Belated wishes of Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha – to all my Muslim brothers and sisters.
I got the date wrong, but..
I miss home.
I miss our community celebrations.
I miss all the different way the various cultures celebrate their traditions.
The Chinese.
The Malays.
The Indians.
I grew up during an innocent time when we were all one big group – no divisions, no rife, no Us or Them.
Even though I’ve moved far away from my childhood home and country and settled in the UK where I’ve been for more than 20 years, I miss that one-ness.
The whatsapp messages that ping constantly, and the FB group messages and the stuff I see on social media pains me greatly.
The reality of what’s happening now makes me wonder if my memories were filtered through a romantic and nostalgic lens.
I don’t know.
I will just continue doing my part by
– not spreading gossip or misinformation
– not assigning blanket blame and judgement
– not belittling any group.
Even if my memories do not match reality, I’ll continue believing in the goodness in people, despite what politics and other factors my say.
You can never go wrong with that.
