Olympus can be Climbed in Kashmir

This poem is dedicated to one of the most courageous women I know. She is only slight to look at but has the most pure heart and brave disposition. I met her on the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program in Bangkok. She speaks honestly to soldiers, governments, delegates at EU conferences, in any forum. She has a photographic memory and has detailed knowledge of the human rights issues in Kashmir. I had the privilege to call her friend. The Kashmiris are an amazing people and I was interested to find out the sufi influence on these strong people. I was with her under curfew for 10 days which i found hard. I thought of the people in the capital Srinigar stuck in high rise buildings. Children had been shot for stone pelting, very similar activity to the Palestinians. They found themselves under occupation by the Indian Government for 63 years. Kashmir is fought over between Pakistan and India. It is considered the highest warzone in the world located between two nuclearised nations. There are approximately 800,000 troops there. I saw them everywhere in the city and even as you leave the city I saw soldiers in the paddocks. I did laugh thinking even the trees are guarded. I’ve never seen anything like it. I just imagined if the people all wore Gandhi t-shirts what would happen. Sadly they are angry with the Indians, but it would be an interesting exercise psychologically, as Gandhi was for freedom and Satyagraha (holding onto truth) and ahimsa (nonviolence).

I find it amazing to see countries repeating the same mistakes that oppressors had done to them. Money drives people and they justify cruelty. Imagine what life is like under house arrest and seeing children and adults being shot. To have military in domestic urban areas, is shocking when you’ve never seen it before.

I found house arrest frustrating after 10 days, it went on for 50 days and goes on for years. I think of recently released Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for 20 years in Burma. We often see heroes as men, but there are many strong women that are seldom seen or acknowledged. They suffer enormously and often their voice is not heard. There is a perception that women are weak, that has not been my experience. Many don’t advocate violence, they use love as their shield, protection of children and raw courage, nothing more powerful than that. Power is love.

I was astounded at how people can cope under house arrest for so long.  I understand that escalation can happen but I see this as a failure of the main parties and international community to resolve the conflict, protect human rights and it is evident there is no real International Criminal Court intervention when there are clear imbalances of power and desperation.  This is a real problem around the world.  We need to have an International peacekeeping body, international standards and rules and the judicial force to back up resolutions via arbitration and conflict resolution that would unfold as some form of reconciliation to ensure the problem doesn’t flare up.

I would like to see all violence end and peaceful means be implemented.

I wrote this poem in Bangkok.

OLYMPUS CAN BE CLIMBED

There was a sufi master in Kashmir,
For he was a she,
And she was slight yet bright,
For humanity is her creed,
As an intellectual she would read,
To inform herself,
For knowledge is power,
And power can change the world.

So many stereotypes of heroes as men,
But it is the women of the world that are the real heroes,
So many suffer from military aggression,
So many are raped mercilessly,
So many seek peace to raise children,
But men are solving problems through violent means,
And this is the sign of the greatest immaturity.

Human rights abuses shouldn’t exist,
yet they do,
Military occupation shouldn’t exist,
but it does,
Summary executions are not justice,
but that is how justice is done,
Millions spent on armaments,
rather than ploughshares
Shouldn’t exist but does,
Yet in the jewel of the world,
The highest place in the world,
The wild beauty cant be tamed,
There is a military fight,
Actually it is a nuclear flashpoint between two countries,
How can they afford to wage war as millions hunger?
Yet they fight over Kashmir like jealous lovers,
Who are there for a principle
No one knows.

The people of Kashmir,
Live in constant fear,
Normal life is abnormal,
There are no picnics in the hills,
One can hear shelling,
Daily there are news reports of killings,
For in this part of the world,
Democracy is the silent whispers of dissent,
Equality is the control of women’s lives,
Freedom is for the family to choose on one’s behalf,
And therefore life remains unchanged,
For change only comes from questioning,
Growth only comes from challenges,
And this is not allowed,
When control over millions
Are the shackles of governance as occupation,
Rather than the governance of representation,
For only the latter is true democracy.

Yet this friend is a journalist,
A human rights advocate,
A woman of tremendous courage,
Who speaks for truth and humanity,
With a fever I have seldom seen,
Who is pained by her country’s slow progress,
And endless suffering,
She herself is open minded,
Fun to be with,
Intellectually alive,
And a light to the plight of millions.

So I feel privileged,
I found a hero,
And whilst I know she would say ‘no’,
Why not be a torch bearer,
One does not need to be an Olympian to do that,
Although your training has been more rigorous,
Bear the torch proudly,
A light in the darkness,
Never give up,
For you can climb Mount Olympus,
You can climb Mount Everest,
For you have the determination to fly.

So seek and you will find,
That all your dreams come true,
Know I truly miss you,
Peace be upon you,
All ways.

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Mohandas Gandhi

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

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