Dear Farhan
Thank you for your letter. If only fair, loving, people of good heart, like you and Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) ruled the world. Don’t give up hope, we are right and they are wrong, we are many, they are few, and we shall overcome and we will get you home.
Dear Roger,
I hope you are well.
I wanted to thank you for being honest and true to the atrocities that are not only happening in Gaza but also around other world conflicts. I am sure you get many messages thanking you and I am not entirely sure whether you will read this – but I wanted to say thank you regardless.
I watched your interview with Abby Martin this morning and it really struck a cord with me in terms how people are allowing such a genocide to occur under own our eyes and not even batting an eyelid. Our politicians are complicit by attempting to suppress our voices to end the killing of all innocent people.
I grew up in the UK in a Muslim family – my parents sadly passed away when I was 6 years old leaving me and my other 3 siblings behind. I have a great family who took us all in and raised us – but the pain of their death still hurts me to this day. I am now a father myself of 2 young children – Amal (which means hope in Arabic) and Sara (which means pure in Arabic) and I chose their names to help show in some way the compassion that is needed amongst all people.
I went to a primary and secondary school run by Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) in North West London when growing up and the values they instilled in us was to show love and compassion to all people around us. I am so grateful for people like yourself and Yusuf for standing up for the atrocities that are occurring.
I trained as a dentist and became a specialist here in the UK and would love to travel to Gaza and other places where people do not have access to dental care to help these people. I am planning to set up a foundation to help these people and if you are able to help I would be grateful in being able to achieve this. I am not asking for any money as we will be able to raise funds amongst the people but your voice and the voice of many other high-profile people will go a long way in being able to achieve this.
This is still in its infancy stage so it will require some planning for me to be able to achieve this but I shall keep you posted when I am close to finalising this – I am hoping as soon as a ceasefire comes into fruition.
And lastly I wanted to thank you for your music – I often listen and think about the lyrics ‘Time’ which for me always hit home with the current situation in Gaza:
‘And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say
Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire’
Yours faithfully,
Farhan Janjua