‘Do you know that Hamburg was nearly wiped out of the map during WWII?’
My parents were impressed. They had come from India to London, where I worked. I’d planned a short trip to Hamburg.
‘More than forty thousand died. They said that there was a tornado of fire that night.’
‘Why are humans so intent on killing each other?’ My mom asked.
‘Everything is rooted in hate. Killings happen when hate prevails,’ My father explained sagely.
A few teenagers, obviously drunk, passed us. One of them showed us the middle finger and spat, ‘Bloody Paki! Get out of our country!’
Written for the weekly Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle. This week’s prompt is from Dale. Thank you, Rochelle & Dale.
L.E.R.T 
And on and on and on it goes; tragic in its virulence.
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You highlight the sadness that somehow just keeps on going within humanity, most rescently in Sri Lanka
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No matter how much is destroyed, the fire of hate continues to burn. So sad.
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Yes, hate is spreading again. My husband was an Indian and our children were born and raised in the U.S. My son shaved off his beard and mustache after 9/11. It’s getting worse in Europe again. A good and timely story, Varad. —- Suzanne
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You’ve shown the large scale effects of hatred in the Hamburg reference, but brought it right back to its beginnings in the passing insult of one hateful person. That’s how it happens. Well pictured.
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And it never ends. Hatred, murder, revenge, destruction, hatred… Very good story, hits the mark.
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Life is uncomfortably grim a lot of the times, there are so many unenlightened idiots in all walks of life. It’s a painful read.
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Unfortunate isn’t it? One one side no lesson learnt from past war. On the other no one can differentiate between Indians and Pakistanis. Yet we fight.
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A sad, but well-written story this week!
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It is awful to think what people suffered undergoing air raids, whether in London, Hamburg or Vietnam, but other than perhaps nuclear weapons, truly, fire seems the least forgiving weapon. Since nothing that stays in its path survives, one cannot help but think that ones extinction is what is desired. There is nothing particularly gallant about extermination. And any type of threat that hints at getting rid of a specific set of human beings has an element of the diabolical to it, no matter how persuasive the evidence/propaganda may seem against that set of people. Good story varad.
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So sad that humans refuse to vanquish ignorance and choose hate instead.
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And so it continues.
I keep hoping one day this will change. But I am skeptical.
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People often hate out of ignorance. Powerful piece with a timely message and utterly sad.
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So well written and such a timely message.
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Ugliness and hatred, tragically, are universal. You wrote this so well–succinct and effective.
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An endless cycle of hate and retaliation
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Very sad, but true, ending.
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Really sad ending. Easy to forget that while there are those who want to protect their way of life (on both sides), there are also a lot of individuals that are kind, hardworking decent folk.
Potent story.
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Dear Varad,
I wonder what would happen if people tried to understand one another rather than fearing and killing each other. Well done, topical story that breaks my heart.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Sad to think that this is not really fiction but happens all too often.
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A powerful portrait of racism. Perhaps the destruction of Hamburg and Dresden was motivated by something else, though?
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Powerfully ghastly piece, sadly too true to be fiction.
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