Something Must Be Done

This morning I was heart broken as I read the news on my laptop screen. Three men in Somalia raped a young girl, only 13 years old. If that was not enough, after she reported the rape, accusations of adultery were laid against her. This girl was taken to a stadium where 1000 spectators watched as dozens of men stoned her to death.

I sat in my comfortable room, having just eaten breakfast after waking up in a warm bed, and thought of this girl. I imagined what it must be like to have three grown men force themselves on her small body. I thought about how much courage it would have taken for her to report these men. She must have trusted the authorities to protect her and to bring justice to those who had so dishonoured her. I thought about how shocked she must have felt when, instead of protecting her, the authorities accused her of adultery. I imagined her terror as they dragged her into a stadium packed with 1000 people watching as dozens of men picked up stones and began to throw them at her. In my mind, I saw the stones breaking into her skin and body; her physical boundaries once again violated. I wondered at how she bore the physical and emotional pain. What was the last thing her eyes saw, her ears heard, her skin felt, before her short life ended so cruelly?

I cried for this girl. My heart ached at the thought of all that she had to endure. What did she learn about herself through her short life, her identity as a young woman warped out of shape by the lies screamed at her through the actions of those around her? ‘You are only worth what we say you are! You are not worth fighting for, protecting, nurturing, loving! You are a liar...’ the list goes on.

Then I began to think of the thousands of others who stories run along the same lines. Child prostitution and slavery are epidemic. So many women are not valued as daughters of God, as He created them to be.

God wept over this girl. God weeps over all the horrendous things we humans do to each other. And the injustices continue to be done…

I sat and felt overwhelming hopelessness. With so much evil in the world, what could I do to change it? I am one person, with my own struggles and identity issues, trying to find my own way. What is the solution to these crimes?

I do not know the answer to my questions. I feel so small and insignificant.

I am filled with a deep knowing that something must be done…

We can no longer shut our eyes to the injustice that happens in our world. The globe is getting smaller and smaller as transport becomes faster and more readily available. It is possible to get to any part of the earth in a relatively short amount of time. We live in an age of ‘fighting for our rights’ and materialism. We seek comfort for ourselves and remain blind to the needs of those around us.

I do not have answers, but I pray to God that I do not lose the fire that sparks up at stories like this.

In the meantime, I can pray. I can pray that God will convict the perpetrators of these crimes. I can pray that light will continue to shine on this evil until eventually enough people rise up and put a stop to it. How many more victims must there be before we stand up to this enemy? 

[From my diary, 2008]