Twenty five is a young age. In this age and era of my existence I have taken up several fights that I thought were worthy of my time, my youth, my life.

I have gone against tuition fee increases back in college, I have marched on the streets in demand of free education, I have become a tree-hugger, mining company hater, a feminist, I have written opinions in support of LGBT causes, the long list goes on.

I guess that’s how it is when you are young, you try to pick so many fights never knowing if you could even win but not minding anyway because for a young and passionate heart, what matters is not winning but actually standing for something.

Out of all those battles I have picked, there is one I can’t stop caring about. Human Rights.

December 10 or yesterday as of press time is International Human Rights Day. For something that was merited a spot in the international calendar, it is both sad and comical how it is obviously stomped on.

Nobody really cares about Human Rights anymore. Human Rights, ideally, is inherent in all of us. It is contained in every person simply for the fact that they are living and breathing persons. But lately, Human Rights has become a matter of convenience for our world leaders.

They tiptoe around each other to get what they need. World leaders no longer act basing on what was stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which by the way was adopted 10th of December in 1948, reason why International Human Rights Day is celebrated each 10th of December since), they act on the principle of “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine”, doesn’t matter who has Human Rights Issues littered on his backyard, nobody will call you out, unless you’re a rogue State refusing to give in to a Hegemon’s request.

The violations against Human Rights in our own country are sad enough and bad enough. The stories of Human Rights violations all over the world are worse and yet they don’t always make it to the front page, they are rarely read, rarely paid attention to. And even if there are a few who would read about them online and share it on his or her social media, it can only go so far.

Leaders have the power to shape the world, and yet they don’t care, they are bound by politics, too. The people, if only united, have the power to make leaders listen, they need our votes anyway. But majority of the people don’t seem to care about Human Rights. Just take for example many of our fellowmen, they have little or even no regard at all for Human Rights and have gone as far as thinking of it as an obstruction to the “change” they have longed for.

The people think that as long as Human Rights violations aren’t committed against them, it is okay.

This is the sad reality of Human Rights./WDJ