France Riots Must Stop- Let Nahel Rest In Peace Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Nahel is laid to rest
but France is still burning
with fires of rage;
it is not a time to agitate
it is not a time to retaliate;
it is time for prayers
it is time for reforms
as nothing will be the gain,
as terror escalates all pains;

Nahel will be at peace
if you respect your own peace;
so, it is time to calm down yourselves,
it is time to wipe away your tears;
Nahel is a hero of France
as everyone is so distraught with grief
though Nahel is no more
but it is this moment that will
promote solace among yourselves
if you share solidarity
and not aggression;

so show respect for Nahel,
let his soul have its peace;
encourage harmony amidst yourselves
resort not to riots and rage;
it is not a time to cast
horror and terror
upon yourselves and your country
in exchange for the grief you feel;
but it is time to reflect
that a nation so filled with agony
needs to rest and recover from
the sadness their hearts hold within;

and as this country called France
belongs to each one of you
you must strengthen your unity;
so console yourselves
comfort each other
as no sorrow is greater
than that which sees mercilessness;

but how long will your eyes weep?
how long will your cities
be filled with violence
and burning streets?
there is no gain in anguish
there is only hatred in anger;
so, let there be many minutes
of realization and acceptance
let there be many hours of
retrospection and silence;
but let there be only one promise
that you can change
your own life-time
and your own apparitions of fear;

for fear is not the answer
to your dread and anxiety;
humanity is the only composition-
that you have to write your own story,
you have to anticipate tomorrow
and align your own discipline;
you have to remember
you can never escape your own fate;
fate is invincible.

Nahel never expected to die;
it is only when death appears
in any form or direction,
one has to go
whether he is a king
or a man sleeping on the streets;
and though many may be
those incidents which provoke
racial discrimination,
you have to learn by yourself
you have to do self-study
not to be - that victim
of any discrimination,
of any gunshot,
of any injustice;

or show me a place on this earth
that has no cataloguing;
show me a nation
that has no classification
of nationalities;
show me a nation
which still accepts you
and gives you food and shelter
yet you have no trust in its system;
it is you who are asking to be treated
differently, belligerently and sentimentally;

when you say your are Algerians
when you say they are French
that itself becomes discrimination;
you make it known
that you were seeking equality;
as you start claiming your own identity;
who cares about you and me
we have to care for ourselves
we have to prevent ourselves
from danger, violence, aggression;

Nahel was that - one child
who never had the foresight
to think he would be singled out,
he would be shot dead
by a policemen with a gun;
but did Nahel ever expect his death
to trigger violence and fires
all over the country?

Yes, Nahel was just a child on the block,
who never expected to be so famous,
never expected France to know him,
never expected riots to take place
that while he lived no one knew him
but in is his death
the world came to know him
and it inspires the mind
that every life counts
and that every life should have its
own value and respect;
so as you live,
live your day with respect
for Nahel!