Monday, 24 March 2014

Article - Kisah abang dan adik

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kisah abang dan adik

Menyentuh Jiwa - Kasihnya Seorang Abang

Aku ada abg.. Dah lama berpisah.. Tapi aku selalu utus surat kat die yg kat kampung.. Satu pun x berbalas..

2 Tahun lepas.. Aku menikah tanpa izin abang.. Sebab puas aku cari tapi x jumpa dia.. Sepanjang perkahwinan aku.. Aku x tenang.. Cuti sekolah yang lepas.. Aku ajak suami aku balik kampung.. Aku nak bersihkan rumah pusaka mak dan ayah.. Semasa membersih rumah usang tu.. Aku tersapu surat yang aku kirimkan pada abangku 2 tahun yang lalu.. Sebelum aku menikah suratnya macam ni..



“Khas buat abangku,

Abg, ko ingat lagi x..

Mak ngan ayah meninggal mase aku Darjah 5.. ko plak Tingkatan 5.., Masa tu diorang eksiden sebab nak beli kek befday aku sebab aku baling semua perhiasan kat umah kite, sampai mak terpaksa pegi beli ngan ayah. Tapi aku hairan mase tu, ada satu bekas kaca yg aku pecahkan.. tbe2 byk air keluar.. Tapi ko cepat2 lap lantai umah kite.. Tapi aku x amik kisah pon pasal hal tu.. Sebelum pegi, diorang cium kita berdua. Diorang cakap

“ Abg, ko jaga adik. Jangan bagi dia nangis. Kalo mak dah xde, ko jangan tinggal die. Ingat sket mak ngan ayah ko ni.. Jangan sesekali biar die sorang-sorang “

Ko ingat x..

Sebelum diorang pegi beli kek, ko balik dari sekolah, ko belikan aku pengikat rambut warna biru, sebab ko ske warna biru kan.. Tapi aku campak kat longkang belakang umah kite, sebab aku suke warna pink. Lepas kejadian tu.. ko x penah ucap bufday kat aku lagi.. Sampai sekarang..

Abg, ko ingat x..

Kita hidup 2 orang je lepas tu, ko x sekolah lagi.. Ko pegi mana pon aku xtau.. Tapi malam malam baru ko balik dan xpernah cakap ngan aku, Ingat tak, aku masak untuk ko, tapi ko xmakan pon.. Last2 pagi esok aku nampak ayam2 yg makan. Ko x penah ucap terima kasih kat aku.

Abg, ko ingat x..

Pernah sekali aku mintak duit nak pegi sekolah, tapi time tu ko tengah tido.. Aku amik Rm2 dalam poket jeans ko. Masa balik sekolah, ko lempang aku sampai mulut aku darah. Tapi ko x pujuk aku balik pon.. Tapi keesokannya,nasib baik luka tu dah elok..

Abg, ko ingat x..

Semasa umur aku 18 tahun.. Ko hantar aku kat Kuala Lumpur, umah Pak Long.. Ko cakap ko ada hal.. Tapi sampai sekarang ko x datang amik aku.. Berpuluh surat aku titipkan bersama airmata aku pada kau.. Kenapa tiada sebarang balasan.. Kenapa abg??

Sekarang umur aku dah mencecah 26 tahun, dan umur ko dah pun 32 tahun, aku sudah pun disunting orang.. Ketika hajat untuk menikah aku sampaikan surat lagi pada engkau.. Kenapa kau diam je? Kenapa ko x cakap apa2? Aku perlukan izinmu sebagai wali aku..

Abg,

Jika kau dapat surat ni.. Katakanlah pada aku.. Ada apa sebenarnya yg sedang berlaku..

Salam sayang,

Adik.”Aku mula terasa teringin nak selongkar rumah pusaka ni.. Yelah.. Nak balik jarang sangat..Masa aku buka balik almari aku yang buruk yang dah kena makan anai2..Tibe2 ada satu kotak besar jatuh dan banyak kotak2 kecik serta sampul2 surat..Dan saat itu aku terpandang satu surat yang cantik sangat.. Dan aku buka..


“Assalamualaikum..

Kehadapan adikku yang jauh di mata ..

Maafkan abg kerana tidak membalas satu pun surat yang engkau kirimkan.. Kerana aku tidak berdaya sayang.. Aku masih ingat detik kemalangan mak dan ayah kita.. Iye, kau pecahkan perhiasan rumah.. Tahukah kau salah satu perhiasan di situ adalah hadiah untukmu?? Mesti kau tidak perasan.. Yang pecah itu adalah sebuah balang ikan emas yg telah aku, ayah dan mak belikan untuk kau.. Tahukah kau ayah masih berhutang dengan apek yg jual ikan tu di pekan..

Adikku sayang..

Aku tau kau tak suka warna biru.. Tapi aku beli pengikat rambut itu untuk kau.. Supaya kau akan ingatkan aku sentiasa bila kau pakai pengikat rambut itu.. Walaupun kau dah campakkan pengikat rambut tu.. Aku dah ambil balik, dan basuh.. dan telah aku letakkan dalam sebuah kotak kecil di rumah kita.. Nanti kau ambil ya..

Adikku sayang..

Jangan lah kau bersedih kerana aku sudah tidak ucapkan lagi tanggal hari jadi mu.. Kau pun sudah lupa ya.. Pada tarikh itulah kedua orang tua kita meninggal.. Aku tak sanggup melihat tangisan engkau bila aku ucapkannya.. Aku harap kau mengerti..

Adikku sayang..

Tahukah kau kenapa aku hanya balik bila malam saja.. Kerana aku bekerja di pekan.. Mengangkat guni2 untuk letak dalam lori.. Untuk menyara engkau.. Untuk membeli buku sekolah engkau, makan kau, baju-baju engkau dan semua persiapan kau.. Kerana masa itu.. Kau sangat terkenal dengan kecantikan kau. Ramai yg memuji.. Aku harus sediakan perhiasan untuk kau.. Supaya kau tidak rasa malu..

Aku tidak pulang siang hari kerana aku takut jika engkau dicerca kerana abangmu yg kelihatan seperti pengemis ini..

Adikku sayang,

Siapa cakap yg aku tidak menjamah masakan kau.. Aku akan makan masakan itu sebelum subuh.. Sebab aku perlukan tenaga untuk siang hari, dan aku makan semasa engkau tidur.. Supaya jari-jarimu tidak tercedera dan kasar semasa basuh pinggan dan matamu tidak bengkak kerana menemani aku makan..

Adikku sayang,

Aku malu untuk ucapkan terima kasih.. Kerana engkau banyak berkorban untukku.. Kau menyediakan makanku dan segalanya.. Adakah ucapan itu cukup untuk membayar semuanya?? Jika aku ucapkan terima kasih.. Biarlah aku ucapkan di akhir hayatku.. Kerana terima kasihku untukmu adalah untuk semua yg kau lakukan semasa hidupku..

Adikku sayang,

Maafkan aku kerana aku memukulmu.. Tahukah kau mencuri dan mengambil barang tanpa kebenaran adalah berdosa? Aku tidak sanggup untuk mengherdik kau lalu aku putuskan untuk memberi pengajaran yg akan kau ingat sampai bila-bila.. Betulkan, selepas kejadian itu.. Kau sudah tidak mengambil barang orang lain sesuka hati kan?? Itu tandanya perbuatanku tidak sia sia kerana aku dapat mendidikmu..

Dan tahukah kau aku berhempas pulas menyapu minyak dibibirmu pada malam itu ketika kau tidur? Aku keluar mencari pucuk jambu batu dan menggilingnya sehingga batu lesung itu turut menggiling tangan aku.. Sakit yang amat sangat.. Tapi aku tetap teruskan dan Alhamdulillah.. Aku berjaya mencuci kesan minyak dan ubat itu sebelum kau bangun.. Aku tidak mau bengkak itu mencacatkan wajahmu yang cantik itu..

Adikku sayang..

Maafkan aku kerana terpaksa memisahkan kau dari aku. Sebenarnya.. Aku menghantar kau kerana aku jatuh sakit ketika itu.. Mungkin kerana ketika aku bekerja kontrak di tempat pembinaan menyebabkan aku sangat terdedah pada debu dan simen.. Aku terjatuh semasa kerja dan dikejarkan ke hospital.. Doktor mengesahkan aku menghidapi barah paru-paru di mana badan ku tidak berupaya untuk memikul barang yg berat, serta pernafasan aku sudah tak selancar dulu..Patutlah aku selalu batuk batuk, sesak nafas dan pandanganku yg makin kabur.. Aku terpaksa dirawat di hospital walaupun doktor menjangkakan aku xkan bertahan lama..

Sayangku..

Aku titipkan surat ni ke rumah pusaka kita, ketika ini aku di hospital.. Jika suatu hari nanti engkau pulang.. Bacalah semua surat2 dan bukalah semua hadiah yg aku belikan setiap tahun lebih kurang 9 tahun dahulu.. Dan maafkan aku jika tidak dapat sediakan hadiah untukmu pada tahun ini..

Adikku sayang..

Mungkin tika kau membaca surat ini.. Aku sudah pun tiada.. Jangan kau bersedih.. Di sini ada beberapa perkara yang ingin aku katakan..

Untuk menyapu rumah kita ketika aku pulang dengan pakaian dan kotor serta debu, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk mengelap setiap barang yg aku sentuh supaya sentiasa bersih dan tiada kuman, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk membasuh pakaianku yg busuk dengan peluh ku, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk melemparkan senyuman dan salaman ketika aku pulang dr kerja, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk memasak lauk kegemaranku yg kau sangka aku tidak suka, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk mengingatiku dan menulis surat yg tidak bisa aku balas, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk menjadi adik yang sangat aku sayangi, TERIMA KASIH. Untuk segalanya yang kita tempuhi, suka mahupun duka, TERIMA KASIH.

Adikku sayang..

Sekiranya engkau disunting seseorang.. Biarkan pakcik kita menjadi walimu.. Kerana aku mungkin sudah tiada.. Bahagiakanlah dirimu.. Kerana itu yg aku mahukan.. Jagalah suamimu dan jangan kau ingkarinya..

Salam sayang sedalam-dalamnya,

Abang.”

Di rumah pusaka itu.. Aku termenung bersama jernihan airmata yg mengalir.. Lantas.. Aku buka satu persatu hadiah yang dikatakan.. Semuanya berwarna pink.. Dan semuanya di tulis nama aku dengan tulisan yg sangat indah.. Ya Allah.. Aku meraung sambil menatap hadiah itu.. Ya Allah.. di manakah dapat ku cari insan semulia mu duhai abangku..

sumber :: kopilekat

Article - Kerana telur itu , aku malu !

kerana telur itu , aku malu !

http://cincinbelahrotanku.blogspot.com/2013/06/kerana-telur-itu-aku-malu.html

Aku baru kawin & duduk dgn bini aku bdua. Aku ni ada tabiat suke mkn telo rebus. x tau la nape, sedap agaknye. Sejak aku kawin tabiat tu kurang sket sbb bini aku msak sedap2 tp dh lame gak la aku x pekena telo rbus ni.So, citernya bulan lps balik dr keje, kete aku rosak, aku cal bini aku n ckp aku balik lmbt sbb kena menapak. Sbb lapar sgt,masa otw tu, aku singgah kedai mkn.. ada telo rebus! apelagi..........., aku mkn nasi dgn telo rebus lah n order lg wat ratah.Sbelum balik aku bgkus lak, wat mkn smbil bjalan balik. kenyang yg amat, mklumla bls dendam sbb lama xmkn.Buke je pintu rmh, bini aku ckp "abg, ada 'surprise'.." smbil sengih2 dia tutup mata aku n ikat ngn kain hitam n pimpin aku ke meja makan. Aku pn duduk, dia siap pesan jgn try2 nk buka ikatan.Aku nk gi toilet sbb perut start buat hal, tp mls nk spoilkan 'surprise' bini. Aku pn tahan je le dulu..Tetiba fon bini aku berbunyi, dia angkat n gi jauh dr meja. Aku agakla, smp ke dapor dia pegi.Peluang ni, aku pn kentut sbb dh dr td aku tahan.. bau bleh tahan sbb mkn byk telo..ok, lg skali.. aku pn angkt sbelah punggung dan lps lg satu das!PRUTT! bau mmg xhingat, aku pn x tahan.. lama plak bini aku ni, aku x sbr nk tau surprise dia. Aku rase nk kentut lg.. aku bangun, tonggeng dan PROTT!!.. fuhh lega. bau mcm bangkai.. dekat 2,3minit bru bau hilang..Pstu bini aku dtg & mtk mf sbb lmbt, dia pn jerit 'SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABG!!' Lupe lak arini bday aku, dia suh aku buka kain pnutup mata, aku buka.. mulut aku terus melopong..ALAMAK!!! aku tgk merah padam muke bpk n mak mertua aku, adik2 ipar aku, duduk keliling meja mkn. Bos n jiran sblah rmh aku pn ade?! Aku nk cover malu, aku pn tanya la bpk mertua aku, 'dah lama ke bapak smpai?' Slamber je bpk hb aku jwb '"dah lama, sbelum kentut pertama lagi!!"


hahaha , kasi share ini cerita wooo , tq pelawat !

Sunday, 23 March 2014

Article - Wanita Muda British Jihad di syria

http://azizulhakim91.blogspot.com/2013/09/wanita-muda-british-bersama-jihad-di.html

WANITA MUDA BRITISH BERSAMA JIHAD DI SYRIA

WANITA MUDA BRITISH BERSAMA JIHAD DI SYRIA


WANITA MUDA BRITISH BERSAMA JIHAD DI SYRIA

Dia seorang wanita muda yang tinggi, memakai tudung, lengkap dengan purdah, menembak dengan senapang. Dia bercakap dengan loghat London, dan memanggil dirinya "Maryam".

Itu bukan nama sebenar, tetapi komitmen beliau kepada jihad cukup besar: "Ini adalah saudara-saudara kita dan mereka memerlukan bantuan kita." Beliau ingin untuk melawan, untuk menjadi apa yang dia panggilan syahid. Tetapi dia bukan seorang pejuang barisan hadapan. Dia isteri seorang pejuang, dengan senjata untuk perlindungan sendiri.

Mereka telah difilemkan oleh Bilal Abdul Kareem untuk Channel 4 News. Bilal Abdul Kareem adalah seorang mualaf dari Amerika membuat liputan tentang kehidupan di kalangan pejuang jihadi barat dan keluarga mereka di Syria.

Katanya, beliau mahu menunjukkan realiti kehidupan ini jihadis asing.

Perkahwinan Maryam bersama suami yang juga seorang pejuang , Abu Bakr, telah diatur oleh ibunya tiga bulan lalu. Dia tidak bertemu dengannya sehingga selepas mereka telah berkahwin.

"Saya tidak dapat mencari sesiapa sahaja di UK yang sanggup mengorbankan kehidupan mereka di dunia ini untuk kehidupan di akhirat ... saya berdoa, dan Allah memutuskan bahawa saya datang ke sini untuk berkahwin dengan Abu Bakr."

Dia masih muda, dia suka menonton bola sepak di TV. Beliau belajar psikologi dan sosiologi di kolej. jika diberbandingkan beliau dengan orang lain di jalan raya, beliau adalah kaya, walaupun mengikut piawaian British beliau adalah miskin.

Beliau berkata, ibu bapanya tahu dia mengembara ke negara yang dilanda perang, tetapi mereka tidak tahu apa yang beliau lakukan di Syria.

Maryam mengakui dia rindukan makanan British, terutamanya kek, makanan ringan dan masakan ibunya.

"Saya akan tinggal di sini kerana saya tidak datang ke sini untuk beliau. Saya tidak mahu untuk kembali ke UK. Saya akan tinggal di sini, membesarkan anak-anak saya, memberi tumpuan kepada bahasa Arab untuk berkomunikasi dengan rakyat Syria.

"Selagi saya mempunyai kereta, saya akan dapat untuk pergi membeli-belah dan melakukan apa yang saya lakukan sekarang."

Ketabahan wanita British. Ya Allah, lindungi lah mereka amin. Detik Islam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAlKlQ2g1Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAlKlQ2g1Q

Article - Saudi Arabia to raze Prophet Mohammed’s tomb to build larger mosque


Saudi Arabia to raze Prophet Mohammed’s tomb to build larger mosque

 Source: http://worldobserveronline.com/2014/01/13/saudi-arabia-raze-prophet-mohammeds-tomb-build-larger-mosque/

January 13, 2014 4:51 pm Comments Off Views: 111344
medina-mosque-prophet-courtyard.si
The key Islamic heritage site, including Prophet Mohammed’s shrine, is to be bulldozed, as Saudi Arabia plans a $ 6 billion expansion of Medina’s holy Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque. However, Muslims remain silent on the possible destruction.
Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, is planned to start as soon as the annual Hajj pilgrimage comes to a close at the end of November.
“After the Hajj this year, in one months’ time, the bulldozers will move in and will start to demolish the last part of Mecca, the grand mosque which is at least 1,000 years old,” Dr. Irfan Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told RT.
After the reconstruction, the mosque is expected to become the world’s largest building, with a capacity for 1.6 million people.
And while the need to expand does exist as more pilgrims are flocking to holy sites every year, nothing has been said on how the project will affect the surroundings of the mosque, also historic sites.
Concerns are growing that the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will come at the price of three of the world’s oldest mosques nearby, which hold the tombs of Prophet Mohammed and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. The expansion project which will cost 25 billion SAR (more than US $6 billion) reportedly requires razing holy sites, as old as the seventh century.
The Saudis insist that colossal expansion of both Mecca and Medina is essential to make a way for the growing numbers of pilgrims. Both Mecca and Medina host 12 million visiting pilgrims each year and this number is expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.
Authorities and hotel developers are working hard to keep pace, however, the expansions have cost the oldest cities their historical surroundings as sky scrapers, luxury hotels and shopping malls are being erected amongst Islamic heritage.
A room in a hotel or apartment in a historic area may cost up to $ 500 per night. And that’s all in or near Mecca, a place where the Prophet Mohammed insisted all Muslims would be equal.
“They just want to make a lot of money from the super-rich elite pilgrims, but for the poor pilgrims it is getting very expensive and they cannot afford it,”
Dr. Irfan Al Alawi said.

A general view of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams) A general view of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)
Jabal Omar complex – a 40 tower ensemble – is being depicted as a new pearl of Mecca. When complete, it will consist of six five star hotels, seven 39 storey residential towers offering 520 restaurants, 4, 360 commercial and retail shops.
But to build this tourist attraction the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on.
The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimated that 95 percent of sacred sites and shrines in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years.
The Prophet’s birthplace was turned into a library and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, was replaced with a public toilet block.
Also the expansion and development might threaten many locals homes, but so far most Muslims have remained silent on the issue.
“Mecca is a holy sanctuary as stated in the Quran it is no ordinary city. The Muslims remain silent against the Saudi Wahhabi destruction because they fear they will not be allowed to visit the Kindom again,” said Dr. Al Alawi.
The fact that there is no reaction on possible destruction has raised talks about hypocrisy because Muslims are turning a blind eye to that their faith people are going to ruin sacred sites.
“Some of the Sunni channels based in the United Kingdom are influenced by Saudi petro dollars and dare not to speak against the destruction, but yet are one of the first to condemn the movie made by non Muslims,” Dr. Al Alawi said.
Muslim pilgrims walk in the courtyard of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams) Muslim pilgrims walk in the courtyard of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

Article - Mark Boyle - I live without cash

I live without cash – and I manage just fine

 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2009/oct/28/live-without-money

Armed with a caravan, solar laptop and toothpaste made from washed-up cuttlefish bones, Mark Boyle gave up using cash
Mark Boyle outside his caravan.
Mark Boyle outside his off-grid caravan. Photograph: Mark Boyle
In six years of studying economics, not once did I hear the word "ecology". So if it hadn't have been for the chance purchase of a video called Gandhi in the final term of my degree, I'd probably have ended up earning a fine living in a very respectable job persuading Indian farmers to go GM, or something useful like that. The little chap in the loincloth taught me one huge lesson – to be the change I wanted to see in the world. Trouble was, I had no idea back then what that change was.
After managing a couple of organic food companies made me realise that even "ethical business" would never be quite enough, an afternoon's philosophising with a mate changed everything. We were looking at the world's issues – environmental destruction, sweatshops, factory farms, wars over resources – and wondering which of them we should dedicate our lives to. But I realised that I was looking at the world in the same way a western medical practitioner looks at a patient, seeing symptoms and wondering how to firefight them, without any thought for their root cause. So I decided instead to become a social homeopath, a pro-activist, and to investigate the root cause of these symptoms.
One of the critical causes of those symptoms is the fact we no longer have to see the direct repercussions our purchases have on the people, environment and animals they affect. The degrees of separation between the consumer and the consumed have increased so much that we're completely unaware of the levels of destruction and suffering embodied in the stuff we buy. The tool that has enabled this separation is money.
If we grew our own food, we wouldn't waste a third of it as we do today. If we made our own tables and chairs, we wouldn't throw them out the moment we changed the interior decor. If we had to clean our own drinking water, we probably wouldn't contaminate it.
So to be the change I wanted to see in the world, it unfortunately meant I was going to have to give up cash, which I initially decided to do for a year. I got myself a caravan, parked it up on an organic farm where I was volunteering and kitted it out to be off-grid. Cooking would now be outside – rain or shine – on a rocket stove; mobile and laptop would be run off solar; I'd use wood I either coppiced or scavenged to heat my humble abode, and a compost loo for humanure.
Food was the next essential. There are four legs to the food-for-free table: foraging wild food, growing your own, bartering, and using waste grub, of which there is loads. On my first day, I fed 150 people a three-course meal with waste and foraged food. Most of the year, though, I ate my own crops.
To get around, I had a bike and trailer, and the 34-mile commute to the city doubled up as my gym subscription. For loo roll I'd relieve the local newsagents of its papers (I once wiped my arse with a story about myself); it's not double-quilted, but I quickly got used to it. For toothpaste I used washed-up cuttlefish bone with wild fennel seeds, an oddity for a vegan.
What have I learned? That friendship, not money, is real security. That most western poverty is of the spiritual kind. That independence is really interdependence. And that if you don't own a plasma screen TV, people think you're an extremist.
People often ask me what I miss about my old world of lucre and business. Stress. Traffic jams. Bank statements. Utility bills.
Well, there was the odd pint of organic ale with my mates down the local.
• Mark Boyle is the founder of The Freeconomy Community. In a subsequent blog he responds to the comments below.

Monday, 17 March 2014

Article - Missing MH370: Touching letter from a MAS pilot's daughter





MISSING MH370: Touching letter from a MAS pilot's daughter

 
KUALA LUMPUR: The MH370 incident has shaken the world, including the daughter of a Malaysia Airlines pilot, Captain Abd Rahim Harun.
In this letter to her father, Dr Nur Nadia Abd Rahim expresses her pride, her regrets for taking her father's work for granted.
 
 
THE FLYING DRIVER
 
This note is long overdue and is something that I should have written a long time ago - to let my dad know of how proud I am of him.
 
I am proud of what he does, in spite of him not being around for almost half of my life.
 
I am so sorry for being ashamed to tell my friends that you are indeed a pilot. A good one at that.
 
I am so sorry for telling my new friends that you are a driver.
 
I did not want to come across as a privileged kid.
 
We are after all, living a normal life.
 
I am part of the extended Malaysia Airlines family.
 
I have flown with them ever since I was an infant.
 
My first trip with my dad, my favorite pilot was Kota Kinabalu.
 
Apparently, I was told that I was less than pleasant and I was being a difficult (but adorable?) kid.
Nevertheless, I grew up loving airports and flying. 
 
My father, just like the missing Captain, has worked for Malaysia Airlines ever since he left school.
 
Many times we urged him to work with different airlines but he refused because he wanted to be close to his family and be around us as often as possible.
 
We could have enjoyed the perks that were offered -  free education at international schools, all living expenses paid, a chauffeur to drive us around if he had accepted job offers from other airlines.
 
That's how much MAS pilots are sought after.
 
Being a pilot's daughter, you are bound to have just your mother flying solo, attending your first day at school, your academic prize giving ceremonies, your sports days, your birthdays and even those Raya celebration. 
 
The worst incident that occurred while Ayah was not around was when our house was robbed by 3 masked robbers. 
 
On top of that, my mother was then 7 months pregnant. My dad was not around and my mother had to handle everything by herself. 
 
She refused to call my dad and worry him as he was to fly back to Kuala Lumpur the following day. 
 
My mother understood the burden that he carries on his shoulders and the importance of having a full, undivided focus while he is flying as he is responsible for hundreds of lives, and not just his own family back home.
 
I remember being choked with tears when our English teacher in college asked us one by one, 'What do you remember most about your dad?'
 
I stood up, and answered, "I remember that he wasn't around for half of the time".
 
He is far from a bad father. He is just working hard to support our family.
 
We have come to accept that, especially when people asked us, "Ayah mana? (where's your dad)"
 
I would answer them "Entah, somewhere around the world. Not sure. Have to check his roster."
 
All his life, his presence has been determined by a single sheet of paper which he would share with us at the beginning of each month. He would sometimes be annoyed when I ask him about his whereabouts because I should have checked his roster first before asking him that.
 
Before he leaves for work, each one of us would send him off without fail and watch his airport transfer pick him up and drive off.
 
Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, other times in the middle of the night. We would "salam" him in advance before we go to bed. 
 
And whenever he returns from work, everyone in the house would come to the front door, and greet him.
 
And I never realised how significant these rituals are until the MH370 incident occurred.
 
Each time he leaves for work, he will be responsible for hundreds of lives, he will be responsible in connecting families together, he will be responsible in helping businessmen seal the deal, he will be responsible in realising wanderlust dreams of travellers.
 
I remember once, a very old passenger in a wheelchair, waited for Ayah to meet him personally after a London-KL flight, he gave Ayah a thumbs up said, "Are you the Captain? Very smooth landing just now. Thank you!" 
 
I beamed with pride inside.
 
But deep inside, our family knew, everytime he leaves for work, there is always a possibility of getting that fateful phone call, the possibility of him never returning home.
 
We have accepted that as part of our lives, every single day.
 
He underwent rigorous training to be where he is right now.
 
He has annual health checkup to ensure if he is fit to fly.
 
He has exams, just like students.
 
His flight manuals are as thick as my medical books.
 
He is as 'OCD' (meticulous as some would say) as you would want in any pilot flying your flight, ensuring everything is in place.
 
Even when it comes to punctuality, he isn't a minute late nor a minute early if he says he's reaching a particular time. ... 'I'm reaching there in seven minutes. Standby'.
 
This, is a snippet of a life of a cabin crew's family.
 
Cabin crew sacrificed a lot just so they could help the world connect from point A to point B.
 
Let us give the families affected by flight MH370 our support, prayers and some privacy.
 
Before you pass judgement, point fingers, or even spread theories and speculations, remember that you will not only hurt the missing cabin crew's families, but you will hurt our feelings as an extended MAS family.
 
Wherever you are, MH370, we pray for your return.

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Article - Bosnian War

People and Places in the Bosnian war 

 http://wondersofpakistan.blogspot.com/2012/07/naser-oric-threatens-to-reveal-truth.html

People and Places




A Bosnian special forces soldier returns fire in downtown Sarajevo as he and civilians come under fire from Serbian snipers, on April 6, 1992. The Serbs were shooting from the roof of a hotel at a peace demonstration of some of 30,000 people as fighting between Bosnian and Serb fighters escalated in the capital of Bosnia-Hercegovina. (Mike Persson/AFP/Getty Images)



This month marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian War, a long, complex, and ugly conflict that followed the fall of communism in Europe. In 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined several republics of the former Yugoslavia and declared independence, which triggered a civil war that lasted four years. Bosnia's population was a multiethnic mix of Muslim Bosniaks (44%), Orthodox Serbs (31%), and Catholic Croats (17%). The Bosnian Serbs, well-armed and backed by neighboring Serbia, laid siege to the city of Sarajevo in early April 1992. 



They targeted mainly the Muslim population but killed many other Bosnian Serbs as well as Croats with rocket, mortar, and sniper attacks that went on for 44 months. As shells fell on the Bosnian capital, nationalist Croat and Serb forces carried out horrific "ethnic cleansing" attacks across the countryside. Finally, in 1995, UN air strikes and United Nations sanctions helped bring all parties to a peace agreement. 


Estimates of the war's fatalities vary widely, ranging from 90,000 to 300,000. To date, more than 70 men involved have been convicted of war crimes by the UN.


Serb police officer Goran Jelisic, shooting a victim in Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was caught, tried for war crimes, convicted, and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. (Courtesy of the ICTY) # 



Alija Izetbegovic (1925 -2003 ) was the first President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the terrible war in Bosnia. Alija Begovic was a Muslim activist and philosopher, and author of several books, most important being 'Islam between East and West'. During 1983-1988, he launched campaign against  the Communist rule of Yugoslavia. 

Begovic was a lawyer, moderate, lifelong anti-communist, and spent most of his time in office trying to save the lives of his fellow Muslims. He helped found the Party of Democratic Action, 1990; assumed presidency 1990; Elected chairman of Bosnia's three-person national presidency, 1996; and renounced presidency 2000.




Yugoslavia was a country in the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century. The Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed in 1943 by the Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria, Rijeka and Zadar were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.



The constituent six Socialist Republics and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that made up the country were:  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo which after 1974 were largely equal to the other members of the federation). Starting in 1991, the country disintegrated after the infighting between the constituent units and the racial, anti non Serb policies of the majority Serbs under president Slobodan Milošević. Worst sufferers of these wars were Bosniaks or the Bosnian Muslims.





At the NATO summit in April 1999, the member states approved a structure for "non-Article 5 crisis response," essentially a euphemism for war (Article 5 of the NATO charter provides for collective self-defense; non-Article 5 refers to an offensive military action like Yugoslavia.). 


According to the document, such an action could take place anywhere on the broad periphery of NATO's realm, such as North Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, essentially paving the way for NATO's ongoing war in Afghanistan. This expanded role for NATO wasn't approved by any of the respective countries' legislatures, raising serious questions about democratic civilian control over military alliances.



Furthermore, the U.S.-led NATO war on Yugoslavia helped undermine the United Nations Charter and thereby paved the way for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, perhaps the most flagrant violation of the international legal order by a major power since World War II.

The occupation by NATO troops of Serbia's autonomous Kosovo region, and the subsequent recognition of Kosovar independence by the United States and a number of Western European powers, helped provide Russia with an excuse to maintain its large military presence in Georgia's autonomous South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, and to recognize their unilateral declarations of independence. This, in turn, led to last summer's war between Russia and Georgia.

Indeed, much of the tense relations between the United States and Russia over the past decade can be traced to the 1999 war on Yugoslavia. Russia was quite critical of Serbian actions in Kosovo and supported the non-military aspects of the Rambouillet proposals, yet was deeply disturbed by this first military action waged by NATO. Indeed, the war resulted in unprecedented Russian anger towards the United States, less out of some vague sense of pan-Slavic solidarity, but more because it was seen as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. 


The Russians had assumed NATO would dissolve at the end of the Cold War. Instead, not only has NATO expanded, it went to war over an internal dispute in a Slavic Eastern European country. This stoked the paranoid fear of many Russian nationalists that NATO may find an excuse to intervene in Russia itself. 


While in reality this is extremely unlikely, the history of invasions from the West no doubt strengthened the hold of Vladimir Putin and other semi-autocratic nationalists, setting back reform efforts, political liberalization, and disarmament.


French troops of the United Nations patrol in front of the destroyed mosque of Ahinici, near Vitez, northwest of Sarajevo, on April 27, 1993. This Muslim town was destroyed during fighting between Croatian and Muslim forces in central Bosnia. (Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images) # 


The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: they were characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs (and to a lesser extent, Montenegrins) on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks (and to a lesser degree, Slovenes) on the other; but also between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia (in addition to a separate conflict fought between rival Bosniak factions in Bosnia). 


The wars ended in various stages, mostly resulting in full international recognition of new sovereign territories, but with massive economic disruption to the successor states.

Often described as Europe's deadliest conflicts since World War II, they have become infamous for the war crimes they involved, including mass ethnic cleansing.

Although tensions in Yugoslavia had been mounting since the early 1980s, it was 1990 that proved the decisive year in which war became more likely. In the midst of economic hardship, the country was facing rising nationalism amongst its various ethnic groups. At the last 14th Extraordinary Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in January 1990, the Serbian-dominated assembly agreed to abolish the single-party system; however, Slobodan Milošević, the head of the Serbian Party branch (League of Communists of Serbia) used his influence to block and vote-down all other proposals from the Croatian and Slovene party delegates. This prompted the Croatian and Slovene delegations to walk out and thus the break-up of the party.



The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8,000 Bosniak males, in the region of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina by units of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić during the Bosnian War. In addition to the Army of Republika Srpska, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the "Scorpions" participated in the massacre.

The Srebrenica massacre is the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. In the unanimous ruling "Prosecutor v. Krstic", the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, ruled that the Srebrenica massacre was an act of genocide, the Presiding Judge Theodor Meron stating:


By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims [Bosniaks], the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the forty thousand Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general. They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity.


The Srebrenica massacre was also confirmed as a case of genocide in the ICTY judgement "Prosecutor v. Blagojevic " and in the International Court of Justice judgement "Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro".

The United Nations had previously declared Srebrenica a UN protected "safe area", but they did not prevent the massacre, even though 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers were present at the time. The massacre included several instances where preteen children, women, and elderly civilians were also killed. The list of people missing or killed in Srebrenica compiled by the Federal Commission of Missing Persons so far includes 8,373 names.
Before World War II, major tensions arose in this region from the first, 
monarchist Yugoslavia's multi-ethnic makeup and relative political and 
demographic domination of the Serbs. Fundamental to the tensions were th
different concepts of the new state; the Croats envisaged a federal model 
where they would enjoy greater autonomy than they had as a separate crown land
under Austria-Hungary. Under Austria-Hungary, Croats enjoyed autonomy 
with free hands only in education, law, religion and 45% of taxes.

 In the years leading up to the Yugoslav wars, relations among the republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been deteriorating. Slovenia and Croatia desired greater autonomy within a Yugoslav confederation, while Serbia sought to strengthen federal authority. As it became clearer that there was no solution agreeable to all parties, Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession. 


By that time there was no effective authority at the federal level. Federal Presidency consisted of the representatives of all 6 republics and 2 provinces and JNA (Yugoslav People's Army). Communist leadership was divided along national lines. The final breakdown occurred at the 14th Congress of the Communist Party when Croat and Slovenian delegates left in protest because the pro-integration majority in the Congress rejected their proposed amendments.

 







A Muslim militiaman looks for snipers during a battle with the Yugoslav federal army in Central Sarajevo on Saturday, May 2, 1992. (AP Photo/David Brauchli)

A Serbian soldier beats a captured Muslim militiaman during an interrogation in the Bosnian town of Visegrad, 125 miles southwest of Belgrade, on June 8, 1992. (AP Photo/Milan Timotic) # 

Bosnian Croat soldiers taken as prisoners pass a Bosnian Serb soldier after surrendering on the central Bosnian mountain of Vlasic June 8. About 7,000 Croat civilians and some 700 soldiers fled to Serb-held territories under heavy Muslim attack. (Reuters/Ranko Cukovic) # 

122mm heavy artillery of the Bosnian government, in position near Sanski Most, 10 miles (15 kilometers), east of Banja Luka, opens fire at the Serb-controlled town of Prijedor, on October 13, 1995. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) # 
A top sniper, codenamed "Arrow," loads her gun in a safe room in Sarajevo, Tuesday, June 30, 1992. The 20-year old Serb who shoots for the Bosnian forces says she has lost count of the number of people she has killed, but that she finds it difficult to pull the trigger. The former journalism student says most of her targets are other snipers on the Serbian side. (AP Photo/Martin Nangle) # 

Bloodstains cover the wreckage of patients' rooms at Sarajevo's Kosevo Hospital on June 16, 1995, after a shell slammed into it killing two and injuring six. (AP Photo) # 
A Bosnian Muslim woman cries on the coffin of a relative during a mass funeral for victims killed during 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, whose remains were found in mass graves around the town of Prijedor and Kozarac, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Banja Luka, on July 20, 2011. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic) # 


Zoran Laketa poses for a picture in front of a building destroyed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, after an interview with Reuters, in Mostar, on April 2, 2012. Laketa epitomizes the complexities of the Bosnian conflict that kept the West dithering over intervention in the face of mass ethnic cleansing. Twenty years since the start of the war, ethnicity is still a deep dividing line - no more so than in Mostar, where Croats hold the west bank, Muslim Bosniaks the east, in an uncomfortable co-existence that has resisted foreign efforts to promote reintegration. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic) # 



a territorial conflict between local Bosniaks and Croats backed by Zagreb on 
one side, and Serbs backed by the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbia on the other. The Yugoslav armed forces, which had disintegrated into a largely Serb-dominated military force opposed the Bosniak-majority led government's agenda for independence and along with other armed nationalist Serb militant forces, attempted to prevent Bosnian citizens from voting in the 1992 referendum on independence to prevent Bosnia from legally being able to secede.

This did not succeed in persuading people not to vote and instead the intimidating atmosphere combined with a Serb boycott of the vote resulted in a resounding 99% vote in support for independence. On June 19, 1992, the Croat-Bosniak war broke out. The Bosnia conflict, typified by the siege of Sarajevo and Srebrenica, was by far the bloodiest and most widely covered of the Yugoslav wars. 

Bosnia's Serb faction led by ultra-nationalist Radovan Karadzic promised independence for all Serb areas of Bosnia from the majority-Bosniak government of Bosnia. To link the disjointed parts of territories populated by Serbs and areas claimed by Serbs, Karadzic pursued an agenda of systematic ethnic cleansing primarily against Bosniaks through genocide and forced removal of Bosniak populations.

FRONTS OF WAR IN BOSNIA


"Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed" follows interviews and revelations by Bosnian-Muslim investigative journalist Mirsad Fazlic, who doesn’t appreciate the fictitious, black-and-white version of the Bosnian war that is perpetuated by the international community and by Bosnian officialdom, which still honors wartime president Alija Izetbegovic as a national hero when Fazlic and others know he was the opposite. The film really begins only at the four-minute mark, and its main shortcoming is the ubiquitous, stubborn marriage to the notion that the number “7-8,000 killed” is anything other than a concoction that the world has been working backwards for 16 years to make seem real.

Among numerous of the film’s jaw-dropping revelations — including the fact that the humanitarian convoys which the Serbs were allowing to pass to Srebrenica were being intercepted by Bosnian “hero” Naser Oric and sold on the black market (and including Srebrenica police chief Hakija Mehovic describing the meeting at which the Bosnian leadership floated a proposal by Bill Clinton that 5,000 Srebrenica residents be sacrificed) — are the following:

1. “Mladic had four tanks and 400 men. In reserve he also had 1600 armed locals. But Mladic didn’t trust them since they lacked discipline and would use every opportunity to revenge [Srebrenica warlord] Oric’s attacks on the villages. The Serbs were outgunned by NATO’s fighter aircraft, 450 Dutch peacekeepers and Oric’s 5,500 soldiers.” (The first fact is important as a contradistinction to the Mladic that has been presented to the public, and there is more in the film in that regard. The latter factoids are important to illustrate that Srebrenica was set up for the Serbs to overpower, with the Muslim side “winning by losing,” as Nebojsa Malic calls it.)

2. In reference to the 50 Serbian villages that were being attacked by the Muslims of Srebrenica: “Especially disturbing was a religious dimension to the killings. Men were castrated in an anti-Christian gesture of circumcision. Pregnant women were disemboweled with cuts in the form of a cross. Some people were crucified, nails driven through their hands.”

3. “In April 1993 military chiefs from both sides — General Sefer Halilovic and General Ratko Mladic — signed a UN plan for Srebrenica and the other cities to become demilitarized zones. The Muslims promised on their side to stop the aggression against the Serbs around the enclaves and against the 15,000 Serbs still living in the capital Sarajevo.” (The Muslim side naturally didn’t hold to their end of the bargain, but what makes the excerpt exceptional is the word “aggression” for once attributed to the correct side of the Bosnian war.)

The fighting in Croatia ended in mid-1995, after the Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations, codenamed Operation Flash and Operation Storm, in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia. Most of the Serbian population in these areas became refugees, and has been the subject of war crimes indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership. The remaining Sector East came under UN administration (UNTAES), and was reintegrated to Croatia in 1998.

In 1994 the U.S. brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the successful Flash and Storm operations, the Croatian Army and the combined Bosniak and Croat forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, worked together in an operation codenamed Operation Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains. Together with NATO air strikes on the Bosnian Serbs, the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to come to the negotiating table. Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia. The war ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14 December 1995, with the formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina being the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands.

Next: Naser ORIC is threatening to reveal the truth about Massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica
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