Je ne suis pas Charlie. Je suis Saman.

I am deeply saddened by the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris and I too, like all of you, condemn any terrorist attack and any form of violence towards another human being. 

The attacks in Paris are profoundly shocking and it took me a few days to process the news. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and the people of France ever since. Acts of violence are not a solution and they will never be. 

To my friends I'd like to say that hate speech is not a solution either. It is a form of violence on its own. We all, religious and non-religious people are upset, angry and hurt yet remember that we are better than the product of our anger. We are smarter. We have the luxury to access information and enjoy education and we have the means to make our voices heard and speak up. 

I condemn any extremism comments, be it on Facebook or spoken out loud, as extremism leads to extremism and I will not support any form of hate or generalization especially not when we're talking about nearly 2 billion people globally. 

Remember that there is no or very little real depth analysis in the media and that the issue is broken down into a recipe based on three ingredients: a satire, a religion and a gun. Remember that there is more to it. 

Therefore it is important to ask the right questions and I'd like to ask all of you to take the time, even when upset, to question everything you read in the media. Do your research until you find answers for yourself that you can represent and argue for. If you take a step back you might even see that history is simply repeating itself. 

We should remember that these terrorist acts are an aberration of people's faith.
We should remember more than ever to respect and protect our friends and people who are faithful and innocent as they have been and will be the target of hatespeech, insult, violence and discrimination. 
Remember to call for reason.

We should stand united against terrorist attacks and any form of extremism. We should stand united against polarization and hate. We should stand for mutual respect and love for those who are innocent. 

Je ne suis pas Charlie. Je suis Saman.

Notes from the Dead

Male,13:

I know what I am doing.

Female, 49:

And I shall be more silent and cold hearted than you are now.

Male, 74:

I married the wrong nag-nag-nag and I lost my life.

Female, 37:

To my father, Vincent M., the sum of one dollar.

Male, 52:

I feel I will not improve and can´t keep on causing you and the children so much misery.

Female, 31:

I must have been born to suffer.

Male, 40:

I am going to leave you forever because I am too sick to go on.

Female, 16:

I have wanted to go out with you and Dad but I was always to afraid to ask for I always felt the answer would be no.

Male, 45:

Cathy don´t go in the bedroom.

Female, 52:

I am so tired and lonely.

Male, 66 :

Dear World, I am leaving you because I am bored.

Female, 61:

One of the great ones is leaving this world when you want to and have nothing to live for.

Female, 59:

Try not to grieve.

Male, 53:

Ah! mon amie, je m´en vais enfin de ce monde, où il faut que le coeur se brise ou se bronze.

Female, 59:

And I shan´t recover this time. I begin to hear voices .

Male, 17:

Despair and depression, together they grow. Hope shall meet hopeless when there´s nowhere to go.