For Real BLOG

May 12, 2023 

U-ICON Editorial 

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Shamima Begum

 

She is not allowed to return to England. 

She has made a choice that she can never take back. 

Shamima Begum was born in London on August 25, 1999. She is now 23 years old.

Her parents are immigrants from Bangladesh in India.

She has a son, Jerah, and is married to 26-year-old Arnhem Jihadist Yago Riedijk. 

Decision

As a 15-year-old, Shamima left for Syria with two school friends in 2015.

She was a student at Bethnal Green Academy in London.

She joined the terrorist organization Islamic State. The school friends were married off within ten days.

Shamima became the wife of a Dutchman, an Arnhem IS fighter.

Lawsuit

In November 2020, Shamima started a complex lawsuit to return to England.

She had started this lawsuit because the Secretary of State of England had decided on February 19, 2019 to deprive Shamima Begum of her British citizenship because she had traveled to Syria at the age of fifteen and joined IS there.

She was then, and probably still is now, in a prison camp in Syria with her child.

Her lawyers say she has been prepared, trained, brainwashed, for a specific purpose or activity. In this case, grooming is for IS.

They say she was a victim of human trafficking.

On February 23, 2023, Shamima lost her court case in England to return and be entitled to an English passport.

The state says she knew exactly what she was getting into when she decided to go to Syria with friends as a fifteen-year-old. That she made this decision with wide eyes and consciously.

The English state considers her a great danger to the security of England.

They also think she is a liar. 

No regrets

What is strange is that she says she has no regrets. She says that, among other things, she met her husband, whom she would otherwise never have met.

She says she only has to go to prison because she went to Syria. Not for all other charges.

Her decision to go to Syria when she was 15 means there is no way back for her to England.

Especially since Shamima has openly said that she does not regret her actions.

She has also said that she hates the West.

Where does this hatred come from? From her parents? 

‘Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.’

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Mindset

If we listen to Shamima we can draw one conclusion.

Her mindset needs upgrading.

She is, mentally, shaped by her environment.

She shows no remorse.

She wants pity.

She wants to return to a luxurious life.

She now has a child and wants better for her child. Logically.

As a result, she is viewed critically.

Everyone looks at her through a different lens and judges her based on her own statements.

Self-realization is necessary.

Unfortunately, we don’t learn in time, between the ages of 5 and 12, which is what really makes us happy. 

Choices

All choices have major consequences.

We have to learn very early that all your choices and actions will make you happy or unhappy.

In any case, everyone deserves all the opportunities in the world.

It is therefore important to think critically before you say, do or make important decisions.

We don’t learn critical thinking at school. Yes, if you study philosophy you will come into contact with that.

But we are not taught to think critically about what you say and do every day.

We didn’t have to deal with this in primary school anyway.

If you don’t do what a teacher wants, they get angry. you are not loved. You will be sent out of the classroom.

Education in many countries is poor. Young people suffer because of poor education. 

Parents

Of course, parents play the most important role in your life.

If you don’t get a good example from your parents, all chances of a better life become even smaller.

Parents often don’t even know what makes them happy. How are they supposed to teach that to their children?

Unless you decide at some point to make a difference.

You decide that you will not be held back by what you have learned or are still learning or doing wrong.

Because you yourself decide to make better choices every day from now on.

Decide to make the most of your life now.

So: Get shit done. 

 

‘Follow your dreams of a better world and keep on trying. Even when there seems to be little hope, because it is the right thing to do.’

Robert Alan

Critical thinking 

Normally you are not allowed to go against something.

That is wrong of course.

Free speech is important.

Because you have to go against everything if it is against your principles.

We have to keep communication open.

Critical thinking limits making mistakes and wrong decisions.

Critical thinking skills are very necessary. So that you are not gullible and foolish.

You have to question everything and think carefully before deciding anything.

Because your life depends on it. 

More beautiful

Yet going to Syria, endorsing it and/or participating in brutal activities is a completely different thing.

That is a personal responsibility that Shamima must be able to recognize.

You will have to take responsibility for all your choices and actions.

Naivety also has major consequences. If you are naive you are even more at risk of making wrong choices.

It’s about recognizing and acknowledging situations.

You can make the world more beautiful and better in so many other ways.

Without violence.

We are very curious about her real reason for leaving England and safety for a country like Syria where everything is uncertain and violent.

How do you come to such a decision?

Why do you do that?

What goes through your mind when you make that decision?

What did Shamima think she would achieve with her decision? 

‘Reality is Reality.’

Aloysius William

Thoughts

Your thoughts are formed in your brain.

If your thoughts are formed in your brain, you are the only one who can change them.

Only you have the power to change your thoughts.

You can think about something else if you want.

If you don’t want to end up in a vicious circle, you will have to change your thoughts.

Only if you think differently can you change your choices.

When you change your choices, only then does your behavior change.

As soon as you change your behavior, your experiences and emotions will change.

Negative thoughts and the same thoughts activate all your feelings, actions and decisions.

It is therefore important to be very aware of what we think in order to change it.

We learned this wise lesson from our mentor Aloysius William.

But… actually doing this wise lesson requires that you be determined and persistent, have discipline and believe in your goal.