I went with @Benazir_Shah, @NaxarUlIslam and @adnansiddiqi to APS two days after the attack for @NewsweekPak. There were many foreign correspondents there and the scene had been left as it was. Blood congealed on steps leading up to the auditorium, I will never forget the smell.
Reporters loitered around the area, scribbling notes and speaking in muted voices. You could hear cameras clicking, a part of the school light up for a quick flash every now and then. One reporter was recording his spot, DSNG parked near him.
A producer - I suppose - stood behind the camera, directing him. The reporter rambled for a second, in that monotonous droll we all know. He could have been talking about the stock exchange, really. The producer stopped him.
And then he said the words that still haunt me to this day:
”Oh bhai, zarra ro ke shot de”
”Oh bhai, zarra ro ke shot de”
The producer took a long drag of his cigarette, and casually flicked the butt into a pool of blood. The ashes disappeared.
I can think of no greater metaphor for how the APS tragedy has been exploited, how the parents have been treated and how it’s been used as an excuse to justify even more violence.
Everything we do, say, feel, write and give today will always come up short. An unnecessary, unconscionable and unbearable death toll.
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