Category Archives: Peace
Blind No More
I saw this the other day on YouTube.
Maybe this is hype, I don’t know. I only hope they will act on this when one of them becomes president. Pope John Paul II once said, “Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.” Maybe just maybe we will try to stop fighting each other and decide to live with each other.
Voices from Darfur
I had the opportunity today to go and listen to a couple of refugees from the Darfur genocide. There names were Ibrahim Mousa Adam and Daoud Hari.
Ibrahim grew up in the village of Jadara in Northern Darfur where he worked as a farmer and volunteered as a teacher. In July of 2003, Ibrahim’s village was attacked by the Sudanese Army and the Janjaweed. 80 people were murdered that day. 20 of those 80 people where family members of Ibrahim. Over 100 of his relatives now live in six different refugee and internally displaced persons camps in Darfur and Chad. He would like to someday have a job that allows him to move back to Jadara and help rebuild Darfur. He told stories of the atrocities that are happening today.
Daoud Hari comes from Musbat, a village in the northern part of Darfur, where he worked with his family raising sheep and camels. Daoud fled his village in Darfur after months of bombings by the Sudanese government. When Daoud reached a refugee camp in neighboring Chad, he risked his life by re-entering Darfur to translate for the New York Times, BBC, and National Geographic and aid workers. Last summer, Daoud was arrested on false espionage charges with Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek and subsequently tortured. He spent one month and ten days in prison. His attitude was such that he expected to die every day. He was released only when Mexico Governor Bill Richardson negotiated their release. The United States soon after granted Daoud refugee status. He has recently testified before Congress three times.
Both Ibrahim and Daoud spoke about the many injustices happening each and every day in Darfur. They spoke of how help was needed today not tomorrow on behalf of the estimated 2 million displaced refugees of Darfur. 3.5 million rely on international aid to survive every day. To date over 5,000 villages have been bombed and burned down, over 400,000 Darfuris have been murdered.
I listened in amazement and wonder at their courage and passion. The horror they have experienced and seen is far more than humanity should bear. But Ibrahim and Daoud don’t back down. They fight back not with more killing and atrocities. The fight back with the stories that will change the future of an oppressed people. Their ammunition is not bullets but stories of real people.
So the war continues. The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed fight with ammunition and bombs and the Darfuris fight back with stories of atrocities.
The question is how can we make a difference? You can click on the Save Darfur link. You can write, email the President of the United States or UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
He also said,
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.“
So what is your voice going to say about the injustices happening in the world? I would love to hear your voice.
Pictures of the Kingdom
Snap! The sound of the camera invades the environment of the picture I have just taken. I love to take and look at pictures. Moments in time captured and treasured. A picture to be looked at over and over again so I can relive that special moment.
As I think about the kingdom of God, words seem very inadequate for me. So, I must rely on the pictures of life to help me grasp what this elusive kingdom of God is all about.
The first picture is of Quinton. Quinton is a young boy in elementary school. He lives on 51st Street in Tacoma, Washington. He has two sisters. His father is in construction. His mother stays at home. He is much like any little boy—full of energy, always on a great adventure and good at Madden Football. He has a mohawk (it was blue at one time). He dresses in hand-me-downs. As my youth group began to paint Quinton’s neighbor’s house, he was always there to help. The minute we would drive up, Quinton comes running out of his house with expectations of helping us. As the days pass, Quinton and I begin to develop a friendship. We talk about what fun things he did the night before, school and family, all the while expletives rolling off the tongue of his mother. It dawned on me one day, the kingdom of Heaven was being brought near to Quinton and Quinton was eagerly receiving it. He was experiencing a place of peace through the camaraderie of teenagers and adults painting a house. This snapshot of the kingdom of Heaven provides images of love, acceptance and peace.
Another picture came unexpectedly. The location was a community fair. This was not a ordinary community fair. A blowup jumping toy and face painting were the only “fun” activities for kids. The main portion of the fair was designed to help a community of people who had been displaced learn about the resources that were available to them. As each displaced mother, father, child and grandmother entered into the fair, they were greeted with love and respect. As they were handed a bag full of school supplies, a list of what schools were actually open, the anxiety of being displaced began to slowly be replaced by love and support. Each table they encountered brought new information about health clinics, job opportunities, educational services and emergency services. As the stories of surviving a hurricane and the worst national disaster in American history were told and retold, a strange thing began to occur—the sounds of laughter and hope began to fill the air. As we conversed with individuals and families, listening to the stories of survival and hope, an overwhelming awareness of the kingdom of Heaven began to settle in and make itself at home. What we thought would be a day that we would bring the kingdom of Heaven to people turned out that they were bringing the kingdom of Heaven to us. In this particular snapshot the kingdom of Heaven was full of hope, laughter, restoration and love.
These are just two of the snapshots God has graciously allowed us to participate in. These two snapshots have opened the eyes of our faith to see the kingdom of Heaven in the pictures of life. Snap!
