They said, a once in a lifetime experience is something you must not let go, especially when you are offered to be in a foreign land, learning new stuff. Learning is a huge word itself. Be it formally conducted in school, or informally while walking down the street. According to rules of the world, weekdays are for formal stuff, while weekend is for the opposite. But, according to another chapter in rules of the world, don't let go of a golden opportunity.

While I was busily contemplating my homework and assignment, a dear friend of mine mentioned about a talk at uni, given by Yvonne Ridley. And I was like, 'who's she?' She told me that was the journalist who was captured by Taliban years ago and she reverted to Islam afterwards. Then I remembered I've read something about her in some magazine years back. She's coming all the way from London to deliver a speech during our uni Islamic Awareness Week.

What a great thing, and what a great time! I mean, with all the homework and assignment. The pressure is on, but it takes a while to regain my consciousness. After spending my Saturday morning with a touch of girl-talk thingy and a woozy meeting, my friends and I went to the talk, rombongan-cik-kiah style ;)

In that small lecture room, I saw familiar and unfamiliar faces. But, what to be bothered, we are all brothers and sisters of Islam. Though I hardly remembered her, she's recognizable. Her English look is still obvious though she dressed 100%ly like a Muslim woman. And when she talks, my ears caught the word, my heart captured the quintessence, and my closed eyes dried the tears. The 2 hours session filled with nothing but the truth. About the crisis, the war, the terrorism, the injustice, the cruelty, the biased, the insanity, the hidden agenda. There's nothing extreme about the talk. But if the truth is what people defined as extreme, I can't help but wonder.

As she explained shortly about the crisis of Muslims all over the world, I was trying my best to jot down the details. But I failed miserably, partly because I'm slow but mostly because there are too many to write. If it takes a can opener to open a can, it takes the truth, and a good speaker, to open the eyes of the audience. And Yvonne becomes just that to go straight to the core.

Afghan, Chechnya, Iraq and Kashmir are only a few to name the land of crisis.
Physically, these places are nothing but padang jarak padang terkukur. Buildings demolished, houses knocked down, schools flattened, facilities blown up. No electricity, no water, no food, no medicine,no home. A girl might have no father to feed her. That baby might have no mother to comfort her. This sister might wonder why her brother is bleeding like crazy. And that boy, he sees her sister is gang raped right in front of his bare eyes. The mother, who laboured for 9 hours to deliver each of her children, lost all her 9 boys n girls in one bloody blast.

For me, I dare not to imagine what our brothers and sisters are going through. My country has nothing of such. Their courage is something people should give a stand ovation. But I bet, that's not what they want. They have cried too loud for help from other Muslims, their very own brothers and sisters. While waiting, they don't stop to fight. While waiting, they continue to suffer.

May be in their head they are thinking, 'Our brothers and sisters are coming. Just hold on, perhaps they are already on the way'.

But perhaps, the brothers and sisters can't hear the voices of innocents.

Perhaps the television set is too loud, or is it the concert they are at?