Today was one of the most brutal things Iāve ever witnessed in my life, and honestly, Iām still broken inside.
It started when one guy in my class said āfuck Kurdistan.ā My friend is Kurdish, and obviously that hit him. So my friend clapped back and said āfuck Gaza.ā Now, I get why people were upset but if youāre going to disrespect someone elseās land, expect theyāll fire back too. That doesnāt justify what happened next.
The situation escalated insanely fast. The guy who heard āfuck Gazaā got furious, and suddenly it turned into 20 people against 1. Iām not exaggerating. They surrounded my friend, threatening him saying theyād kill him, box him, āteach him a lesson.ā Laughing at him. Pushing him. It was humiliating and cruel.
My friend stayed calm, even said politely āplease back off, I donāt want to make problems.ā But it didnāt matter. One of them slapped him across the face in front of everyone, screaming ādonāt touch my friend again or Iāll fucking kill you.ā And Iām standing there, feeling helpless, because itās literally 20 versus 1.
After school, it got even worse. They lured him away, saying ācome bro, we just want to talk, we promise we wonāt hit you.ā He was nervous, but went anyway. Next thing, three of them started hitting him at the same time. My friend cried to me afterward saying āI canāt do anything, Iām helpless. I hope God helps me.ā Hearing that broke me more than I can explain.
And hereās where my guilt comes in. I keep asking myself what kind of friend am I if I couldnāt protect him? I go to the gym, I look big and strong, but when it came down to it, I froze. Of course, I wanted to jump in. But I knew the reality: if I swung, if I defended him with my fists, the next day 20 or 30 guys would show up and destroy both of us. It wasnāt fear, it was calculation. Still, it feels like I failed him.
The worst part? These guys are Muslims too. And still, no mercy. Just humiliation, violence, drama. It made me so angry I could scream. I wanted to punch them so badly. I havenāt had a street fight since I was 14 and back then, I beat someone so bad he was bleeding. Maybe thatās why I avoid fights now, because I know what Iām capable of. Or maybe Iām just scared. I donāt even know anymore.
Right now, my heart is shattered. I feel guilty, angry, and helpless all at once. I wanted to protect my friend, but I also didnāt want to drag him and myself into even worse danger. I wanted to scream, to punch something, to take revenge. But at the same time, I know revenge wonāt fix anything.
What happened today showed me how ugly things can get when people love creating fitna. They brought up an old beef just to watch chaos. And then 20 people stood against one. Thatās not strength, thatās cowardice.
I donāt know what to do, honestly. Iām broken, and I feel like I failed as a friend. But I also know if I had jumped in, tomorrow wouldāve been worse.