Beauty of Love, Ugliness of Hatred!

by: Dana Jaf

I know how easy and time-saving it is to make an enemy out of 

“the other”.

This logic works this way:

I am Kurd, so every Arab is my enemy.

I am Muslim, so every Christian is my enemy.

I am from Sulaimani, so everyone from Basra is my enemy.

I am boy, so every girl is my enemy.

I am this and every that is my enemy.

This logic is stupid, ugly and brutish, but it proves very successful among human beings unfortunately.

For Adolf Hitler, all Jews were “the other” and they were to be burnt.

For Saddam Hussein, all Kurds were “the other” and they were to be annihilated.

For the Tutsi government in Rwanda, all Hutu were “the other” and they were to be mass murdered.

And all of the examples above are resulted from one simple but ugly logic:

“The other is my enemy.”

This demonization of the other is not limited to the ancient times or the third world societies.

 It is always everywhere.

However, we cannot let hatred and absence of reason beat love and peaceful coexistence.

Do not let the crazy racists hijack the discourse. Do not let the voice of hatred be louder than the voice of love.

Do not listen to those who justify their hate for “the other” with love for themselves. They are lying! Anyone who hates humans, no matter who they are, cannot love humans, no matter who they are.

Let’s rise to a level where hatred has no place in our hearts!

Let’s make tomorrow the day of love and friendship between all AUI-S students, because hatred has no tomorrow.

 * Dana Jaf is an International Studies and Political Science junior at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani.