REMEMBERING 'VALENTINE DELHI'

A mexican man poses with his tall Nepalese friend.


Some one once said to me there are certain events you always encounter along the way outside your village of nativity or outside your country, you tend to forget about at some stages in life, but there are certain issues that are just difficult to forget about.

As people from the world over prepare to once again go out with their loved ones on February 14th, better known as 'Valentine Day', it is a perfect moment to sit aside with the one you love so much and renew your love. Some don't even have the time and energy to observe the day, just like what a critic once said, no one can teach me love, I have my own formula to love and hate. Others will tell you that it is a waste of time they have tried, they cannot actually click with their loved ones.

I was in Delhi on 14th February 2009, it did not go down well for a number of families whose sons and daughters were mercilessly beaten by a so-called vigilante group that operated in the capital, but other areas in the country had hitherto received their own share of the violence that marred the Valentine Day celebrations in Delhi. Angry about the way girls have been dressing in the township, the youths of Bangalore stormed a nightclub beating anyone they hands laid on.

It was a constant reminder of how different people analyse, interpret and draw conclusions on several issues. Here was a day that was meant for lovers to celebrate, rejoice and reflect on some of the factors that divide them and iron it out peacefully. But other youths had other ideas, they took the law in their own hands and beat a brother and a sister who were spotted while walking in the street. They proceeded to other nightclubs and unleash their anger on innocent boys and girls who were enjoying their Valentine.

As I sit down to piece this article, one thing that comes to mind is my colleague Reginald Facah of the Compass newspaper in Nigeria who posted an article regarding the Delhi Valentine Mayhem, for his newspaper in Abuja. So eager to impress his class mates and put his name in the history books, Facah went onto show other lecturers that he's indeed learning and applying what he has been taught since he was a rookie reporter.

In The Gambia Valentine Celebrations are increasingly becoming popular, hotels are putting up ads on newspapers to sell their messages calling on people to come enmass on Val day.