The days of colonialism, imperialism, subjugation and inequality are over. I have as much right to live in peace and security as you. I am not better than you and you are not better than me. This is as much my lands yours, as much my earth as yours and as much my God as yours. I am willing to participate and cooperate with you in fraternity, equality and mutual prosperity.
All human beings were created equal as was all ethnicities. Your worth to me is not dictated by your self-proclaimed wealth, class or strategic standing. The death or suffering of one of mine is equal to the death and suffering of one of yours. The tears of my mother are as sacred and regrettable as the tears of yours.
As we cry for help and our homes lie in rubble and ruin, we ask you to look at us as no different as any of your own. Our earthquake tragedy in Van shows us that we are all mere mortals and nothing but flesh and blood at the mercy of our Lord.
I implore you to reach out a helping hand, not to see our pain as a distant anguish but a travesty and pain of your own.
A time like this shows us the need for spirituality, unity, kindness and humility. Let our suffering and pain become the source of future joy and reconciliation. Let this be a stepping stone to a mutual turning of a new page, to the beginning of a new chapter, to the commencement of a new age.
While you touch others with kindness and generosity abroad, please do not forget that charity begins at home. Our hands are outstretched and eagerly expectant yours in return.
The right to democracy, peace and security is not solely yours but a right of mine and all of mankind. We are not any less deserving than any nation to be party to human rights and international charters. We are tired and frustrated from decades of turmoil, suffering and been harshly caught in the cross fire of your policies. Please do not tarnish our image and peaceful nature for the acts and policies of a few amongst us.
I am not a terrorist and do not want wish to spill blood. Please respect my wish to live in peace, to strive for a better future for me and my children and to live in unmolested joy and freedom. Respect my right to live in democracy, in equality and according to the culture and ways of my forefathers.
I am as proud of my history as you are of yours, as proud of my heritage and as proud of my ancestry. My notion of national pride is based on a mutual respect of yours and not as a means of treating other nationalities, cultures and histories as sub-standard to mine.
Together we are stronger. Together we can build bridges. In togetherness lie our destiny and the gates of our common prosperity. Accept my hand as a brother and an equal. Let us embrace peace, love and friendship. Our past may be mired by suffering but our future can built according to our heart and desire.