UAE Community Blog: Mumbai Massacre- A Tribute to the Lives lost in the senseless Killing

01 December, 2008

Mumbai Massacre- A Tribute to the Lives lost in the senseless Killing

30 comments:

Lirun said...: what has coverage been like in the UAE..; 01 December, 2008 13:56
Anonymous said...: this is not even relevant to uae is it? and as sad as it is, please india, don't rub it in as though what you have gone through is so tragic or unique. people are going through FAR worse... DAILY... in iraq, afghanistan, chechnya, ingushetia, palestine, kashmir and even ur sworn-enemy-and-neighbour pakistan has gone through many more attacks than this.

just when people were beginning to question the presence of hindu extremists inside the Indian military this attack returns blame on Pakistan under circumstantial evidence.

plz india set your own house in order! when this, this, this and hundreds of other atrocities are taking place in ur country how can u complain abt this one? Maybe it is just the disappointment of not seeing a bollywood style hero punch and kick his way to defeating just 10 armed idiots!

isn't it convenient that these attacks ended up killing the man investigating the presence of a home grown hindu terrorist group with links to the army. i remember when the train between india and pakistan was bombed india and their trigger happy news channels were quick to blame pakistan. today their own ATS claims it was done by some rogue army elements. with organizations such as VHP, RSS, bajrang dal in ur midst and so many more you really have no moral right to question any other nation.

i really do feel sorry for the indians who lost their lives in this attack. v sad indeed. and v wrong. but cmon. give us a break. don't crash the uae blog with ur 'give me some pity' videos that feature of all ppl Modi and the 2 Thakerys!!!??!! that's like a 9/11 video featuring OBL!

this has set a tradition. now with every new terrorist attack - mind u with the mad men out there we r gonna have many more - we shall have a new blog post paying tribute. as if ppl here were not already depressed with seeing the local press banter on abt this crash and that crash and this redundancy, we now gotta confront ourselves with this depressing news.

Lets just stick to the UAE plz!; 01 December, 2008 14:02
Scarlett O'Hara said...: Hemlock dear, candid question from Miss O'Hara and no offense meant:

Is it a case of "The Wheel has come full circle" to quote Shakespeare?? He referred to the wheel of fate, karma catching up on people. Is that what we are subtly or not so subtly trying to say here..? It's the impression Miss O'Hara gets from reading some comments on the previous post as well. How far off the mark is she lovely people?

BTW in case no one noticed, amongst the victims of the Mumbai massacre were many Muslims too..

Right, me HAVE to go now. George is getting impatient you see!; 01 December, 2008 14:35
Anonymous said...: I think your right Hemlock or even the poor christians that were beaten and burnt and raped in Orissa and still is...what about them..no one say anything about these incidents; 01 December, 2008 15:50
Dubai Jazz said...: Do you know that more than 400 people got killed in sectarian clashes in Nigeria in the last couple of days?

I bet the majority of them were innocent too.... and equally human.; 01 December, 2008 16:56
Anonymous said...: The people who conducted these attacks are as ignorant or as cynical as George Bush himself. They have actually undermined a government that replaced the right wing BJP government that helped orchestrate the Gujarat riots. BJP is actually ahead in the polls and this attack gives right wing Hindus an excuse to accuse the current secular and more inclusive congress party of being "too weak" against terrorism. The Indian elections are coming up soon.

The other concern is the fact that civil authority in the Pakistan government continues to be undermined by the military and intelligence wing. A legacy created by the US.

So really all in all the only winners are the arms traders and drug dealers who are operating in this sinister underworld.; 01 December, 2008 18:16
Anonymous said...: Senseless? It obviously made sense to a few dozen people.

Last I checked Mumbai wasnt in the UAE, why is this post even here?

Hemlock, My point kind of. This wasnt a massacre, no lives were "lost." A few hundreds people met their fate. it was THEIR time. Nothing was lost, and with how many people die every single day, I couldnt care less about this.

Actually started laughing while watching this on CNN. Yeah, Im morbid.; 01 December, 2008 18:17
Anonymous said...: Also people should be concerned at what happens beyond this incident and whether it could contribute to a destabilisation of civil authority in the region with erosion of civil rights as both governments will be pressurised to bring in tougher "anti-terrorism laws".

It also provides the US an excuse to keep bombing Pakistan.; 01 December, 2008 18:30
Kyle said...: Could you people please comment without politicizing this or any such issue in essence? And if you do wish to politicize, then please do so intelligently rather than being belligerent and imbeciles like the few that have done so already including a couple of cowards behind a mask.

For one, this is not a political blog and as far as I know there's no such thing as politics in this region, if you please!

Second, if you do wish to degrade, then don't forget to remember that you do so yourself first before you embark on degrading innocents that happened to be in sight of a sniper's crosshair.

Third, in reference to those 400 killed in sectarian violence in Nigeria, it'd be nice to know who is/was/were responsible for their demise?

Fourth, to all those that keep popping up the Palestinian reference, to you and your brethren I say find the motivation within yourself and learn to co-exist instead of taking the path of an eye for an eye. It'll only make you blind.

And fifth and final, to all those forthcoming trolls in this label, I say read these comments first before you put up your own. If you have anything worthwhile to say, do so with a little bit of dignity and respect to the dead. If you have nothing nice to say, please remain quite and you'll have this Community's respect.

Thanks to one and all.

Oh, before I forget, I offer my condolences to everybody in direct reference to this label and continue doing so beyond borders, color, creed, bias or religion.

Thank you for your attention.; 01 December, 2008 18:45
Lirun said...: have the UAE government's set up hotlines to assist relatives or nationals to inquire?; 01 December, 2008 19:02
Anonymous said...: My condolences to all families and friends of the victims of the Mumbai terror tragedy. Also condolences to all the victims of the terror acts and fatal agression by powers behind the scene. May the Almight show the people in Authority the right way to govern the world, with compassion and wisdom.

-FR; 01 December, 2008 21:23
Anonymous said...: have the UAE government's set up hotlines to assist relatives or nationals to inquire?

And why should they? The Indian embassy should do that. The UAE government has nothing to do in this at all.; 01 December, 2008 21:57
Stained said...: Another sad story...like so many others...

My condolences to the family and friends of the people who lost their lives.

I just hope this does not scale into a huge blame game and that the government continues to concentrate on eradicating terrorism, irrespective of the religion or country the person belongs too....; 01 December, 2008 22:37
Anonymous said...: I copy what Anon at 21:23 (FR) said: condolences to the families and full respect to all human beings who have been murdered / tortured anywhere in this world; regardless of race, religion, or nationality.; 01 December, 2008 22:58
BuJ said...: guys honestly the killings are sad but we should try to use this forum to reach consensus rather than attack each other.. i'm all for free speech and all but let's keep it relevant and let's respect each other.. this is especially relevant to Lirun which should be treated as a guest!; 01 December, 2008 23:05
Anonymous said...: Hola.. Guys

""" Anonymous said...
Senseless? It obviously made sense to a few dozen people.

Last I checked Mumbai wasnt in the UAE, why is this post even here? """

dude this blog is a general blog where ppl express their opinions on the recent issues ( uae + world ) if u can be bothered to express ur opinions dont critise jus shove it ......; 01 December, 2008 23:19
Anonymous said...: I have been waiting for this blog( and was expecting someone to post this topic here )

For a matter of fact i am a muslim indian .

Feel very embrassing when i watch ppl in the tv channels who say india has won the fight...( aftre the mumbai incident ) shameful how can the ppl replace the innocent life's lost..

moreover india is more concerned in planning unmanned mission to the moon and launching defence missle test than protecting the county against terrorism ( coz there was a tip-off nearly 9 months ago saying such a seige attack was likely but.. no response )

Moreover indian politicans are jus a bunch of idotic buffons who come up with a knee jerk reaction ( like major ministers resigning after the attacks ).. when the next set of new ministers come they will follow suit in corruption / bribery than protecting the country....

Well what can i do i am just one among a 18 millon indian ( can do much can i ).......

wish the terroist shoot all the politicians inside of the innocent ppl; 01 December, 2008 23:27
hemlock said...: scarlet, i was trying to make a point without taking away from the dignity of those who continue to die for no fault of their own.
my question was, why do 200 people get tribute when like DJ said, 400 have died in nigeria, or hundreds more die in india which can actually be called ethnic cleansing. why do 200 lives get a tribute and others dont? cuz they were at the taj / oberoi?

or was it because it's a new spot that's been hit by terrorists, and isnt one of the names that "naturally" rolls off our tongues when we talk about bombings...

karma / fate never catches up with people. no one gets what they deserve; why, it's beyond me. im glad you can read between the lines though. =)

----

videos likes these help no one. they serve no purpose except inciting anger - fear of what you dont understand, and hence a hatred of it.
it's also referred to as propaganda.
if the pictures are displayed often enough, they lead to desensitization of people. so seeing or reading about bits of blown up people in iraq becomes a norm instead of an abnormality.
lets not forget they too come from families, had dreams, and could perhaps once afford hi-tea.

i've worked in the media long enough to see it's ugly side, and how it's employed to create opinion, consensus and emotion that clouds rationality.

i wouldve preferred the video to be taken down. because if i want to see pictures of dead people, i'd have turned to newspapers.

i do not want these images shoved in my face when i open the community blog. but if someone feels these 200 lives were more important than all atrocities that have been committed this week, i'll swallow it cuz im a generally agreeable person...

while we are on the subject, i'd like to pay a tribute to Ali, whose family was bombed in Iraq and his arms and legs were lost in the attack on civilians. he was 12 at the time.
also, id like to pay a tribute to the 100 individuals of the afghan family who were bombed on their way to a wedding.
also, i'd like to remind you of landmine victims im agfhanistan, romanian child prostitues and i hope no one has a problem if i dig up a million similar stories and put them up on the "community blog" because these are ALL issues relevant to us in some way or another.; 02 December, 2008 03:09
Lirun said...: hemlock.. maybe im wrong.. and maybe i shouldnt have nagged in the previous post for this topic to be raised - but (with the greatest of sadness for the 400 dead in nigeria - and frankly all innocent people who die everywhere - including my own country) isnt the relevance that established in part due to the fact that the UAE is saturated with people from this place who might be feeling acute pain shame embarrassment and sadness as a result of this event and therefore dont you consider that perhaps you have a special relationship with this region and are justified in addressing key events there?; 02 December, 2008 08:59
Anonymous said...: Anon Dec 1 @ 23:27
It would have been better if you call yourself an Indian rather than a "Muslim" Indian. I’m not really happy with your perspective of looking at the Mumbai terror attacks as a 'Muslim'. To me terror knows no boundaries, religion or race. Look at it as an attack on your beloved nation. You don’t really have to be embarrassed with Mumbaikars saying they have won the fight. I say, that’s the spirit of Mumbai. No one can shake the spirits so easily. Next time don’t wait for someone to start a blog, if you are truly concerned about your country people do voice it then and there… sometimes it really does not matter if you go off topic.
Shooting politicians or any persons will not solve any of your problems. I only hope this issue be resolved amicably between the two nations involved without causing too much violence.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, the citizens make the government. Therefore if a terrorist is of Pakistan origin then the Nation should be responsible for such an act by its citizen. The so called "non state actors" as referred by the President of Pakistan to the terrorists does not make any sense to me. We collectively choose our leaders and they represent us.
Every political party in India has its drawbacks. We cannot say that if BJP was in the ruling party this may not have happened. This would have happened in some other forms. Perhaps an attack on ' minorities' by the Hindu extremists and the likes. What has to happen will happen on any given day.
I pray for peace everywhere not only in Asia but around the world. My request is not to pinpoint any religion in such cases and further provoke the sentiments of the people who do not wish to have their faiths tarnished in any colors. We refer a terrorist as a terrorist and not by his faith. The same goes with you Anon Dec 1 @ 23:27, you are a citizen of India at the end of the day and it does not really matter if you are a Muslim, Christian, Jain or a Hindu.; 02 December, 2008 13:40
Anonymous said...: "Fourth, to all those that keep popping up the Palestinian reference, to you and your brethren I say find the motivation within yourself and learn to co-exist instead of taking the path of an eye for an eye. It'll only make you blind."

Kyle, can you please elaborate what you mean by this? You are not considering the mention of Palestinians being killed to be offensive, are you?; 02 December, 2008 19:19
Kyle said...: Kyle, can you please elaborate what you mean by this? You are not considering the mention of Palestinians being killed to be offensive, are you?

Yeah, you're damn straight, I do find it offensive because whoever keeps popping up the Palestinian reference does so with (absolute) insincerity and merely to gain sympathy without keeping/offering a positive thought or a solution on their radar. Moreover, what are their Leaders (or you for that matter if you're a Palestinian) is doing to end the plight of all those innocent Palestinians that continue to die, silenty suffer and live in miserable conditions? What initiative is being taken to enforce the 'enough is enough' theory and that it is time to move on, co-exist and live in harmony & peace, if not for anything but for the future generation and those that are waiting to be born?

So, here goes to one and all, you can't even touch this subject (with me) if you don't have a credible response or a back-up plan up your sleeve.

Call me naive if you wish because as harsh as I may sound but I also subscribe to a time-tested theory; nothing is impossible in this world except death & taxes.

Anybody, somebody deciphers that earns my max respect!; 02 December, 2008 20:26
Anonymous said...: dude this blog is a general blog where ppl express their opinions on the recent issues ( uae + world ) if u can be bothered to express ur opinions dont critise jus shove it ......

Actually it ISNT a general blog. the name of the blog is UAE community. UAE. Not Indian, Not Russian, Not American. UAE.

So I'd suggest you shoving it after learning how to read.; 03 December, 2008 00:48
samuraisam said...: actually we've had this discussion before; everyone got offended when I said that there were too many posts about Palestine; Allow me to quote myself...

"What I'd love to know is how come people go ape-shit if someone posts once about problems in India 3 trillion people step up to shout at the author for being off-topic, yet if someone posts repeatedly about Palestine it's an entirely different matter and people start use terms like ‘Muslim brothers’ etc despite there being 150 million Muslims in India? Please, someone explain that—and if you can’t, then really, do yourself a favor, shut up, and leave the moderating to me."

If you have a problem with there being a single post about India then go away.; 03 December, 2008 08:05
Scarlett O'Hara said...: Ya tell 'em Sam!

Pig network anyone? :p; 03 December, 2008 13:43
Anonymous said...: Hi All.

Am from Mumbai and have been living here since 1993.
I am Hindu yet have collected money and food and blankets for the tsunami and the Pak earthquake for my Pakistani colleagues. I had Pakistanis in my office come and thank me personally one by one for the effort.
That is what living in Mumbai taught me. To respect all.

Pls respect those who fought to save innocent people in Mumbai and died. And all those who were innocent and died regardless of their religion. Karkare died because he believed in leading from the front.

Our soldiers and police rescued people without asking their religion.

The Muslims in Mumbai who respect the truth of their religion said that the terrorists will not be given burial grounds in Mumbai because what they did was against their religious beliefs.

For those unhappy about Nigeria, do start your own blog of pain. I will offer my empathy.

For those unhappy about Palestine, I am sorry but I have just one question to ask - why do you not live there and help your country which has been in pain and torment for so long?
The Palestinians i have met will first say they are Jordanians, or Syrians or have US passports or UK and then will shamefacedly admit they are Palestinian. No one ever wants to go home.

I live in UAE since 93 and would have offered the same condolences to any other nationality who has been through tragedy. My friends here are Indian, Pakistani, Iraqi, Brit and Emiratis.

Pls respect the dead. I am sure one can ask you to do that much as a human.; 03 December, 2008 22:29
Anonymous said...: In the Thai political crisis, the Constitutional Court dissolves three parties in the ruling coalition, and Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat (pictured) resigns.
A cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe spreads, with hundreds dead and over 10,000 people infected since August 2008.
Rioting over disputed election results kills more than 381 people and injures hundreds in Jos, Nigeria.
Attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and several other locations in Mumbai, India, kill 183 people and injure hundreds.
The people of Greenland pass a referendum regarding greater autonomy from Denmark.
Brazilian officials declare a state of emergency as flooding in the Southern state of Santa Catarina causes at least 116 deaths and forces the evacuation of over 78,000 people.

All this bullshit happened in the last few days/weeks. 200 people dying in India isnt a big deal. If you are going to PRETEND to give a shit, then do so for all causes... or at least more pressing ones.; 03 December, 2008 23:18
hemlock said...: sam, your reply to any criticism on the blog is as arbitrary and mature as the standard reply to a whining expat - "if you dont like it, leave"

i think the only question that has come up so far is why some lives are more equal than others, and why 200 lives lost to bombay bombings deserve more coverage than 534 people who've died in Iraq in the last two months -

Official figures showed that 296 civilians were killed in Iraq last month (november), 58 higher than in October, partly because of more bombings in Baghdad.

please, understand this. no one is taking anything away from blast victims. the only question is why does a tragedy qualify to be one ONLY when it strikes home? is no one else bleeding?; 04 December, 2008 11:02
Anonymous said...: well, one thing most of us have forgotten is the manner in which this was conducted and the number of lives affected; directly or indirectly by this carnage(well, so i call it). As for me, this was a perfect camouflage several Indian politicians to cover up their names from coming into investigation in the recent blasts that have happened in India. Mr.Karkare who had revealed fantastic clues to the blast mastermind was the first to lead the way to martyrdome. He(Mr.Karkare) would have revealed dozens of other names of politicians, hindu Sadhus linked to the serial and random blasts that were happening in India. To divert the attention and to cover up their trails, the politicians have together with ISI been able to orchastrate a perfect mission while fooling thousands of people. Why else would BJP remain tight lipped on the happenings?; 04 December, 2008 11:48
Shagun said...: Hey guys, I m shocked to see majority of the comments. All hv their favourites, I think. I just pray that whatever happened must not be repeated (anywhere for that matter) and this episode at least should teach the politicians and people some lessons. Somewhere someone did not do their duties well. All holes in the systems are leaking right now, showing the irresponsiblities, corruption (in supply of poor bulletproof jackets to the police and God knows what else these brave soilder needs).I know their was no-coordination between the agencies. The result is all we can see. I also wonder what really goes in the mind of these terrorist (or exactly mastermind), how can one live with so much hatred for another humanbeing. Since I can't go there and do anything, I just pray and meditate to give everyone peace and happiness and the eyes to look at the priviledges and also give love and care in abundance to everyone around me. Believe me, we are all capable of that. Just a matter of attitude. Afterall there are so many blessings in life God gave us to enjoy and be thankful. But being an Indian I do feel sad and hope that more innocent lives should not go in correction of these mistakes. God Bless; 11 December, 2008 00:13