Because They Were Here
After reading Oyunga Pala's piece, "Grief is Not Democratic," I found myself sitting with a thought that felt both uncomfortable and deeply true: we do not grieve all losses equally. His reflection that "we mourn what mirrors us" forced me to examine my own relationship with grief. Why do certain deaths stay with us while others fade? Why do some names become permanent residents in our memories while countless others, equally loved and equally significant, pass quietly through our consciousness? The piece made me realise that grief is often less about death itself and more about recognition. We grieve those in whom we see ourselves, our aspirations, our fears, our unfinished stories, and the futures we imagine for ourselves. Their loss becomes a reminder of our own fragility, of dreams interrupted, of possibilities left unexplored. Yet every loss is monumental to someone. Every person who leaves this world is somebody's favourite voice, somebody...
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