Pakistani teen dies saving school from suicide bomber

[Cleopatra7]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/world/asi ... ?hpt=hp_t2

(link not broken because it's CNN)

[doggie]

Kid died with balls of titanium. pretty sad that crap like that can happen to a school but I guess they are learning from us.

[Fallgirl30]

pretty sad that crap like that can happen to a school but I guess they are learning from us.

From what I read, this doesn't bear any similarity to what we have seen in this country. The article mentioned sectarian violence, and an embattled area. Apples and oranges, it appears.

[doggie]

From what I read, this doesn't bear any similarity to what we have seen in this country. The article mentioned sectarian violence, and an embattled area. Apples and oranges, it appears.

attacking children schools is not usually a bombers choice spot but who knows?

[Fallgirl30]

attacking children schools is not usually a bombers choice spot but who knows?

I know I've read articles about schools being attacked, especially if girls are there, being educated. It doesn't seem to be a disgruntled student, because he asked where the school was located.

[Megan]

attacking children schools is not usually a bombers choice spot but who knows?

In addition to the aforementioned attacks on schools educating girls, schools have unfortunately been targets before. The Beslan crisis is the first to come to mind, though I believe there were a couple in Israel/Palestine. Beslan included explosives, not sure about the ones in Israel.

Horrific and incredibly tragic, attacking schools.

[Katydid]

What a brave boy. He saved all of his classmates. I read a quote about him from his father in one article that said something like, "Today his mother is crying, but because of what my son did, other mothers are not." He was an amazing soul.

[niagarahauls]

Wow, only 14 and so brave. I hope his family will find some comfort in the knowledge that their son was such an inspiring young man. They are in my thoughts tonight.

[halfheartedheroine]

What a brave boy. He saved all of his classmates. I read a quote about him from his father in one article that said something like, "Today his mother is crying, but because of what my son did, other mothers are not." He was an amazing soul.

Chills. What a selfless soul.

[Rachel333]

What a brave boy. He saved all of his classmates. I read a quote about him from his father in one article that said something like, "Today his mother is crying, but because of what my son did, other mothers are not." He was an amazing soul.

That's a great quote, but the father seems a little too pleased with his son.

"I am happy that my son has become a martyr by sacrificing his life for a noble cause."

"Many people are coming to see me but if they try to express sympathy, I tell them to congratulate me instead on becoming the father of a martyr,"

"I will be even more than happy if my second son also sacrifices his life for the country."

(From [link=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/aitzaz-hassan-death-im-proud-my-son-stopped-pakistan-suicide-bomber-says-father-9049985.html]here[/link])

Regardless, Aitzaz did an amazing thing.

[anjulibai]

Eh, the man might not be thinking right in his grief, and there might be something lost in translation.

In any case, the boy did a great deed, and if there is a heaven of any sort, I hope he is there.

[crazyforkate]

Eh, the man might not be thinking right in his grief, and there might be something lost in translation.

In any case, the boy did a great deed, and if there is a heaven of any sort, I hope he is there.

What's awful is that so many people we know about believe he is automatically not, even though he did more good in a few moments of his life than most people will ever. Something is terribly wrong with that sort of belief.

[Katydid]

Eh, the man might not be thinking right in his grief, and there might be something lost in translation.

In any case, the boy did a great deed, and if there is a heaven of any sort, I hope he is there.

There's also a huge cultural difference here, in addition to the language difference. The Pashto culture is very, very different from Western culture in general and American culture specifically. Given that he lived in NW Pakistan, there's a good chance that his family is Pashto. Many, many cultural practices and ideas simply don't translate easily.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Wow, brave kid.

[Rachel333]

The father has also been living in the UAE, not with his family, so I imagine he might be processing this differently than the mother. (I think it can sometimes make it harder, actually.)

[Freed]

I've been crying over this story for days. He was so brave, and so few will really pay attention.

I sent it to my mother and she responded by saying that he was just like Jesus, but Jesus sacrificed himself for the whole world. :angry-banghead:

[jaelh]

There's also a huge cultural difference here, in addition to the language difference. The Pashto culture is very, very different from Western culture in general and American culture specifically. Given that he lived in NW Pakistan, there's a good chance that his family is Pashto. Many, many cultural practices and ideas simply don't translate easily.

This, x10000.