Open My Eyes
A few years ago, youth ministry coordinators from the USA traveled to Rwanda with Catholic Relief Services. I heard some of their stories upon their return home. The story that stayed with me the most was about the church in Rwanda where the Tutsi locals had gone for safety, only to be attacked in the church and killed. The community chose to leave the bodies where they were — on the altar, down the aisles, out in the courtyard and cemetery. My friend told me of touring the church and seeing the bodies of dead Rwandans in positions of prayer, protection of their children, and in the process of trying to run away. I have carried that image with me. When I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda, I had more images of the genocide. It is profoundly disturbing. How could it happen?
I found some answers to that question when I read the book We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda (Peter Gourevitch, Picador, 1998). The book outlined not only what led up to the genocide (starting with European colonization) but also included what happened after the genocide. One of the key themes of the book is how the international community, including the U.S., turned a blind eye to the situation, in particular, how the United Nations (and most of its member countries) refused to use the word "genocide" to describe the situation, because if they did, they would be required by the Geneva Convention to intervene. It showed how most countries and news media ignored the deaths of millions of people.
As I was finishing the book a few weeks ago, thousands of people were gathered in our nation's capital to bring attention to the Darfur region of Sudan, where over 200,000 people have already died in a genocide and over a million have fled their homes. George Clooney and his dad were at the rally and were appearing on TV shows like the Today Show to help raise awareness. Even the TV show ER spent two weeks chronicling the efforts of the fictionalized Drs. Carter and Bratt in the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps of Darfur.
But outside of these efforts, the casual news watcher or reader would be hard pressed to know what is happening in Darfur. When Paris' disenfranchised youth were burning cars in the streets, it was shown every night for weeks. I wonder why the slaughter and rape of Africans doesn't deserve at least a minute or two of our day.
I don't have any easy answers to what we should do, individually or as a country, about the situation in Darfur. I only know that each person's death is a tragedy that greatly affects all those left living. Genocide, civil war, and famine are a reality for millions of people in a distant land. As Christians we cannot ignore this tragedy. If you recall the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37), Jesus told it after someone asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus' response, told in a parable of today, is that the Sudanese are our neighbor, and it is our responsibility to reach into their ditch and help. There are ways that we can help — through prayer, money, and advocacy. The links below can be a starting place. But perhaps the biggest change that we all need to make is to open ourselves to this tragedy and see it through God's eyes. Jesse Manibusan's song, Open My Eyes, is my prayer today. Perhaps it is yours as well.
Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face (in the faces of the Sudanese).
Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see.
Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear your voice (in the voices of those in need).
Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear.
Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love like you.
Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love (people who I will never meet).
And the first shall be last,
and our eyes are opened,
and we'll hear like never before.
And we'll speak in new ways,
and we'll see God's face
in places we've never known.
Links to get us informed and involved:
Spirit Compass reflections are developed in partnership
with the Center for Ministry Development.