What would you risk to receive an education? Well, some of you might think that there is nothing to risk, as it is just normal for all of us to peacefully get the education and not worry about any kind of danger. However, if we widely open our eyes, we’ll be able to see that not all the people in the world are able to receive the education the same way we do. In fact, some in the Middle East are ready to even risk their lives for educating themselves.
If you checked out the websites of any of the international news channels this week, you would have seen the headlines, such as: “The Bravest Girl in the World,”“Malala: The girl who was shot for going to school” “A strong, new voice”. These articles all speak about the same person ,Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl, who was shot in her head and neck by Taliban gunmen because she was studying. Luckily, Malala survived and has become a young education activist. She was already featured on the TIME magazine’s front cover and as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” was nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education, has received EU Sakharov Prize for 2013 and was honored with Harvard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Having read all these, I was wowed by Malala’s bravery and decided to go around the campus asking people how much their education meant to them and how much did they appreciate the fact that they could receive the education without any danger?
At first I’ve talked to Anton, junior from Bulgaria, who told me, that everyone deserves the right to education, and for the people in Western civilizations it’s hard to appreciate the ability to receive education without any danger, as everyone appreciates something they have, after they lose it. I told Anton the story of Malala and asked if he would risk something to get the education and here’s what he told me:
“The education is really important, that’s how I was raised. I grew up with the idea, that I should educate myself, and I never really thought about not going to the university or school, that was never an option for me. And It’s shocking to find out that there are people, children in the world that do not have the same opportunity I have and it makes me appreciate it more. However, I would not risk my life for education, obviously.”
After talking to Anton, I went around the campus to find out the answers to my questions from the girl’s perspective. I came across Nino, a junior from Georgia, who was about to enter the class and receive her piece of educational nugget about the EU politics, however she still agreed to speak to me. Nino told me that everybody should have equal rights to get access to education, as it is very important and it is crazy what happens to people in Middle East, just because they study.
“I would risk a lot for my education, but I think this risk is an investment, because education is really a power, so I really admire that girl, that got hit in the head, because she was studying. It’s really admiring and we should take an example of that.”
In the end, I think Malala is a hero, she’s only 15 and she has just become one of the most inspirational public figures especially for the girls like her, who live in the life threatening conditions and still risk studying in order to fight violence with the one and only strongest and true weapon in the world – education.
So, fellow students, we should not only party hard and study hard, but we should also remember what we are studying for and appreciate the fact that we are actually free to choose to study without putting our precious lives in danger.
Want to know more about student life and how it works? Check out my new post next Monday!
No Regrets 