BRILLIANT BENAZIR BHUTTO

“She became …
‘Our ethos, our emblem, our anthem, our credo, our poetry, our song …’
Now—she’s dead.”

Pakistani American Mourner
“Little Pakistan,” Midwood, Brooklyn - USA
WNBC-TV, Friday, December 28, 2007

One day after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, I was moved by this quote on TV, painfully uttered by a fellow New Yorker. While the mourner immigrated to the US years ago, it was as if she was on the streets of Rawalpindi, Islamabad or Lahore … in her homeland … a world away.

“Don’t you understand?” she exclaimed. “We’ve been robbed!”

While I’m not Pakistani, I understand the world was certainly robbed by the death of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and head of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). I learned more about Bhutto in the past week than I made an effort to know decades before. And, I’m not alone.

Think about the “timing” of her untimely demise. During the holidays, most of the world pauses to reflect and recharge. Bhutto expired when we would perhaps pay most attention. A proclaimed fatalist, she was fearless, yet secure in the unknown.

Revered by her people and described as “elegant, eloquent, complex and brilliant,” Bhutto was educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities. Yet, you don’t need an Ivy League education to understand this woman was a “disciple of democracy.” From the grave, she urges us to speak up and speak out about what it means to be free.

As a woman of color, her death forces me to take stock of my role on the planet; recommit to what matters; cast off self-imposed shackles.

Make a resolution … start (or join) a revolution!

People like Bhutto get it. The PPP’s new party leaders, her widow Asif Ali Zardari and 19-year old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari—they get it. You might as well stand for something, before someone or something literally stops you dead in your tracks.

While I now somewhat “get” Bhutto’s impact on global affairs … I still have a lot to learn. Thanks, Benazir, for helping to open my eyes and heart a little wider.

Whatever your faith, keep Pakistanis and the Muslim community in your prayers. Also pray for Iraqis, Jews, Christians, Americans and the military; yes, there’s still a war on!

And, use your Google time wisely. Surf the web to learn more about Bhutto’s role as a global freedom operative. You might just get hooked on the concept of democracy.

Freedom costs. Many pay with their lives. Respect and honor their sacrifice.