“Guns of Darkness! Why would I not curse you?
You turned love-filled homes into broken debris” (Pashto Couplet from Book ‘I am Malala’)
“The Lord is close to the
brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18)
Blessed
are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
__________________________________________
We cannot wipe away your tears but we want to
let you know that we weep with you and feel your pain.
We are shocked and pained to know about the murder of 132
innocent students and nine staff members who were
killed on 16th December 2014 Tuesday
by Taliban terrorists who entered a school in Peshawar. We are horrified to
know that teachers were believed to be burnt alive while students were forced
to watch as Taliban gunmen stormed the school in Pakistan. We can only imagine what
trauma these innocent children might have gone through and what trauma you all
and your country is going through now.
Some say that the massacre was an act of revenge against the Pakistani army, which has been attempting to suppress the Pakistani Taliban in their North Waziristan tribal homelands over the past few months. We do not know why people resort to violence but we know that violence and hatred give rise to a vicious cycle.
Some others say that the
school
massacre is in revenge against the young Pakistani girl Malala who received the Nobel
Prize. Malala was also shot at by terrorists for her advocacy for girls' / children’s education in Pakistan. This young girl dared to say-:
“Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One
child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.
(Reference Book ‘I am Malala’, page 262)
As
Malala rightly opines
“Today we all know education is our basic
right. Islam too has given us this right. Islam says every girl and every boy should go to school. In Quran its written God wants us
to have knowledge. In Pakistan 5.1 million children don’t even go to primary
school even though in our constitution it says every child has that right….. ………..It’s not just
the Taliban killing children. Sometimes it's drone attacks sometimes it's war,
sometimes it's hunger. And sometimes it’s their own family…. Two girls my age
were murdered in Gilgit…for posting the video online showing themselves
dancing in the rain wearing traditional dress and head scarves. Apparently
their own step brother shot them”. (Reference
Book
‘I am Malala’ page 262)
Like many mothers in Pakistan, the cry of Irshadah Bibi, who lost her
12-year-old son in the 16th December 2014 massacre - ‘O God, why did you snatch away my son’ - echoes in our wounded soul. It is during this time of pain
All India Council of Christian
Women cries out in agony to the God of Life -:
Where are you God of life when our innocent children become
victims of violence?
Where are you God
when reason& human conscience get lost in the desert of violence &
guns of darkness?
We cry out like Jesus on the cross (Matthew
27:46) “My God! My God why have you forsaken me (them).” Oh God of life,
comfort the bereaved mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers in Pakistan who
lost their children. Let not violence
breed more violence and hatred.
In this
advent season as we are waiting to welcome the baby Jesus in our life anew, we are reminded of the culture of violence which existed in Jesus’ time.
The cry of the parents of these children murdered in Pakistan might
have been similar in agony and trauma to the cries of the mothers & fathers whose
innocent babies were slaughtered by Herod in Jesus’ time.
We look up to ‘El Roi’ (God who sees) who saw
the pain of Hagar. We look up to the God of Hope who gave perseverance power to
Mary, Mother of Jesus, to bear the pain of seeing her son, whom she nurtured in her
womb, being crucified. We beg you Merciful God of life to give such power of
perseverance to the bereaved parents and family members of the children who were killed in Pakistan and to heal their pain.
With tears of empathy we pray-:
El Roi (God who sees)
comforts the grieving family members of victims of violence.
God of Life we know
you feel our pain.
God of Love we know
you weep with us when we suffer.
God of Hope give us hope in midst of hopelessness.
God who gives us
resilience, infuse in us strength to persevere and transform the world, and to combat cultures of violence through acts of love, peace and justice, and to promote education that builds conscience & wisdom so that history does not repeat
such violence again.
Sisters
in Empathy,
Mrs Alpana Kumar
President, AICCW
Ms Moumita Biswas
Executive Secretary, AICCW
All India Council of Christian Women (AICCW)
Women’s Wing of National Council of Churches in India
_____________________________________________________
 |
Images of Solidarity & Candle light Vigil in
Kolkata (India).
Photographs from Solidarity rally participated by Bharat Bachao Sangathan, women activists and civilians in Kolkata |
