At a time when news stories startle us, and they’re often complemented by anger and hatred, and sometimes a feeling of ‘victimisation’, we think to ourselves – why have we been targeted?

The idea of considering one-self a victim brings expectation of self-pity with it. We feel as though our vulnerabilities are being exploited. Sometimes we feel we are victims on the basis of our race, other times religion, and sometimes merely by our physical nature.

When you’re supposedly victimised, you become insecure, and your life becomes one of instability, because your pursuit is not progress, but attaining basic security.

As the media continuously focuses on how religious divides are causing conflict around the world, people of religious beliefs become marginalised, and through that ‘victimised’ and unfortunately, more often than not, inactive. We feel our victimisation has rendered us incapable, and that we’re subordinates in society, where our word is neglected and hence prefer not to express our beliefs.

The key to social and religious cohesion is often the contrary; it is dialogue and discussion of our beliefs which can strengthen the positive bond that society endeavours to promote.

An example that struck me recently, while working with the Three Faiths Forum, on an interfaith project, was how a band came together, with individuals of the 3 major Abrahamic faiths, to promote the idea of unity amongst faiths, and how our similarities are essentially stronger than our differences. Our basic beliefs lie primarily in being ‘good natured’ and promoting ‘good values’. We can work together, quite simply, to promote these values. It amazed me to see how well coordinated the band was, and how they merged their talents to form something extraordinary.

If you really feel like you are being victimised within society, bring your concerns to the surface. If you ignore it, the world will not know it, and your issues will be buried away, and considered insignificant. Bring your concerns forward through dialogue, poetry, articles or any other peaceful form of expression, and realise the power of your word…

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