I thought we were born to be good, to be kind, to be loving, to care for anyone who needed it. Isn't that what they told us when we were young? To always help, to never judge, to never discriminate, to imbibe the values of peace and harmony. I grew up believing that these values would be all anyone needs for life, grew up never knowing that things would be far from perfect. I wonder why they taught us lies, lies that a world is kind and caring. Lies that beneath everyone, is a good soul. Lies that happy endings exist. Because they never will and they never did. The world runs on hate not love, on greed not compassion, on violence not peace. That’s the way it was and the way it will be and it’s this truth that hurts more than ever because now I know that all the things I ever believed, were nothing but forgotten dreams.
When did it all end? When did smiles turn into cries, when did the sounds of laughter turn into painful sobs? Now, as I walk by the streets, I see the blameful glares, how people shift away, how no one wants to talk to me anymore, as if I’m just a stranger. I’m not as furious as I am hurt. Hurt that all it took was a man named Hitler to change years of friendship into nothing at all. All this because of a three letter word - Jew. I never thought a small word could make such a big difference in my life. I’m no longer good old Hannah, I’m a Jew. Labelled not by who I am, and what I do, but by the fact that I’m a Jew. And now it’s like a leash that binds me from being who I truly am. People don’t see me for me, but the only thing they ever see is that I’m a jew.
And now, there’s nowhere left to go. Nowhere left to run. Nowhere to hide. Because they’re everywhere. Like vultures they’ll find you and they won’t rest till every last piece of you is gone. And as everyone I’ve ever known slowly disappears with the wind, I’m left wondering if kindness was ever real, if love was ever true or if it were just another story.
- Just another ordinary young girl
Thoughts voiced by Rishona Chopra, Grade IX, Gyanshree School
