While I was on vacation enjoying good food and good company, half a world away there was no "peace on earth, good will toward men."
Last week, my wife and I watched the movie "Hotel Rwanda." While it is unfair to draw connections between the events unfolding in Pakistan and those portrayed in the movie, there was something from the movie that struck me. The movie states that when the world sees what is going on in Rwanda, they will say "Oh, that's too bad" and then go back to their lives.
And THAT is why I want to be a Broadcast Journalist. I want to help people see that there is more to news than headlines. These are real people, with real families. They are the heart of news as Art Rascon says in his book of the same title. I learned on CNN this morning that most of Bhutto's family had already been killed prior to her assassination. I was sick inside.
Prime Minister Bhutto was a real person, with a real family, and real friends. She knew that by speaking out against the current leadership of Pakistan, she risked death--yet she returned from exile anyway. For months now, we have watched as she toured around Pakistan, hosting rallies and protests all over the country. For months we have watched, and we have waited...sensing somehow that it was too good to last.
So, while it was a shock that she was assassinated, it was hardly a surprise. I had already spent months hoping, rather than believing, that she could do what she wanted to do. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe she knew all along that she would probably be killed. And maybe she didn't care. Because maybe, just maybe, it was the hearts of the international community that she was trying to win--and not the presidency.
If we say "oh, that's too bad," and go back to our lives, then she indeed died in vain. Only the coming days and weeks and months and years will show how deep of an impact she had on her country and the world, but one thing is certain--she did not die in vain. Those who wished to silence her have only helped her voice grow louder. That is why her story must be told.
I pray for Pakistan and its people--the people behind the story.
