The hashtag illridewithyou began with a Facebook post by Sydney resident Rachael Jacobs. After the recent hostage situation unfolded, Rachael saw a woman she presumed was Muslim silently removing her hijab while sitting next to her on the train: “I ran after her at the train station. I said ‘put it back on. I’ll walk with u’.”
Rachael’s act did not go unnoticed; it went viral.
The compassion we show each other, human to human, not only spreads, it has deep roots. The photo above is of a Muslim woman in Sarajevo in 1941, walking beside her Jewish friend, concealing her Star of David with her headcovering.
There is no shortage of murderous depravity in the world; take what happened yesterday in Peshawar. There are growing armies of the blind leading the blind through the layer upon layer of deepening darkness. Extremism, whether based on religion or national interest, relies on the unquestioning allegiance of these armies to divide and conquer.
It’s a quiet, courageous move to break step, to find a human face, to light that candle, to let our shared humanity shine.