10 Years of Peace

10 years ago

In a country far away

Two hands shook

10 years ago

The sacred paper was signed

Raising back hope in people eyes

10 years ago

People gather in a mass prayer

Begging God to bless our land with peace

10 years ago

Both party finally put down their guns

Agreeing on a mutual mission

Knitting back the torn peace

To stop war on this land

To stop tainting our soil with blood

…and our river with corpse

To stop suspecting people blindly

To stop planting grenade in the ground

To stop intruding villages

To stop scaring the children

To stop kidnapping random men

…and left their bodies somewhere

To stop killing the innocent

To stop this nightmare we’ve been living in for decades

10 years from then

Men can finally go to masjid without fear

Men can finally go to mountain to work on their farm

Men can finally go out at night relaxing with their friends

Exchanging stories of the day

10 years from then

Women no longer have to wait for their husbands in wonder

No need to lie to the gunman in uniform when their husbands were home

No need to hide their precious sons in a relative place next town

10 years since then

Children can finally go to school with joy

Riding bike or walking on foot without being scare when the soldiers pass by

Student can finally study in comfort

Teacher no longer have to abruptly end the class because a sudden gunshot

10 years since then

Little kids is now playing in the playground with their peer

Running over here and there

Hide and seek in every corner

All go home safe

10 years since then

We are no longer hearing footstep behind our door

We are no longer wake up in the middle of the night

...startled by a boom blast

We are no longer have to lost our home and school to fire

We are no longer receiving a death threat when we refuse to hand our money to a gunman visitor

10 years since that day

The fear has been lifted from our land

The trauma has been healed

And the new lives born with sparks of hope

10 years ago

The peace was sent down

10 years ever since that day

We keep praying this peace will stay forever

Aameen

Grand Nanggroe Hotel

August 15, 2015

10th year commemoration of MoU Helsinki

 


~ Aira