Justice for Keenan and Reuben.

October 20 was the day when Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes were sent to sleep in death’s lap because they happened to stand against the wrong, they happened to be at the right place at the right time. Were these two unfortunate or we all belong to the unfortunate lot? The question is lingering in my mind and i’m searching for its answers.
Public outrage has since grown over the incident, especially with the help of Social Media. On Facebook, a group called ‘Keenan Santos’ has 47,362 members and growing. On Twitter, both ‘#JusticeForKeenanandReuben’ and ‘Keenan and Reuben’ are top trends in India. As the twitter trend #JusticeForKeenanandReuben suggests, the public wants to see justice done, and there is a huge outcry to find the killers of the two men. What was done to these two boys is disturbing, upsetting, enraging and horrific.
I, too, hope that there is justice for Keenan and Reuben. But I hope too that this moment serves as a wake up call for India.
The loss of the lives of Keenan and Reuben should inspire a fight for justice. But let’s make this fight for justice in finding the killers of these two men into a fight for justice for the cause they fought and died for. One in three women faces domestic violence, and even more are faced by violence against women in many different forms—street harassment being one of them. I hope that we find justice for Keenan and Reuben, and in doing so, also seek to find justice for each who faces violence, by each taking a stand, individually and collectively, just as Keenan and Reuben did, to put an end this culture of violence against women. It is saddening that it took such a horrific crime to bring this to public light, but that is what, as a byproduct, it has done. In seeking justice for Keenan and Reuben, we must seek justice for those for whom they fought. It’s time to make a change. It’s time to Wake Up, India.