Goodbye To 2016, From A Broken World

Dear 2016,

You have been a year of realization, to say the least. And the most pressing of all the things we have come to realize is the demise of human empathy, of compassion, and of the true essence and basic definition of humanity.

I didn’t want to start off on such a dismal note, but I have been left with no choice. Because as we end this year, Aleppo is still burning, Aleppo is still crying. From the merciless killings of countless innocent men, women, and children, the degradation of human lives, to the lack of tolerance, acceptance, and simple unity, we have failed one another as fellow humans, and global citizens of this world.

The world that we live in today has taught us that the advancements of technology, of infrastructure, of education, and of research will never hold the same amount of power or teach us what the basic notion of heartfelt sympathy and sincerity can.

We can have all the biggest buildings, the fastest internet, hybrid machines, and a never-ending supply of energy on one end, but it can never erase, nor help the millions of people that are displaced, killed, tortured, and are constantly left in a state of helplessness. We must always remember, with every single person that is killed due to hatred, distorted ideologies, racism, and lack of compassion and tolerance, that there is always an abundance of people that are affected. This realization of the importance of unity not as separate nations but as one is an imperative ode; a tribute to every mother who lost a child, every father who had to identify a body, every child that has become an orphan, and every human that has been left alone.

2016, you will not be forgotten; you will be a very important year marked down in the history of this world, for you showed us all, that empathy and compassion is the only way to prevail in a world where tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

Love,

The world