Us Against Them: The Youth's Fight for Justice in Pakistan

The nation of Pakistan has failed in many aspects, but our worst problem is making too many excuses, too many times. They say, "there is good in bad and bad in good," but all we ever see is the nonexistent good in the bad that we do every day. And we let ourselves and others off the hook because of the excuses we make. When we fail to get justice, we let it go and wait to do better next time. So here is the next time that we have brought upon ourselves. Will we do better? Or will we let another victim become the collateral damage of our failed political leaders? This time, will the youth of Pakistan finally realize that their future is in dangerous hands, and that they must step up to protect it at all costs? These past few days have been about realizing that the papers on which we once confidently wrote, "Where do I see myself in 10 years," have now turned into something that none of us wish to live for. And that's what has brought unity among the youth to find our way out of this, together. Every time we look the other way, every time we choose silence over action, every time we thought that they knew better, we let the system continue to fail us. It’s time to break this cycle. The corridors, once filled with hopeful dreams, now echo with cries for justice. We can see it in the protests, the movements, the social media posts — a desperate call for change, a longing for a better tomorrow. This isn't the first time students have felt that going to school was a burden, weighed down by a lack of support from the authorities. But this time, they know they are on the right side of the fight. The decision to close schools on October 18th didn’t calm the protests; instead, it gave more room to the thought that it really is "us against them."