Tuesday, December 16, 2014

2015. A new start

It is almost 2015. The start of a new year. We did an alright job this year. But there were mistakes. The international news channels of 2014 were flooded with stories of war, death, bad times and just general upset abroad. This was brought to us in a huge way with the terrible news of the Sydney Siege on the 15th of December. We lost 2 Australian citizens in an act of violence that should never have taken place. #iwillridewithyou . 

However, there was an increase in charity donations in 2014. On top of this, efforts made by celebrities such as #bandaid30 helped raise funds for poverty in Africa and similar places. More and more people are donating, not only funds, but other necessities to those who have less. 

A few weeks ago I had the extraordinary pleasure of volunteering for Operation Christmas Child, the charity that ask for shoeboxes filled with small Christmas presents for children suffering abroad. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the thousands of people that donated as we sifted through more boxes than we could count.

It is operations and charities like these, as well as individual acts made by people that help to balance out the evil acts that have been committed. 

Although we can never fully compensate for the destruction of wars, or upsets, we can sure damn well TRY. 

So it is coming up to 2015, and let's not only start a new year, but a new era, one that we can cherish. An era where poverty is severely lessened, where religious people can feel safe in public and visa versa. The era when we recognise that we are not several countries fighting their own battles. But one planet, with its communities fighting eachother's  as a whole.

So here here, to a new start. 

NOTHING TO DO WITH ME.

Nothing to with ME. 

There’s a war going on
And people are dying
Children are sick
And women are crying,
The innocent damned,
But I’m not one for prying-

It’s nothing to do with me.

I saw in the paper
A boy with a gun
His clothes were all torn,
And his laces undone,
His eyes seemed to me
Like they’d never known fun-
It’s nothing to do with me.

I heard on the telly
A car bomb exploded
The men were all dead...
But their guns were reloaded
By locals who jeered
And taunted and goaded.
It’s nothing to do with me.

So why are men fighting?
What’s it all for?
Can anyone tell me
Who’s winning this war?
And how are they able
To ever keep score?
It’s nothing to do with me.

And then in the playground
I heard someone say,
‘The fight against terror
Is coming our way.’
And so during R.E.
I join hands and pray,
‘Cause they’re doing it all for me.

                                       ~ Saona Bailey