A Song for New Year's Eve

A Song for New Year's Eve
William Cullen Bryant

Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay—
Stay till the good old year,
So long companion of our way,
Shakes hands, and leaves us here.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One little hour, and then away.

The year, whose hopes were high and strong,
Has now no hopes to wake;
Yet one hour more of jest and song
For his familiar sake.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One mirthful hour, and then away. 

The kindly year, his liberal hands
Have lavished all his store.
And shall we turn from where he stands,
Because he gives no more?
Oh stay, oh stay,
One grateful hour, and then away. 

Days brightly came and calmly went,
While yet he was our guest;
How cheerfully the week was spent!
How sweet the seventh day's rest!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One golden hour, and then away. 

Dear friends were with us, some who sleep
Beneath the coffin-lid:
What pleasant memories we keep
Of all they said and did!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One tender hour, and then away. 

Even while we sing, he smiles his last,
And leaves our sphere behind.
The good old year is with the past;
Oh be the new as kind!
Oh stay, oh stay,
One parting strain, and then away.

Ash Trees

Over the past months I have returned to the patch where I was raised. Dealing with change isn't always easy however, and no place is ever likely to stand still. Close by there is a beautiful garden with rising conifers that is part of the land attached to a period property. Until a few years the house served as an elderly home. To the front was another ornamental garden with a Japanese cherry blossom tree and two willow trees that had been there for years. The trees - probably from the early part of last century had taken on a kind of 'wise guardianship' of the property, something reflected in their age and presence. Perhaps it could also be said, that like the residents of the home who and seen and knew so much, the cherry blossom and the willows had witnessed change over their ages.

A few years ago, the cherry blossom tree was razed to the ground to make way for a drive and from where I stood, springtime in my immediate landscape would not quite be the same. But in time, we move on and the cherry blossom tree was remembered in its own way. Whilst I was away travelling, living and working in new places, the old people's home was closed, a section of the garden tarmacked, but the willows remained. Until one fell about two weeks ago, blown over by the severe windstorms we have had of late and then surgically cut down.

Each of the elements here - the razing of the cherry blossom, the end of the elderly people's home and the willow blown over represents a kind of end that we are reminded to be prepared for. When I stand in awe at the vastness of age and wisdom around me, I cannot help, but feel sad when the presence of something something older, respected and familiar, is gone.

Peace, Goodwill and Commercialism

In the quiet corner of the Internet that this blog space occupies I have set myself a minor challenge to follow a trail of thought that moves against the current tide of collective acceptance. I figure that with search activities at this time of year preoccupied elsewhere, I just might be able raise an alternative voice regarding 25th December without offending. That would not be my aim, so apologies in advance if I err. 

For me as a Muslim, Christmas has never really been part of my foreground, so Al Hamdulilah I have been spared the commercial excesses. Perhaps, this has been fortunate for me. Not that I would ever wish to deny Christendom from marking an important date - as I recognise the importance for collective celebration.

Regardless of the fact that there is real debate about the exact date of the birth of Isa PBUH (Jesus), and the difference of theological interpretation of a great man and his mission by both Muslims and Christians, it would be fair to say that for many the 25th December has missed out the point of it being mass of Christ. Instead, the commercial Santafication is the current iteration of a winter Pagan/Roman celebration. The objection attached to this therefore has even more resonance at a time when the global Occupy protests aim to draw attention to wanton commercial exploitation (See more here).

Does it make sense, therefore, for some to even call this event 'Christ'mas? Personally, I find it difficult to be at ease with the passive acceptance of commercial Christmas, and especially alarming when the neo-con media appear to be complicit in the overlap. Fortunately, as I have already mentioned, I am spared the worse aspects of this indulgence.

Peace and goodwill to all men? Absolutely. 

But you don't need a date for that.

Zarteef Afridi Khan

Just a few kilometers from the municipal limits of Peshawar, Jamrud lies in the Khyber Agency tribal territory where the law of Pakistan does not hold. Here the Pashtoon code of conduct holds sway. Display of weapons is a matter of pride in a land where education has taken a back seat for most. On 8 December 2011, human rights defender Mr Zarteef Afridi Khan was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Ghundai area near Jamrud Bazaar while he was on his way to work at a local government-run school where he served as headmaster.

Prior to his murder, Zarteef Afridi had been active as the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's core group coordinator in the area. Apart from his role in HRCP, Zarteef Afridi had been active with a number of peace groups in campaigning for the release of dozens of prisoners under the Frontiers Crimes Regulation.

He was known for his pacifism and his commitment to the cause of education he began his teaching career in 1983 when he was prevented by his mother from from going to Soviet Russia for a degree in engineering. His commitment to the cause of human rights meant that he became a vocal advocate of equal rights for minorities, women and children and his campaign for the release of people jailed under the Frontier Crimes Regulations won him the respect of the people of Jamrud. In the mid 90s Zarteef Afridi coupled his teaching with activism through the platform of Democratic Commission for Human Development.

It is reported that Zarteef Afridi had been receiving death threats from local militants for his work in organising a congregation of tribal elders.

Teacher, Human Rights Activist, Social Worker.
Killed December 2011

Make A Wish ...

- so that we are all free and equal
- for an end to discrimination
- for the right to life, liberty and security
- to abolish slavery
- to abolish torture
- so that everyone is protected by the law
- so that we are all equal before the law
- for access to justice for all
- for an end to arbitrary detention
- for the right to a fair trial
- to be considered innocent til proven guilty
- so that we all have a right to privacy
- so that we are all free to live in and return to our home countries
- so that everybody has access to refuge in a safe country
- so that everyone has a right to a nationality
- so that everyone has the right to marriage and family for all
- for everyone to have the right to own property
- for freedom of thought, conscience and belief for all
- for the right to freedom of expression and opinion for all
- so that everyone has the right to peaceful assembly
- so that everyone has a right to participate in government
- for the right to universal social security
- for equal pay for equal work for all
- for the right to rest and leisure for all
- for food, shelter and health care for all
- for the right to an education for all
- for the right to the arts, culture, and science
- for a fair and free world
- so that everyone has the right to develop as a person through work
- so that no one can take away my rights 

Click here to learn more.

Human Rights; Human Wrongs

For a couple of days now I have wanted to explore a thought or two on the subject of human rights. Coinciding with the official UN Day that celebrates the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights I have a question that asks if the UDHR applies to all. Would it be right, given the tile, to describe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as truly universal?  

This is where perceptions matter on the intention of Human Rights matter. Perhaps in many traditional societies, the human rights movements associations with individualism don't always fit with the social importance placed on the collective (that is, families and communities etc.). Should we be surprised therefore, that in the heart of Africa and Asia, and across the Muslim world, public sensibilities mean that the interpretation of aspects of the UDHR often it lines up with 'western' social attitudes? This is perhaps why governments 'get away' with violations.

And what of those societies that supposedly espouse the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but that ignore the rules themselves? The UK's obsession with electronic surveillance and the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, for example, operate in a human rights 'grey area'. Both these are examples when, presumably, the 'collective' interest is put before the 'individual' interest.

Considering that many years have passed since 1948, and most the world still remains tied to cultures that reject individualism, can the notion of Universal Human Rights truly have universal support?