“What are you asking for? Didn’t you hear how a five year old got butchered last week? There’s no future here. Everyone’s trying to run away, I have dreams that my children will become something in their life, and then they’ll get away from here. Not end up a wazaa (wedding chef) like me.”
The Kashmiri Conflict
Humans of Kuala Lumpur
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on August 15th 2016)
“I have my matrix (Indian Matriculation) coming up, and the tuition centers are all closed, so I’m studying by myself with the textbook. I can’t go to school because some days there is ‘hartal’ (stone pelting protests), some days there are curfews, some days there are a walking protests. My dream is to get 480 out of 500 marks. That’s hard to do without school.”
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I just want to work for apple. That way I’ll get all of their products for free.”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
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(This post was first published on August 11th 2016)
“In my marriage, we had planned for a big tent, at least 500 guests, and typical ‘wazwan’ food. The situation turned sour, and we had to call it off, and invite the most immediate family members only. I remember the militants came in to check how much meat we had. They told the butcher “use only 25kg of meat”. Yes weddings still happen despite the situation here, but it takes something away from the atmosphere of celebration.”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on August 11th 2016)
“He thought he was going to work as a tailor, that was his trade. Instead he was forced into some labour camp, and called us after six months. He said he was trapped, and just managed to escape. I think he’s working a job he’s happier with now.”
“That’s human trafficking.”
“Yeah…but would you be able to help me get a real job in Malaysia?”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
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(This post was first published on August 10th 2016)
“Very good. Purely good. People could go out, they could walk around freely, they could be out late at night. There was no tension, no fear of what you were speaking about and who you were telling it to. There was no curfew. Now everyday somebody dies, somebody is blinded. You hear about it, and you pray that everyone you know is fine. Just yesterday the military broke the glass, the windows, ran after the small kids who pelted them with stones. They take them, they torture them. I worry for my son when he goes out late for his duties, I worry if they’ve taken him. I have four daughters at home, and all I can do is lock my windows to protect them. Poor people like us don’t have anyone we can go to for help. We can’t go to the police. We can’t leave the country.”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
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(This post was first published on August 10th 2016)
“My boyfriend can speak German and I’ll be flying off to see him soon. And I want to make sure that I can speak more than just a few words – ‘Ich liebe dich’ is definitely one of them (laughs)”.
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(This post was first published on August 8th 2016)
I thought they would be safe. That same night some army men came in. They crashed down the doors, they started shouting, and one told my mother to get on the bed.
She begged them, she pleaded, she tried everything. My kids saw everything. Finally a Muslim militant came in and she appealed to him as a Muslim woman. He gave her the signal to slip away with my kids from the house.
We are not even safe in our own homes. Our children are not safe in their grandmother’s house even. There are weeks where they cannot go to school because of the rioting, the protesting, the violence. I tell them to sit at home, sleep the day off. Better they sleep than hear what is going on outside. They miss their education, but at least they stay alive. I have dreams for them too. I have dreams that they get a good job in a good position. I had dreams for myself once.”
(Kashmir, India-Pakistan border)
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(This post was first published on August 13th 2016)
(Him speaking) “We met at Segi College, and studied Visual Communications. We’re engaged now, and saving up money for marriage.
I love how she does the little things to make me happy. She likes to cook, she’s hard working, and when I come by she always makes some food for me to eat. She shows she can be a good wife and that’s important. She’s also my best friend and so whatever I tell her she’ll do the best of anything. We share everything, even my problems where my friends don’t even know, as they don’t have the time to support much. We both fit each other”.
(Her speaking) “I love how he makes me happy by making the effort to see me. As he is living all the way at 1Utama to come here at Putra Heights. For him to come here, there’s effort there and he doesn’t complain, he really wants to come and see me. That’s what I love most about him, he makes the effort despite the distance. Today we’re off on a date to KLCC and our first time using this new train line. Its different than a car, and you have a good view. And I’d still go out with him on a train, even if this was our very first date, 7 years ago.”
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on July 26th 2016)
Thank you guys for all your support thus far and making her inspiring story go viral!
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on July 25th 2016)
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on July 22nd 2016)
