It was unbelievable.
The world watched in horror and disbelief the result of the rampage shootings in Virginia Tech perpetrated by a student of the same college. Thirty-two students alongside professors were killed in what is considered the deadliest mass murder in the history of the United States.
I’ve been monitoring the news since last night and I am still in deep shock over the murder. I felt depressed. I can’t help but be affected by the horrible incident. Why would such things happen to innocent people? Why did it have to happen? How do we make sense of it?
My heart sincerely goes to the family and friends of the victims. The school is supposed to be the nurturing grounds for the future of these students. They went to school to learn. But here they are, now lifeless, without any chance to fulfill their dreams. With the massacre, their dreams also perished. The heroic act of one professor who saved the lives of the students is really heartbreaking. He is a professor who has been serving the students for two decades. Interestingly, he is a survivor of the Holocaust afterwhich he moved to Virginia. In an ironic twist of fate, the day he died was the day of the commemoration of the same event which brought him to the US. His selfless act is truly an inspiration.
Thirty-two is not just a number. Behind each, there is a story, there is a life, there is a dream. It simply doesn’t make any sense.
Answers are what the loved ones of the victims are crying out for. Some may be responded to, some may go unanswered.
In these tragic times, our faith will be put to test. I was astonished the statement of one of the victims’ father. His daughter Reema is an intelligent, lovely and promising freshman who was shot while attending her German class. The father calmly said that as of the moment, she is focusing on her daughter and the life that she lived. He does not even have a sign of anger. What he wants is to see the remains of her daughter so that they could be reunited with her.
Tragedies like these are both real and surreal. It is real because it is before our very eyes. No matter how we try to deny it, we can do nothing but to accept it. It is likewise surreal because there is a part of us that whispers, “this is unreal, in fact only a dream, a really bad and terrible dream.”
Within me I feel an existential dread. Angst is getting the better of me. The recurring questions about suffering, sorrow, mourning, sadness, madness, meaninglessness and death are once again inquired into. I came to realize that such things can also happen to me or to anyone I love. How do I deal with it should such unfortunate happenstance take place? Can I handle it just like how the families of the victims are handling it? What if I am the one who’s going to die? Do I have the unshakeable faith to overcome such trials?
After this, I am going to tune in to cable news for more updates. And I am bracing myself for the continuing feeling of distress over the tragedy.
May the grief-stricken families find the courage they need to deal with this. May the victims’ souls rest in peace.