A young Kashmiri man bitten by a snake died because his family could not get medical care in time. What do we call that if not genocide?
A 20 year old Kashmiri boy died today after being denied health services. Imagine being bitten by a snake and being stopped by army men every 100 meters and constantly being told to go home. Imagine knowing you’ll die because of a state imposed curfew resulting in all health care facilities being shut. Imagine being a mother frantically searching for the antivenin across the valley with your son for 16 hours, only to watch him die. And, then to add insult to injury, the army sends the antivenin 2 days after your son passes away.
This is the tragedy of my people. Some are dying from pellets/bullets while others are dying from a human rights lockdown.
This is not a communication blackout and I urge everyone to stop calling it that. It is a human rights lockdown, it is terrorism in broad daylight. It is state sponsored terrorism.
I want to ask, who will help the boys parents get justice? What does justice even look like for the parents? With each death, the pain is enveloped in my blood.
The people of Kashmir will never forget. The call for azadi is ringing from Srinagar to Baramulla to Jammu to Bandipora to Kupwara to Doda to every part of Kashmir.
Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge!
–Ifrah Sahibzadi