A police car at Angela Merkel’s political rally

I wake up in the morning thinking whether it’s the right thing to go to a political rally in Bonn. There would be so many people- what if there is some terror attack? Since it’s Germany, the probability of attack is very low. So I convince myself that it’s completely okay and safe to attend a political rally here in Bonn. The only political rally that I had attended before was Imran Khan’s election campaign in Islamabad during the last general elections. I know how worried my mother was. She obviously feared a terrorist attack. Luckily no such incident happened and I came back home safe and sound.

While I was on my way to Angela Merkel’s political rally in Bonn’s “Rathaus” or the twon hall, I was expecting high security, a body scanner and an ID check, but none if it happened. I was curious to know why security was low and I asked Phillip, who was one of the volunteers attending the chancellor, Angela Merkel’s campaign that day. According to him, “Angela Merkel walked through the people to the stage, she shook hands with many. Police in Germany trusts its people and therefore there is no need for extra security.”

Almost ten meters away from her stage there was some checking being done, people’s pockets were searched before they could come close to her stage. “Last year in Bonn, a terrorist attack was planned at the train station, but luckily it never happened. The police is still investigating it, but even then, I am not afraid of any attack. It is very safe in Germany.”  Phillip added.

Angela Merklel at the political rally in Bonn. Photo Credits Team Claudia Lücking-Michel

When you are away from your country, you can definitely look at things in a different way. The comfort and peace the people in Bonn are living in sometimes make me feel sad for people in Pakistan where more than 40,000 people have lost their lives in different suicide and other terrorist attacks. It’s the same world, the same people with  the same desire to have a better and a more peaceful life.

To reach my office in Islamabad, I pass through various check posts and I know when to slow down my car to cross a check post. I hope and pray that the car ahead of me doesn’t blow up. I pray that people in Pakistan, even if they can’t enjoy the luxuries that are available in a developed country like Germany, should at least be able to live in peace and harmony.

I pray that my country becomes a place where no one will get killed because of his or her faith. I pray that my country becomes a place where all children have the right to education. I pray that my country becomes a place where no parents would lose their child in target killings. Angel Merkel’s rally is finished but I continue to stand there for a long time praying for such peaceful moments for my beloved country Pakistan too.

Author: Beenish Javed

Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan

Beenish Javed is a reporter working for ARY News, Islamabad. She has been awarded a two-month long fellowship by the Friedrich Ebert foundation (FES) in Germany and is currently in DW, Bonn. You can follow Beenish on Twitter @Beenishjaved.