11-year-old Badal Masih, a young Christian boy, was killed by his employer.

Trigger warning: This piece contains the mention of physical assault.

Every so often, you come across an instance that leaves you shaking with fury, unable to fathom the kind of monstrosity that runs within the veins of those who carry out these vicious acts. Such is this young Christian boy’s case – a life lost to fanatical rage, all over a measly amount of Rs 180.

11-year-old Badal Masih was a Christian boy from Rasheedabad, who worked at a scrapyard.

Badal waged his childhood and innocence to help with the family income, working at a scrapyard owned by Ifran (alias Kalu), presumably on vacation from his first year of formal schooling, given that his father, Shahzad Masih, is an unemployed drug addict, and his mother, Shareefan Bibi, is the sole breadwinner.

Early in July, Badal dared to ask his employer, a Muslim man – currently on the run – for a loan of Rs 180. 

He needed to pay for some necessary family expenses. A day later, Badal was abused by his employer for being unable to pay back the amount. Consequently, he borrowed Rs 150 from his mother, returned to the junkyard and paid the employer, telling him he would no longer work for him.

Infuriated, the employer, alongside his brother Akram, brutally beat up Badal, using iron rods to inflict further damage, consequently killing him in cold blood.

As he cried out, people in the surrounding area took notice and called the police, but it was too late. Shareefan Bibi filed a complaint against the perpetrators, according to a report by Asia News, also claiming that her son was sexually assaulted, though the autopsy has not shown signs of sexual violence.

“I am very poor, but I have faith in God,” stated Shareefan Bibi, hoping against hope. “I will fight for justice till my last breath.”

She remembers Badal as an “obedient child” who “wanted to earn something” to support his loved ones. “These cruel owners took his life for no reason,” she stated. “My tears can only be wiped away if the culprits are punished harshly and pushed behind bars for the rest of their lives for the sin they committed against my innocent child.”

This incident took place days ago – yet there’s been little to no coverage of the same.

The silence over Hindu girls getting kidnapped and raped in Sindh and Badal Masih's rape and murder resounds the arrogance and hatred Pakistani Muslims have for anyone that disagrees with them. This silence makes us complicit in the crimes against our fellow non-Muslim nationals.

— I miss being happy 🌈 (@Medusaiskali) July 24, 2019

At a time when forced conversions amongst minorities are reported every month, how can we afford to stay silent when an 11-year-old boy loses his life to such brutality? A life that had barely begun – one that decided to bravely shoulder a responsibility it never should have had to shoulder at such a tender age – lost, over a measly amount in a frenzy of sick, perverse rage.

How can we turn a blind eye to this, when a mother weeps for her son who will never return from that scrapyard, where he went so that he could support her in his own way?

Some people, who did take notice, are asking the same question:

Why no one is talking about #BadalMasih? A kid beaten to death just because he refused to work? Or his case doesn’t matter because he was a Christian?

— Vérité Seulement.⚜️ (@Khaaksaar__k) July 24, 2019

They’re making the same request:

Can you all please raise your voice against Badal Masih’s murder? Please? My heart cries for the affected family.

— سارہ (@SaraETariq) July 24, 2019

This gut-wrenching news should not be a wake-up call, for this has happened time and again. Yet, after numerous ignored instances that are forgotten, perhaps it’s time we pay attention to this and unite for justice.

Truly, if this doesn’t shake us to our cores, I’d rather not find out what heinous monstrosity will.

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Cover image via geo.tv