If only she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
“Maezol Khan was a bright one” sighed the family of Chugtais
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If only he could have his disfigured figure re-figured
Too late for young Luqman, those deadly strikes the joystick triggered
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If only she could fly to New York and hold Ban Ki Moon’s hand
But young Ayesha lies deep beneath the rubble in Malakand
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If only he could be Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’
Though he was just a common shepherd, 15 year old Shabir
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If only she made Obama’s dinner list; not his kill list
A terror threat was studious Shaukat: the burgeoning chemist?
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If only he could have his face on the cover of Newsweek
But that wouldn’t be a pretty sight; poor dishevelled Shafiq
~
If only she could write for some fancy US Magazine
It was on her way to school when it crashed down on Shabuddin
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If only he could be honoured with a day named after him
But CNN do not cry for the likes of Ziauddin
More than 2,400 people have died in Obama’s illegal drone war[1]. In Pakistan alone, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates that between 416 and 951 civilians have been killed, including 168 to 200 children[2]. The names of the children used in this poem are real victims; here a complete list of all the innocent children who have lost their lives in Obama’s illegal drone war[3]. Yet it is apparent Taliban target Malala Yousafzai who continues to grab all the headlines.
[1] http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/01/23/more-than-2400-dead-as-obamas-drone-campaign-marks-five-years/
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/obama-drone-program-anniversary_n_4654825.html
[3] http://droneswatch.org/2013/01/20/list-of-children-killed-by-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-and-yemen/
What’s the point of this article? Is it Malala’s fault that all these Pakistani children were killed because of Obama’s drones, invited by weak, impotent Pakistani “leaders”?
It’s our inability to stop this madness that’s at fault. Malala asked Obama to stop it, it did not stop.