message of hope for justice in our world

[Paula(Ire)]

I've just finished reading a book by a war correspondant, and Irish man called Fergal Keane. Towards the end, he writes about being asked to give evidence at the trial of one Sylvestre Gacumbitsi, the man who incited thousands of Hutus to massacre thousands of Tutsis in the grounds and buildings of a church in Nyarubuye, Rawanda. Ten years after this genocide, Gacumbitsi was convicted, and sentenced to thrity years in prison.

I was interested in what Fergal Keane wrote about human rights and justice, in that it comes from a man who witnessed the unimaginable consequences of mans total brutality to man. 'Inhumanity' is too tame a word for what happened in Rawanda.

He writes:

"Had the genocide happened twenty years ago... there would certainly have been no prosecutions. But something did change after Rawanda and then Bosnia. The decade in which I came of age as a reporter of war became a time of mobilisation for human rights activists and believers in international law.

"After Iraq and with the terrible abandonment of Darfur, it is easy to think that international law is bunkum. The powerful or the most ruthless decide how things will work.

"I disagree. The infrastructure of international justice is small; the pressures not to investigate the powerful nations of the world for human rights abuse are great. But there is a community of conscience - organised, passionate but also practical - which will not go away.

"In matters of human rights there isn't the option of despair. You recognise the contradictions, the hypocrisies, the defeats, but you go on. There is no other civilised choice."

THAT LAST PARAGRAPH IS WELL WORTH READING TWICE.

There is no other civilized choice, and despair just isn't an option... I find that very helpful.

Love to you all,
Paula

[Paula(Ire)]

At another point in this book, he does write about the Jewish holocaust in some detail, so he is not disregarding it here - just assuming (rightly in my case) that we have already read that part. I thought it was important to make that point, so that you know the author did as well.

xxx Paula (Ire).

[Cherryl]

Paula,
What a powerful statement..Despair is so futile. We do have to keep the message "out there" and fight for justice and peace on the earth. We need to write letters to our national leaders and congressional representativeas and not let up. And, for those so inclined, we should pray.

"We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world;
that there may be justice and peace on the earth."
The Book of Common Prayer, Prayers of the People, Form III, page 387.

love,
Cherryl

[Paula(Ire)]

Dear Cherryl,

I agree with you on both counts - the pressure and the prayer. Or meditation. Or study. Whatever discipline is inclined to keep one centered on what is truth.

This sometimes means answering the hard questions. People often ask, "Where was God?". I also have to ask, "Where was I?"

Another fact for me is that I am very aware it is pure accident of birth that I'm NOT on the wrong side of justice. What is 'just' is something we learn, and understanding what is 'just' is not something I'd ever take for granted. I've made too many personal mistakes for that. For me, it's less about pointing a finger, and more about teaching - more about conscience awakening.

Letter writing & other forms of pressure are methods of teaching others, or awakening the consciences of others.

Prayer, meditation, or conscious study, are ways of instructing ourselves, and challenging our own conscience.

Enough people doing that - both the action part AND the personal part - and that will be a very powerful force for human rights; for equal respect for every human being on this earth.

Lots of love to you,
Paula (Ire).