Weekly Round Up #9
Muawad Mustafa Rashid
No Person Can Replace a Mother
Mother’s Day is upon us – a day which celebrates life, continuous giving and a stream of unconditional love.
This is the day when we all take a moment to celebrate the woman who has given us life and nurtured us into becoming the man or woman we are today.
We would like to take a moment here to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.
Mothers made us believe; kept us off the streets, put clothes on our backs, food on the table.
Today is Mother’s Day, the one day of the year we pause to honor our moms and say thank you.
It is appropriate that we do so. For many of us, our mother has been the only constant in our life.
Mothers love us, nurture us, encourage us, challenge us, correct us even when had already grown and left the nest, stand ready to share our joys, bail us out of trouble, and guide us.
A mother’s love is unconditional. Whatever else is unsure in this terrible dunghill of a world, a mother’s love is not.
No one in the world can take the place of your mother. Right or wrong, from her viewpoint you are always right.
A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives may desert their husbands but a mother’s love endures through all.
But what makes a mother special? Of course, each of us has their own answer. Most of us consider our mother as a gift from God.
A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father.
You are what she made you and you reflect her love in whatever you do.
Every Day is Mother’s day.
Your heaven lies under the feet of your mother.
Let us respect, love and care for our mothers every day.
Outside the Happiness Zone
According to last year’s world happiness study, conducted by the World Happiness Council, Sudan is ranked at #17 among the “happiest” Arab countries and #133 worldwide in the yearly assessment of the Council.
Based on a UN study, people’s emotions can be gauged based on six parameters. In the case of this study, they include a country’s GDP, social support, health, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
Finland has been ranked as the world’s happiest country for the second year running. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million, known for their love of forests, lakes and saunas, topped the study which used survey data asking citizens in 156 countries how happy they perceive themselves to be, as well as of measures such as life expectancy, income and social support.
The other Nordic countries, as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and Austria also made the top ten.
In the Arab region, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE topped the charts, followed by Bahrain and Kuwait.
Yemen came at the last rank in Arab countries following Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Tunisia.
Going back to Sudan, I hereby swear that the Sudanese are not dreaming of happiness due to a painful reality and gloomy future that reduces their ultimate dream to getting bread, fuel, cooking gas and potable water.
The utmost dream of our youth is to escape from the country to an unknown destination, while other countries are utilizing technology for the welfare of its people to enable them enjoy daily innovations.
The polarization and the political tensions among the rivals, besides the economic deterioration and the hard living conditions, have casted its negative shadows in all aspects of life.
It is high time for the transitional government to take serious steps to allow Sudan to enter into the happiness zone and obtain better score on the happiness index.
