Fairy Lux Healing

Picture this. 2024. A beautiful spring day in Harlem NY, clear skies and bright sun ready to set upon the west side. There’s a child in the street corner waving to adult strangers holding the hand of her grandmother.
Another parent comes along the corner for the pedestrian stop sign with two children. The children acknowledge each other for a millisecond before they great each other without any hesitation.

“Hello,” extending the salutation with a hand wave.

“Hello” the two other children say in unison, not looking for any cues from their mother.

This exchange was followed by a shared laugh between the children and their parents.

Children do not have preconceived notions of prejudices or hate that we tend to be conditioned with as adults. Perhaps as adults we have all been in a place that our experiences inform our assumptions and perpetuate separation within society. However, we have access to information and can make connections to dismantle and heal from those experiences.

What is happening in the world is not acceptable. The atrocities against innocent children and humanity are not acceptable.

This colonial act should have been nipped as soon as it was initiated. It should not be ongoing as we speak.

Have you ever stopped to think that we are the people that could actually do something about what is happening in the world? We are not helpless. There is action that we can take. For example, I have bought a book titled The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine by Micheal Scott-Baumann. It’s not everything but at least it’s a start. If we don’t learn about history it is bound to repeat itself and that is exactly what is happening in the world right now.

I remember being in high school, it had to be my sophomore or junior year, when our history teachers and English teachers shared a curriculum on the holocaust. I was devastated by the literature, Diary of Anne Frank and Night by Elie Weasel. What would a survivors book be called if they were to write about what’s happening now? Broad daylight? How can we let this happen in broad daylight? Learning about the encampments, the images were curated enough not to be too graphic but it was still profound enough to make an impact. I gave up in high school because I thought what was the point of trying to succeed in school when the world was capable of such harm to each other. Then American history glossed over enslavement of Africans brought over the Atlantic and how that continued for years until the civil war. Glossed over segregation and the atrocities of black people in America from white supremacy. Again, I was devastated. How can this happen? How could we call it the “land of the free” or “the land of opportunity” if it didn’t allow human rights, freedom and opportunity for all? Then 9-11 happened, in New York. People stood together but also were separated. Quick to find a scapegoat in marginalized people that resembled the attackers.

I took a year off before I started college, before it was called the gap year. I didn’t care about meeting societal timeline because what did it matter when the world was capable of such harm and devastation.

When I returned to school for my first year in college, I decided to enroll in a class that was titled human rights in film. “Oh film, I thought.” That would be really interesting to undertake further education in. The first half of the curriculum covered the holocaust and I was not ready for the graphic images and materials that were shared. The second half covered the establishment of amnesty and human right struggles globally. So where are all the voices now?

What happens when we look back and think how could have people let this happened? Except, we’re not much better than those people that could have done something about it. Or can we be effective in the fight of human rights? For the sake of the children. All children are our children. Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love states ‘children are the future/Teach them well and let them lead the way/Show them all the beauty they possess inside/Give them a sense of pride to make it easier/Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be” and Jesus Christ said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ Matthew 19:14.

Find sources to make a difference, beyond performative activism. I hope this is not a form of performative activism and makes a sort of difference in some capacity. I will keep searching for ways I can make a difference within my capacity. May you be inspired to do the same.