A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

When you are in best of your time in life, everyone around would flock around and rather indulge into competition of proving to be your ‘real friend’. Possibly ‘fortunate’ people like me got chances in life to judge-who my real friends are and who were all con artists. When my good days prevailed, there had been virtual ‘traffic jam’ of friends and buddies. But, quickly their real faces behind the mask were exposed-when I fell into adversity. Seeing my agony or sufferings or reading about my sordid stories in the media, they delightfully cheered, saying-hehehe…finally he is gone. Even some so-called relatives, those who pretended to be ready to die for me, actually turned out to be precise actors. They never bothered what would be my fate or that of my family members- instead, possibly they secretly prayed for seeing me getting doomed.

This is my life. The bitterest reality of life. Most of the times, I understood, how cheerful and delighted were some of my relatives seeing me and my family suffering, though few of them paid seldom visit at my residence, even promising of doing everything- for me and my family, but in reality, what they had been doing- just laughing at the top of their voice, when they were not at place, but with their own families. Once I told one of such relatives- I know, today some people are laughing at me, seeing my sufferings- they even are making fun of me, thinking- I am totally crashed; but one day very soon, those people will be in greater trouble, and the world will laugh at them.

Guess, what that relative’s reaction might have been, after hearing these words from me. Yep, he totally went mum - sensing I already have realized how precisely he wants enjoying the sufferings and agonies of me and my family.

Don’t you think – the episode will reverse? Oh yes! Sooner or later – it will. All of those stupid creatures (I hate calling them humans) will enter their own episode of extreme sorrows, sufferings, agonies and humiliation. I know it will happen with them – not very late. Don’t think I have turned to an angel or saint. Nah, nothing. Just I have been a diligent student in the greatest university called world, where I learnt many a things that someone might not acquire even after getting several degrees from MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge etcetera.

The best university name world, taught me lots of precious things, in several years of ‘dedicated’ studies, enabling me to draw - a very thick line between friends and fakes – relatives and jokers.

Even it goes beyond my taste now, to name those fake or false friends and masked relatives. I can feel stinky odor whenever I even think of any of them. Sometimes I felt sorry for them. Because, they failed realizing-good or bad- none of these times- stay in human life- forever. That is the reality. I was happy as it was my bad time, thinking – next is good time, which is ahead. But, those, who were making fun of me just because it was their good time, failed to realize- soonest, the days of their agonies- their bad times will begin.

But of course, during the worst time, I was blessed with the realization of knowing some people- only a few- to be my real relatives and real friends. The relatives who never hesitated helping my family for years- not months, with smile in face- when my family was in a dire need. There had been just one friend, from some country and of course that great nation, who did not abandon me during my most difficult time. Rather that friend and his country, stood behind me and my family in such a cordial way- as if they were just not friends- but more than that- relatives with blood connection.

Today, I would like to remember all of those kind people – my real and proven relatives and the friend and express gratitude from the deep core of my heart. Hope onwards, I can prove to all of you, that I was really eligible to be blessed with your such precious affection, love and kindness.

I also would like to look onto those fake relatives and masked friends, whose real identities now are fully exposed to me and just smile and tell myself – beware of these nasty animals in nest of the journey of this life.

Someone said- a friend in need is a friend indeed. I learnt this from the very experience of my own life. Thank God. It was a precious knowledge.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a multi-award winning, internationally acclaimed anti-militancy journalist and newspaper editor.

SALAH UDDIN SHOAIB CHOUDHURY
Anti-Jihadist Journalist, Columnist, Author & Peace Activist

Editor & Publisher, Weekly Blitz www.weeklyblitz.net

PEN USA Freedom to Write Award 2005; AJC Moral Courage Award 2006

Key to the Englewood City, NJ, USA [Highest Honor] 2007; Monaco Media Award, 2007