New(est) Normal

 One of the latest expressions we keep hearing is the notion of a “new normal”. Well, It has been some time since I and some of my friends have lost the good old normal. Hence I called it new(est) normal. 


Surely this new is not necessarily a better version of the old as it is usually the case. 

I have been living in South Africa since 1998. In the old normal we used to go and visit our families approximately once a year. in our new ‘not-so-normal’ we have not been able to do it for that past five years. 

In the old normal, we used to be worried about falling victim to a crime in South Africa, but in our ‘not-so-normal’ we also worry about being kidnapped and taken to another country like a criminal as it happened to some of our friends in other countries. 

We had to watch our moves more carefully as we could be followed and targeted by long arms of a foreign government. 

We had to let people know that we are going to the embassy of the country of our birth as we suspected something might happen. How sad!

We had to adjust to some friends whom we have known for 20 years behaving like we are not the people they knew all these years. 

We had to face our family members who have not seen us committing a single wrong, treating us like traitors. 

We had to adjust being called terrorists despite being and speaking against violence and extremism and dedicating our lives to the service of humanity. 

We had to celebrate our loved one’s special and religious days (Eid) through small screens with watery eyes not knowing if we will ever see each other again in this life. 

We had to talk to ourselves first and then to our children why all this has happened and why it is important and necessary not to give up on our ideals for an educated, just society where differences can co-exist peacefully. 

We had to learn the hard way that if you try to do good things, there will be a price to pay. In addition, we learned that if you are not ready to pay that price, the good days will not just come your way. 

As Mandela said, if you do not encounter obstacles in the path you are taking, you are not moving forward. So I hope our ‘not-so-normal’ is the sign of progress. And, I know it is.. 

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