What happened in Boston is a tragedy indeed. Fortunately, my friend who used to run marathons with me had finished it 20 mins earlier.
The sad part is that we as Sikhs come in the crosshairs because of our bana whenever an atrocity like this happens. We only become victims and heroes when the crimes are committed against us like the one in Oak Creek. In today's age, we have to be killed to breed some understanding amongst us and our fellow Americans. What a sacrifice by the dwellers of 'The land of the free and the home of the brave!’
Sadly, we become the bulls' eyes of the gun-toting ignorant people who are too uneducated to learn that Americana is made of all hues, creeds and faiths.
I hope that none of the people of 'brown colour' end up becoming the targets due to this awful crime by some hateful people who do not know the difference between Dr. Pepper and Doctor Oz.
We are having blood donation drive with the help of The Red Cross on Saturday and Sunday in the two Gurdwaras we have here. Each one of us will be bringing five people from our neighbourhoods from any or no faith to offer the same. We will serve fruits after the blood donations to all the donors and then Langar will be served later on.
I would urge all here on SikhNet to do the same. If you can not arrange it at your place of worship, it does not matter. Gather 5 neighbours of yours and go to your local hospital and pitch in no matter which part of the globe you live in. Use all forms of social media to ask others so that they can also participate with their friends and so on.
Many runners also went to the hospitals and donated blood afterwards.
Humanity demands this from all of us.
A courageous 78 year old runner named Bill Iffrig from the Washington State fell down just 15 yards from the finish line with the bomb's impact and then got up and gallantly finished it what he had set forth to do hundreds of times. It was his 3rd Boston Marathon but he has run many more of them. He told CNN, this would not deter him from running. But this finish must have brought more agony than ecstasy for many like him.
Bravo Bill!!
Those who do not know The Boston Marathon, it is one of the most famous and grueling marathons in the world with steep climbing hills, one of them romantically named “Heartbreak Hill.” Its conquering is the high of the race. Lastly one has to be a fast runner in order to qualify for it. It is not for the faint hearted.
Historically speaking, our Sikhs lost their limbs for the sake of Equality and Justice for all- and we remember them every time when we do Ardaas- and these ones lost their's while encouraging others to take the next step, just one more step, not to give up because the end of journey was within sight, just a stone's throw from where the bombs went off. They lost their limbs so that the limbs of others could carry them to their desired destination. Many runners also lost theirs and sadly could not make it to the end as many others who were stopped by the police about a mile before the finish line after the blasts.
They were there for two reasons, either to participate in the marathon or to cheer up the runners' spirits so they could cross the finish line after gut wrenching 26.2 miles.
One other very important thing to notice is that the first blast took place at 4:09 and the second one about 13 seconds later; when the runners who run just for fun, who fight against the fatigue with mind over matter were finishing the run. The cheers were for them who were using every ounce of their energy to reach the end. These final runners are known as the “commoners” in the Runners' jargon.
The elites do not need any cheers as an electrolyte booster as the commoners do. The elites are clapped because they are supposed to finish it fast ‘n’ quick. They are the professional athletes who are paid large sums just for showing up.
The elite had finished the race long before the blasts. The men's winner was Leilisa Desisa from Ethopia, who finished it in 2:10:22 and the ladies' winner was Rita Jeptoo from Kenya in 2:26:25. These two also lost their pictures in the front pages of the Boston Newspapers of tomorrow. Their moment of glory snatched away from them because of the carnage. There is no celebration but mourning for days to come.
I am sure the runners who lost their limbs will be back one day, participating in the same Boston Marathon which took away a part or two of them; on their wheel chairs giving every drop of their sweat to conquer Heartbreak Hill, once again.
Godspeed to all.
Tejwant Singh
Photo Credit: Credit: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe