything!

Only one of them survived."

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Dreams

What are your dreams? Hundreds of books are written about

dreams, how to accomplish your dreams and how to dream big.

What are your dreams? Owning a car? Buying a bigger house?

Travelling around the world?

My dreams, personally, were to gain a master and PHD

degree in Linguistics, to travel to England and complete my studies

there and build my own school. However, these dreams will remain

dreams!

If you ask me now or ask anyone in my country about our

dreams the answer is one. We all share the same dream now. We all

dream of peace. We all dream of tranquility that we were prevented

from for four years. Is it that difficult? We do not need money any

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more. We do not care about cars, houses or farms. We just want to

live. Just help us to live!

Short story

She used to play with her dolls. She fed them, took care of

them, changed their clothes and even she made them sleep beside her

at night. She was dreaming of becoming a real mother one day and

having her own kids!

Her wish becomes true so soon. She is now the mother of her

own sister and brother. The father is somewhere in the countries'

prisons. The mother died by a mortar on the house.

Living in streets, she is now taking care of new kids the same

way she took care of her dolls. She is no longer interested in playing

with toys or dolls. She has greater responsibilities. She is now a

mother; a 10 year old mother with two kids. Where is humanity?!

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Faith

With all this grave trial, the people are still hopeful of peace one

day, trusting in what Allah promised them.

" Verily, the Victory of Allah Is Near"5

Some people may wonder how we are still living in the country.

You can ask your governments who refused to help us these

questions. Your carelessness has empowered us. People's willpower

is now stronger. The mothers send their sons to schools knowing that

Allah and only Allah will protect them. Fathers struggle in life and

defy death just to provide food to their families.

All people are sad. All have worries. All were exposed to

difficult situations. However, nothing console their misery except

5 Verse from Quran. Sura: Al-Baqara 214.

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their faith in Allah. They are patient. They tolerate the painful thorns

of life because Allah promised those who are patients with great

rewards.

"Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger,

some loss in goods or lives or the fruits, but give glad tidings to

those who patiently persevere."6

Life is a roller coaster. It has many ups and downs. Allah is now

testing our faith because Allah loves us. However, keep in mind that

you are being tested too now with our calamity. But, what did you

do? I am sure that millions do not even know about our sufferings.

Life is not about collecting money and fulfilling your dreams.

This life is a passage that will lead us to Allah. You die and leave all

your treasures, palaces and families. The only things that will

befriend you in your tomb are your deeds. What are your deeds?

What have you done for Allah's sake?

We hate no one. Our arms and our country is open to all people

regardless of their religion or nationality. Our country has well

6 Verse from Quran. Sura: Al- Baqara 155

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received Palestinians, Jordanians, Iraqis and Lebanese in their

calamities. We opened our houses to them, allowed them to work in

the country, they were given formal citizenship to live a normal life.

Do you know why? Because this is not our land. This is Allah's land.

"My earth is spacious. Therefore serve me only." 7

This is Allah's land! You have no right to control it or prevent us

from moving to it. He created us only to pray for him and to reward

us with paradise in the afterlife.

7 Verse from Quran: Sura: Al-'Ankabut: 56

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Short story

She received this news with tears of joy and happiness! This

is because she has faith. She knew that martyrs do not die; they live

a happy life in paradise.

"And never think of those who have been killed in the cause

of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving

provision." 8

"Congratulations, my sons. Congratulations on your

martyrdom. I am now the mother of martyrs"

Great burial ceremonies were done. All were crying, "O

mother of martyrs, we are all your sons. We are all your sons."

8 Verse from Quran. Sura: Al Imran: 169

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Note

If you still do not know what country I am talking about, then

go and weep upon yourself. This is Syria, the land of martyrs.

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Statistics

These statistics are from March 2011 until August 31 – 2014.

The number of martyrs who are fully documented: 125, 602

martyrs, including 2,450 Palestinians, 13, 326 children,

12,432 women, and 7,684 martyrs under torture.

Estimated overall number of martyrs: 242,000 martyr (80% of

them are civilians), including 2,600 Palestinians, 16,300

children, 15,300 women, and 19,800 martyrs under torture.

Approximate number of injured: over 199, 400

Approximate number of detainees: over 262, 145

Approximate number of missing people: over 101, 385

The number of refugees outside Syria: over 3,667,440

The number of displaced people inside Syria: over 7,900,000

Statistics Department - Damascus: 09/13/2014

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About the author

"There is no difference between an Arab and non-Arab

except by the level of piety."9

My, origin, nationality, certificates and studies will never

define me. The only thing that can define me is my Islam because we

are all the same. The only difference between us is the level of piety

and the good deeds that we perform.

9 Quote by Muḥammad; full name Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim. He was a man from Mecca who unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is a messenger and the last prophet sent by Allah to the mankind.

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The end

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