Shia Genocide is a reality, not just a ‘fab’ Twitter trend

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A thoughtless comment by a random person inspired this post.“Why isn’t it called #SunniGenocide when people die in Parachinar?”Firstly, let me explain that genocide isn’t claimed by the Shias because it’s the fab trend these days, just in case someone was confused between gadget hype and reality.Second, genocide isn’t an award or laureate we’d all like to place in a glass showcase. It is the epitome of inhumanity which rages on caused by the efficient inaction by governments (both past and present) fuelled by the desire to not intervene because it is ‘somebody else’s war’, or because it is exactly what they secretly sanctioned.The United Nations defined genocide in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as: ”Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part [...]“.Shia genocide isn’t just a term. It means that for decades, you watch your friends and family watch those they love be sprayed with bullets, butchered, set fire to and be slain. It means that a singer’s death will get an immediate response from the president, his son, and the prime minister; their family will be offered condolences but yours won’t. It means that your dead are unworthy of even that gesture unless you refuse to bury your dead for over four days. It means that a little girl gets to sit in the sleet with her father. It means that a mother will die at the grave of her son, when he is finally buried and she is consumed whole by grief. It means that when whatever shreds of family that is left gathers to commemorate their martyrs on the fortieth day, they too must die.Sometimes, it is because of the marks on their backs, sometimes because of their features, mostly though it is because of their faith.It means orphans further orphaning their children. It means there will be screams, crying, nightmares and hugging. It means having the audacity to reign the youth that wants to take some action; that wants permission to reply to the enemy in the same manner and reasoning with them. It is about silencing the last window of hope left; it means there will be no justice now or ever. Lastly, it means that it is okay because we have to learn to let it go.It means taking one life away and leaving a few hundred near death.But despite this explanation, you might just be a numbers man. So I’ve compiled in a concise and easy to read form of data from 2012 -2013 of Shia deaths, from target killings to horrific acts like Chilas.Please note: names, ages and relationships which may be inconvenient and cumbersome for your scornful eyes to read through have been omitted.I hope you have the stamina to read the answer to why it is a #ShiaGenocide. And if you do have the courage, try to remember every date you just casually glanced over; that particular date is a death anniversary for a family. Many of whom may not have even reached that first anniversary mark yet.__________________________________________________________2012:January in Pakistan:Punjab: 5th, 15th and 16th JanuaryKhyber Pakhtunkhwa: 7th, 31 JanuarySindh: 12th, 13th, 19th,23rd ,25th 30th and 31st JanuaryBalochistan: 17th,18th and 25th JanuaryFebruary in Pakistan:Sindh: 9th, 15th and 16th FebruaryPunjab: 11th and 19th FebruaryGilgit Baltistan: 28th and February 29thKhyber Pakhtunkhwa: 13th and 17 FebruaryMarch in Pakistan:Sindh: 5th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 24th, 26th and 28th MarchKhyber Pakhtunkhwa: 10th, 12th (Parachinar), 12th (Kohat), 18th and 23rd MarchGilgit and Baltistan: 4th, 7th March and 27th MarchBalochistan: 18th, 26th, 28th and 29th MarchPunjab: 3rd and 17th March              April in Pakistan:Gilgit Baltistan: 3rd AprilAugust in Pakistan:Gilgit Baltistan: 17th August             September in Pakistan:Balochistan: 20th SeptemberNovember in Pakistan:Sindh: 6th ,7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 21st, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 30th NovemberBalochistan: 10th, 12th, 17th, 18th and 28th NovemberKhyber Pakhtunkhwa: 7th and 29th NovemberPunjab: 21st, 22nd and 24th NovemberIslamabad: 12th NovemberDecember in Pakistan:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 3rd DecemberSindh: 1st, 3rd, 5th, 11th, 12th,13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 29th and 30th DecemberBalochistan: 4th,13th, 14th,17th,20th ,26th and 30th DecemberGilgit Baltistan: 23rd DecemberPunjab: 8th, 22nd, 30th and 31st December2013 January 2013 in Pakistan:Balochistan: 7th, 9th, 10th, 15th and 8th JanuarySindh: 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 30th, 31st JanuaryKhyber Pakhtunkhwa: 19th, 22nd 29th JanuaryPunjab: 5th January.            February in Pakistan:Balochistan: 16th FebruarySindh: 3rd, 18th MarchJuly in Pakistan:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 27th JulyGilgit Baltistan: 29th July__________________________________________________________So you see, #ShiaGenocide is not just a ‘trend’ on Twitter; it is a reality.