Monday evening, Oct 21 ~ Mary Beth Byrne
Today concluded with wonderful but heartbreaking sharing from Rami Elhanan and George Sa’adeh, calling themselves brothers, though Rami is Jewish Israeli and George is Palestinian. Rami lost his beautiful daughter Smadar to a suicide bomber when she was 14. He struggled for a year trying to deal with his anger, his grief and his pain. Then he met Yitzhak and others who had experienced the loss of their children. The first time he met Palestinians who had also lost a child, they hugged and cried out of their common human pain. They agreed that they must work for peace by listening to each other and acknowledging that they are both human beings dealing with pain. “The price of anger leads nowhere.”
George’s family has lived on this land for hundreds of years. He was educated in the US and came back to work as an engineer and teacher. He witnessed the wars of 1967, 1973, and the intifadas of 1987 and 2000. As his family was going grocery shopping, soldiers opened fire, killing his daughter, Christine, and injuring himself, his wife, and his other daughter Marianne. Like Rami, he, too, was suffering from pain and anger. He was able to say that he forgave the shooters, but he could not forget what happened.
Both these men are now part of the Parents’ Circle/Bereaved Families organization, (www.theparentscircle.org) organized in 1995. Its 600 members are committed to speaking out and educating about the conflict as they witness for peace. They provide hope by wedging a small crack in the wall~~through which a little light can shine. This light provides hope and a chance for changes.
“Two things will never be stopped by a wall: suicide bombers and peacemakers.”
Their strong message is to be pro-peace and pro-justice. We must listen to each other as equal human beings as we find ways to live together peacefully. Their stories of reconciliation were refreshing after seeing so much division earlier in the day.
What a beautiful message of reconciliation, with a commitment to take action for change.