They Woke Up In memory of the young souls we lost — June 25, 2025 They woke up. Not just from sleep, But from silence
From the lullabies of “be patient,”
And the bedtime stories of “one day things will change.”
They woke up hungry.
Hungry for justice.
Hungry for dignity.
Hungry for a country that didn’t treat them like problems waiting to be solved.
They didn’t carry guns.
They carried placards.
Voices raised, not fists.
Dreams louder than sirens.
Courage bolder than fear.
But even as the sun rose—
So did tear gas.
So did bullets.
So did names we never thought would be written on graves before graduation gowns.
June 2024.
A month meant for mid-year plans—
Turned into funeral programs.
Brothers turned hashtags.
Sons turned shadows.
Dreams turned into a national mourning.
And we were told: “They’ll forget.”
“Time will wash it away.”
“Let them move on.”
But we didn’t forget.
Because their names still echo in the streets.
Their last cries still live in our lungs.
Their absence still sits on dinner tables, unspoken but heavy.
They were Gen Z.
Bold. Curious. Unfiltered. Unafraid.
Raised on memes and megabytes—
But willing to bleed for a better future.
They woke up—
And shook the nation.
And even in death,
They refused to sleep.
So today—one year later—
We light candles not just in grief,
But in gratitude.
Thank you for waking us up.
For making us feel again.
For reminding us that freedom isn’t inherited—it’s claimed.
To the mothers still grieving,
To the fathers still broken,
To the siblings still wondering why—
We stand with you.
To the system that turned against its children—
History is still writing your name,
And it won’t be kind.
But to the fallen—
We speak your names with pride.
We carry your courage in our chests.
We walk where you marched.
We shout where you fell silent.
You woke up.
And now—we will never sleep again.