In Ireland, a candle placed in the window signalled to travelling priests that the home was a safe haven for Catholics, who were persecuted in Britain from 1534 to the 1800s. The phrase became a symbol for hope, an incentive to keep going.

As people search alternate news sources to make sense of the seismic changes that threaten to affect everyday lives, some sharing guidelines to survive a nuclear attack, others identifying do-it-yourself (DIY) methods to generate electricity, they feel like sitting ducks in the crossfire of petulant, warring oligarchs.

“Karain tau kya karain [If we act, what could we do?]” is on everyone’s minds. Massive street protests, parliamentary debates, impassioned UN Security Council speeches, International Court of Justice rulings — all seem to fall on deaf ears.

And then we see images of Palestinian youths smiling as they are taken to the gallows, after the Israeli parliament voted last month for the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners. Those smiles carry the real power — the power of the undefeated.

Even in times of despair, the flame of hope is kept alive by those who have the conviction to take a stand

Dotted throughout history’s many revolutionary movements are examples of individuals who found the courage to stand up alone for their convictions. A noblewoman Perpetua and her slave Felicity were thrown into the Roman arena with wild animals because they refused to renounce their Christian faith. The Abyssinian, Sumayyah bint Khayyat, considered the first martyr of Islam, was killed by Abu Jahl after refusing to renounce her belief in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Some stand to defend others. In the 1980s, an unknown man stood defiantly with two shopping bags, bringing a column of tanks to a halt near Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Aitzaz Hasan, a 15-year-old Pakistani student, gave his life to save hundreds of students by tackling a suicide bomber before he could enter the school. During Partition riots, many Hindus and Sikhs saved Muslims, and Muslims saved Hindus and Sikhs.

Some choose to devote their lives to specific causes. The British politician William Wilberforce led a campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years, until the passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807. Abdus Sattar Edhi, from the age of 20 until his death in 2016, devoted his life to sheltering the homeless and the abandoned, and established the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network.

Naeem Sadiq takes up the cause of underpaid workers. Journalist Julian Assange, at great personal cost, established Wikileaks to host data from whistleblowers. The smallest act can have an impact, especially when amplified by social media. Japanese activist Furusawa Yusuke has held daily solo demonstrations in Tokyo in solidarity with Palestine for over three years.

While action is an obvious way of registering concerns, refusal can be equally powerful. Congolese customs worker Floribèrt Bwana Chui became a hero after he was assassinated for refusing rancid rice from Rwanda into the country. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement included the surrender of British titles, resignations from government posts, refusal to pay taxes and boycotts of British goods.

The boycott of products with links to Israel is an opportunity for ordinary people to register their protest. Conscientious objectors and prisoners of conscience faced imprisonment, such as Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela and the many political prisoners in Pakistani jails.

Standing by your convictions in public is difficult. Artists and poets find creative ways. The graffiti artist Banksy is known for his guerrilla art, from painting “We’re bored of fish” in London Zoo’s penguin enclosure, to painting ladders on the Palestinian West Bank wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall. Mursaleen Khan Sherwani, owner of a perfume stall in Karachi which was reportedly burnt down seven times when he refused to pay protection money, responded with “Perfume Chowk” graffiti all over the city.

The poet Habib Jalib recited poetry in public spaces, rejecting martial law. William Shakespeare challenged conventions to change English literature forever. The American clergyman A.J. Muste held a candle and stood outside the White House every night during the Vietnam War. In response to a reporter’s question, Muste said, “Oh I don’t do this to change the country. I do this so the country won’t change me.”

Durriya Kazi is a Karachi-based artist.

She may be reached at durriyakazi1918@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 26th, 2026