The other people

Not us, not the people we know.. the other people, the unlucky ones. We sigh, we say "oh this is so sad", we move on. You never imagine something like this could happen to you. Until it does.

And now we are the other ones. The people they talk about on TV.

Everyone is concerned, people are asking questions. You are trying to brush it off, minimise. "Oh it's not that bad." But it is. "Nothing much is happening, they exaggerate on TV." But they don't. "It's going to be over soon." But it won't.

After a while it slips away from the news cycle. It just becomes that far away place where something bad was happening, or maybe still is, not entirely sure. The focus moves on, for there are fresh horrible things happening to some other people.

* * *

It’s been 5 years now. Every so often my friends ask “So how is it over there? Is it fixed? We don't hear about it on TV anymore". I don't think I have the words to explain how it is over there, and how it'll never be fixed. My every attempt sounds dry, simplistic, insincere.

How do you fix the loss of identity, the trauma, the lies, the apathy. How do you bring back people who died, people who left everything behind and started their lives anew somewhere else. And what do you do with those who came and took over what is not theirs.