I loathe writing about tragedy. I hated writing about the intolerance the other day. Unfortunately, it is apart of our world and sometimes you just have to cover it. Although, out of tragedy comes something beautiful. People come together. Despite our differences, people come together for the greater good. We help each other out and we support each other. This is a global phenomenon that really is something special despite the hardship that was caused to create it.
Yesterday, a terrorist attack happened in Brussels. At the time of the reports I read, approximately 35 people lost their lives with over 100 injured in some way. This is abominable. Immediately, the world turned to Belgium to show their support and do whatever they could. In the electronic dance music community, DJ’s and Producers everywhere showed their support. While I didn’t want to do a reaction post as that is just for pageviews and nothing more, I wanted to share something extremely beautiful.
Krewella, the now duo made up by two sisters posted something incredible to their Instagram page. To preface the quote and the photo that is included below, Tomorrowland. One of the best, if not the best festival to grace this planet takes place ~18 miles (30.1 kilometers) away in Boom, Belgium. That is essentially a 30 minute drive north of Brussels if that. Krewella is a veteran to the festival and the country. They had these incredible words to say. What they had to say makes you realize there is more than hatred in this world. There is peace, love, unity, and respect. Check out the quote below (that is directly from Instagram [I made it a bit easier to read rather than the embeded version]).
everyday there are lives lost at the hands of evil people. not one city, community, or country is more valuable than the other. but while being half way across the world from Belgium, the attacks that happened yesterday feel like they hit home.
i am deeply sensitive to the attack because in Brussels, at Tomorrowland festival, i experienced a profound statement of global unity. the crowd was made up of thousands of people from around the world, proudly waving their flags. i saw Israeli flags, German flags, Indian flags, Japanese flags. i saw individuals from enemy nations dancing side by side, smiling, and embracing each other.
i fearlessly rocked my “HUG ME IM PAKI” shirt and felt so empowered to know we were accepted and embraced for challenging stereotypes, not only as women in the music industry, but also as half-Pakistanis on that stage.that day in 2014, Brussels was fearless. tolerant. loving. progressive. it was a glimpse of what the world could be like if we were to overcome our differences.
it breaks my heart to see the place where i had a perfect view of global harmony under attack.
while those committing atrocities are putting pressure on us, let us not crack. this is a test of character.
let us conquer through unity and strength. not crumble through hate and fear.sending love to those who are suffering from the attacks. sending love to the city that was violated. praying for the world that is being destroyed.
#PrayForBrussels