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Here's a hypothetical situation: You have a 15-year-old son, and he hacks off his own hand after believing he has committed blasphemy. How would you react?
Shock? Horror? Perhaps, a few weeks of introspection wondering where you have gone wrong as a parent?
How about pride, joy, and celebration instead?
In Pakistan, where all sorts of bizarre reports make headlines, it isn’t often that we sit up and take notice of news stories. Yet, this is exactly what happened recently, when a 15-year-old boy in a village close to Lahore in the Hujra Shah Muqeem district, cut off his own hand believing he had committed blasphemy.
As reports claim, the youngster was at a mosque when the imam asked the worshipers who among them wasn’t offering prayers regularly. This was after he had stated that those who love the Prophet (PBUH) don’t miss out on their prayers.
When the boy raised his hand after mishearing the question, the imam, alongside the attendees around him, shamed the 15-year-old for committing blasphemy. Some reports even state that the boy was beaten by the cleric for his 'sin'.
The psychological impact of the public disgrace propelled the child. He wanted to prove beyond doubt that he was not a blasphemer.
So much so that to punish himself, using a fodder cutting machine, he sliced off the very hand he had raised at the mosque.
Then, the child presented his appendage to the preacher on a plate.
Rather than be appalled at the sight of a child's bloody hand, the neighbourhood cheered the youngster, hailing him a hero. His parents, too, beamed with pride.
Once you absorb the disturbing nature of this incident, you have to take pause.
You have to wonder about the established set of attitudes of the boy, his parents, the cleric, and the people of the entire village.
What kind of a people respond to such a gruesome act in a celebratory fashion?
Are we all OK with the way this boy was treated?
Clearly, we are.
More importantly, if the boy was so desperate to prove that he wasn’t a blasphemer that he was willing to part with his own hand, what else was he prepared to do?
Noman Ansari is a freelance writer who regularly contributes to several publications, including Images, and is currently working on his own fantasy novel.
He tweets @Pugnate.
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On DawnNews
Comments (84) Closed
Jan 16, 2016 12:37pm
One, the kid needs to get away from those parents. Someone needs to intervene. Child protection orgs maybe. Two, we still stand where we were ten years ago as far as religious tolerance is concerned. I was hoping we would have improved a little. My bad!
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Jan 16, 2016 12:42pm
More importantly, if the boy was so desperate to prove that he wasn’t a blasphemer that he was willing to part with his own hand, what else was he prepared to do?- spot ON!!!!
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Jan 16, 2016 12:45pm
A puzzle in the story is that it requires significant medical attention to stop bleeding and stay alive if a whole hand is chopped off! How?
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Jan 16, 2016 01:04pm
Great article and your ending question needs to be answered by our leaders.
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Jan 16, 2016 01:10pm
this is unbelievable.
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Jan 16, 2016 01:12pm
@jaspal Completely agree, Jaspal. And its hard to intentionally cut through your own bone even with a 'fodder cutting machine'. This incident should be thoroughly investigated and the boy be examined by a psychiatrist.
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Jan 16, 2016 01:17pm
And the boy lived to take the chopped limb back to the Imam? Very interesting!
This happened on this planet??
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Jan 16, 2016 01:23pm
really new story for today and unbelievable!
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Jan 16, 2016 01:25pm
Juat plain "sick" people
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Jan 16, 2016 01:35pm
The thing that worries me is that if he is willing to cut off his own arm under influence of his stupid teachers then imagine what else you might do if the same teachers tell him and guide him on a wrong path.
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Jan 16, 2016 01:39pm
What a stupidity, God is love and love is god, This is the essence of divinity and message of god. People around this kids failed to convey these and forced him to do things which is against his wish of god. You have no rights to harm yourself wilfully
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Jan 16, 2016 01:43pm
A society in need of a psychotherapy
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Jan 16, 2016 01:52pm
Yes this happened. Please google dunya tv interview video with the boy. Mujeeb Rahman Shaami was asking questions from the boy. very sad!
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Jan 16, 2016 01:58pm
The so called preachers of Islam, the 'Imam' should be held responsible for this act. Missing out prayers is a matter between the Creator and committer.
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Jan 16, 2016 02:12pm
Now time to hear all the conspiracy theories behind this. Bring them on! Let's hear everything except how we are at fault ourselves and responsible for this dangerous mindset that has made this country a fools' habitat.
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Jan 16, 2016 03:01pm
To prove that he wasn’t a blasphemer that he was willing to part with his own hand, what else was he prepared to do?
Answer is simple. All suicide bombers are young boys in their teens and are given similar type of sermons, glorifying killings of those who are not following such sermons!
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Jan 16, 2016 03:08pm
clear-cut religious madness. after long, arduous battle, we are back to square one.
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Jan 16, 2016 04:03pm
He may have thought that its better to chop of a hand then to be beaten to death by class fellows for blasphemy.
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Jan 16, 2016 04:17pm
Insanity and sickness at its best.
God save Pakistan from these sick mullah's, who preach hatred and insanity in the name of religion.
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Jan 16, 2016 04:17pm
Good to see right minded people condemning such acts.Self harming is a mental condition and these are the type of people who can become suicide bombers in the name of ideology.The family and everyone who cheered him in this action needs councelling and therapy.Prevention is better than cure, but better late than never.
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Jan 16, 2016 04:32pm
Sad and crazy at the same time. Other thing is that if it was not the boy himself, someone else would have chopped his arm to punish him for the alleged blasphemy!
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Jan 16, 2016 04:57pm
He must have thought that its better to live the rest of your life with a chopped hand than getting decapitated by an angry mob.
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Jan 16, 2016 05:21pm
sad state of pakistani youth. separation of state and religion should be the fundamental principle of any country.
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Jan 16, 2016 05:39pm
So sad. Are we still living in stone age. Only good education can fix it long term.
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Jan 16, 2016 06:26pm
This news was appalling beyond measure. The fact is that in the villages and to a large extent in the urban areas too the cleric is regarded as a guide and mentor. What is not understood is that the cleric is just as illiterate as his following. It is all too easy to make excuses citing illiteracy as the major culprit, but actually child abuse is too prevalent and acceptable in our society. The Creator did not give us hands for violence but for compassion and working hard.
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Jan 16, 2016 06:34pm
frustration, anger and resolve should be the takeaway of this story. Ignorance is not a crime but does not equate to innocence.
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Jan 16, 2016 06:47pm
What do you expect when any illiterate person can become a cleric ?
What is an illiterate person going to teach ?
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Jan 16, 2016 06:55pm
This illustrates the power the jahil clerics have gained over equally jahil audience all over Pakistan. But parents celebrating child's hand chopping could be the first such act of the 21st century. Such madness does not bode well for the survival of any society.
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Jan 16, 2016 07:14pm
How low are we going to sink, before things starts getting better ???
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Jan 16, 2016 07:31pm
"More importantly, if the boy was so desperate to prove that he wasn’t a blasphemer that he was willing to part with his own hand, what else was he prepared to do?"
Pertinent question.
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Jan 16, 2016 07:35pm
Shocking beyond any words to express anger and disbelief that this could happen. But it gives me hope to see all these comments putting in perspective the minority of these sick people. Education and knowledge are the only means to win this battle
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Jan 16, 2016 08:35pm
@Disgusted citizen You suggest a remedy your highness!!
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Jan 16, 2016 08:45pm
Great article! The issue is there seems to be no laws to deal with situations like this! no case, no investigation! I hope some voluntary organization takes interest.
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Jan 16, 2016 08:48pm
@Umair #agreed
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Jan 16, 2016 08:53pm
parents rejoicing their son's silly act????
whats wrong with these people?
The mind set of these people is way off track!
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Jan 16, 2016 08:58pm
Unfortunately, condemning an incident like this won't help. How many people will you treat even if you call it a psychological problem? If the kid has taken a drastic step like this, then the 'world around him' are proud of that. This is what happens when you brainwash generations to throw their rationale out through the window. If the rot has taken so many years to reach this level, it will probably take that many years before you see the first green shoot. It's your educated and the elite who failed you by framing policies they framed, may be 30 years back. So, wish you good luck and genuinely would like to see a Pakistan coming out this sorry state. BTW, I like your music, food, stand up comedians and people of Pakistan in general :).
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Jan 16, 2016 09:04pm
unreal,they make u guilty conscious, feel sorry for the boy
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Jan 16, 2016 09:29pm
This is a weird mentality even by religious standards so how low have we fallen as a society.
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Jan 16, 2016 09:38pm
@jaspal Not too difficult. Just use a bandana or length of cloth as a tourniquet
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Jan 16, 2016 09:43pm
We have to be very careful how we raise our kids in a tumultuous world. The definition of blasphemy has to be well-defined and explained by all who are responsible for the upbringing of our youth.
In this day and age there should be no room for self-mutilation in the name of religion. The next generation should be taught right from wrong. The inspiration should be the Nobel Prize winners and those who do good for the society like the Eidi Foundation.
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Jan 16, 2016 09:48pm
It's the last line that is worrisome.
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Jan 16, 2016 10:14pm
Looks like the whole nation is suffering from psychosis
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Jan 16, 2016 10:50pm
religious extremism starts exactly from this kind of acts and attitudes.
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Jan 16, 2016 11:39pm
Police should investigate whole story .it smells something went wrong with the boy.
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Jan 17, 2016 12:41am
Mishearing? Is the punishment justified even if he heard the question correctly?
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Jan 17, 2016 02:29am
This is more than just gruesome tale of misbeliefs. Real worry is, how and why did we kill the power to question? Why a child should be ashamed (to this degree) to raise a question?
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Jan 17, 2016 03:34am
This indicate the sikness prevails in the society
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Jan 17, 2016 07:09am
Then we wonder why there is suicide bombing every now and then. Young minds are poisoned by these so called Imams.
Oh.. the killer of Salman Taseer, he was showered with flower petals by the lawyers. Now what can we expect from the common people.
Government really need to step in to root out all these illiterate imams and replace them with the educated ones. Someone has to really need to take this bold action.
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Jan 17, 2016 07:35am
@Kamran ; Usually, people the "one-eyed among the blind' who become preachers . and even 'teachers' by default, use hate and prejudice to replace knowledge and critical thinking.
They use scapegoats and divert attention people's problems to blame others.
The more emotionally charged they get pointing fingers, the more dangerous they become.
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Jan 17, 2016 08:58am
This was a fascinating read and a lot of the questions raised are very pertinent to what is going on with the country these days? Would anyone be kind enough to share a link to the original news clipping though?
And I absolutely agree to one of the commentators raising child protection laws as another addendum to this, but you have to wonder, if it is an egg-chicken situation? Will you break the shell of ignorance first or impose the laws first?
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Jan 17, 2016 09:37am
Taken law in your hand is absolutely no no! It indicate deficiency of education. Politicians and religious leaders' responsibility is to educate the nation of ignorant.
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Jan 17, 2016 09:55am
Please investigate this incident further. There is more to the story than meet the eyes.
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Jan 17, 2016 12:27pm
Very sad story. 15 years old chopped his own hand???
How people can celibrate? Even he made a mistake,
he is just 15 years old. Now he will suffer for whole life. Parents must sit down with kids and teach them difference between right and wrong. If kids make....
Sincerely,
Ashraf Mirza (USA) ashwmirza@yahoo.com
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Jan 17, 2016 03:08pm
Nothing to do with religious tolerance. A lot more to do with the substandard and/or nonexistent education infrastructure that is slowly but certainly killing this country.
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Jan 17, 2016 07:11pm
Pervasive extremism , particularly in some sections of the society, generates extreme guilt consciousness amongst the vulnerable youth. Complete overhaul and reformation of our social and religious attitudes has been much overdue. A national crusade has to be launched at all levels, spearheaded by both the federal and the provincial governments, in addition to the stepped up initiatives of the myriad NGOs operating in Pakistan.
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Jan 17, 2016 08:01pm
Its sad... but on positive side cleric can use this devotion for positive things in the life. It can lead to peace and prosperity.
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Jan 17, 2016 09:46pm
This is extreme. I suggest everyone to read Richard Dawkins book 'Delusion of Gods'.
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Jan 17, 2016 11:32pm
@Satyajit Paul
We like Indians too when they exude some sincereity .
BTW farmers in India committing suicide because of hunger, even sometimes in the clear sight of country's leaders and sadly the police, is as unfortunate as this boy cutting himself. And both reflect badly on the respective society.
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Jan 17, 2016 11:41pm
@XMAESTRO Sir, I agree with your comment and general sentiment, however, disagree with the 'ten years ago' timeline. 1000 years would be closer to reality.
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Jan 17, 2016 11:58pm
@Iqbal What theses imams teach has nothing to do with ISLAM !!
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Jan 18, 2016 12:28am
We are overly obsessed with religion and instead of freeing us from slavery of powerful ones, religion is used to enslave us. While the lower rung of the society is brain washed by clerics, the upper class of Pakistanis are enjoying their acquired power after independence over the rest of the society with no fear of God or Day of Judgement. Is this a true Islam?
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Jan 18, 2016 01:53am
@jaspal people in villages are not strangers to appendages being lopped off. Some accidents in villages are mind boggling. So they develop their own methods. The age old tourniquet has been used for centuries.
The kid was probably aware of what to do in case of an accident.
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Jan 18, 2016 04:05am
its indeed horror that people celebrated that act of horror...
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Jan 18, 2016 05:29am
I am disgusted with myself because when I heard this story I was not shocked. I just feel sick inside that I that I have become desensitized to this madness that has taken over Pakistan.
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Jan 18, 2016 07:18am
Too much of anything is bad...
Being overly religious is also dangerous.
No wonder many if not most of these people are brainwashed and indoctrinated to the point of no return..
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Jan 18, 2016 07:26am
This is what happens when emotions overcome logic.
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Jan 18, 2016 08:47am
@suma `was prepared to do' or more importantly: `is prepared to do'!!!
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Jan 18, 2016 09:53am
@Skeptic This is honesty based justice, bud.
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Jan 18, 2016 11:41am
Unfortunately some sick cleric we found in our society who don't know the exactly essence of Islam. Need to kick out those sicks first
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Jan 18, 2016 04:22pm
This is a horrible and very telling story. This is exactly why we have problems today, and who is allowed to teach the villagers such values ... That is the critical question ...
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Jan 18, 2016 05:12pm
Do we know for sure that the boy did this himself and was not forced.
Sounds sick and worst part is people celebrating this act.
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Jan 18, 2016 05:12pm
illiteracy illiteracy illiteracy !
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Jan 18, 2016 07:58pm
Dear handless Boy, Our government couldn't give you sane teachers to teach.
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Jan 18, 2016 08:45pm
I have hard time digesting this news. I guess, he needed immediate medical care and would have stayed in hospital for days otherwise he would have died.
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Jan 19, 2016 01:55am
We need to celebrate or recognize behaviors we want to promote in our society. If we make the boy hero, more boys would want to be that hero. Imagine, every man became that hero, what would happen to Pakistan. We do not want this to happen again in Pakistan.
What the boy went through is pain and sorrow, and our society failed the boy. We own the responsibility for boy losing his hand because he did not know any better. We want to prevent such things from happening. We can use the boy's example to teach youth what not to do.
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Jan 19, 2016 02:03am
The concern is, Its not just the mullas, its general masses too. There are millions of such kids and parents in Pakistan. The question is, how are we going to change the mentality of general masses?
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Jan 19, 2016 06:04am
This sickness that lurks in our society, who will cure it?
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Jan 19, 2016 06:09am
@Pak Patriot Are clerics paid by the government? What are standards to be a cleric?
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Jan 19, 2016 07:32am
Sorry state mis-guided teachers and students. Most imams in Pakistan them selves are uneducated. Who are these imams and what right do the have to call any one a blasphemer. Religion is between man and God .
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Jan 19, 2016 07:34am
There is more to this story. I simply do not believe that a boy could chop his own hand off. It could be that it was chopped off as punishment by others.
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Jan 19, 2016 09:31am
The controlling tactics of illiterate mullahs have destroyed the lives of many ignorant and gullible people. The government should lay down strict rules and guidelines to control such anti-Islamic beliefs and practices.
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Jan 19, 2016 09:55am
Instead of giving his life to the angry and pious mob, he gave his hand. This was the best choice he made.
Imagine how he and his family were treated otherwise. Keeping his surroundings in view, he made the best choice. Please don't blame the boy, blame his environment.
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Jan 19, 2016 10:23am
We are a sick society. The pressure of showing shock or taking the preacher to task, parents were in no position. Less they would also have been branded blasphemer.
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Jan 23, 2016 08:06am
As mush horror this thing is itself.
We should ask one question, how to correct this whole senario.
what should have masjid imam done diffently.
and as far as i think , even if the boy did raise hand with fully understanding the question, there should be no aggresion in this.
Imam should have called the boy And asked him about his opnion and corrected him like a knowlegabe person with facts. Instead i think imam's like this have no knowledge at all and to cover that up they do this sort of action.
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