Opinion

Author: Jéssica Dos Santos, writer

Today they are called thieves, looters, vandals... But who created them? Now they call for order and serenity, and their actions are seen as unjust in the eyes of those who condemn them. After all, justice only seems fair when it serves the interests of those who impose it. But when it turns against them - either by those they have offended or by an invisible force in the universe - it takes on other names: karma, punishment, perhaps a curse.

At this point, they are expected to demand honesty and character from those who are supposed to protect them. But instead, they are treated with violence and dishonesty by the very people who have a duty to defend them. They have tried every friendly avenue, followed the laws of God and man, but the lack of compassion has exhausted them. For years, they have remained peaceful; for years, they have been patient; for years, they have feared karma and justice.

Now, however, it doesn't matter if they burn their bodies, because they've already burned the house of their oppressors. It doesn't matter if they cry out for help and are called worldly - they too have cried out, but have been ignored. Rather, they prayed to God, or to some greater force, in search of redemption, trying to understand what mistake led them to this point.

It's sad that the brothers themselves don't realize the harm they're causing them and the revolt they're planting in them. They don't want to return to "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", but another way of reacting seems unattainable when dignity is attacked.

And remorse - the weight of accusing fingers and internal doubts - drags them back into the dark tunnel of shame. Will justice always be unjust? How can justice and forgiveness coexist? To forgive would be to forget, never to accuse again. But does justice allow this?

The Stranger