[amc] FW: a note from the pastor
- From: "Garland Robertson" <lauralarue@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "austin mennonite church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "amc-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <amc-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:46:39 -0500
Garland's note received 7/22/2010....
--- Garland Robertson
--- lauralarue@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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> [Original Message]
> From: laura and garland <lauralarue@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Garland Robertson <lauralarue@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 7/22/2010 11:58:03 AM
> Subject: a note from the pastor
>
> A tribute to victims of a hotel fire Jul 25 10
>
> At the beginning of the week we visited the offices of the Kurdish Human
Rights Watch directed by Venus, a passionate woman, and founded in
Washington DC by a sympathizer of the Kurdish people. While here she spoke
about a memorial tribute planned by local non-governmental organizations
that would occur later in the day.
>
> Several days earlier while I was still in Istanbul someone had mentioned
to me the news of a fire that had destroyed a hotel in downtown
Suleimaniya, the city in which the CPT residence and office in northern
Iraq are located. At that time I was informed that 40 persons had perished
in the attack directed toward three Americans who were staying in the
hotel. After arriving here last Sunday I learned that the CPT team
believed only 25 persons had been killed in an accidental fire ignited by
faulty electrical wiring.
>
> I completed the fifteen-minute walk from the CPT house to the hotel and
arrived after about 35 persons had already gathered. Most of those present
had a bouquet ranging from a single flower to ornate sprays encircling a
picture of a relative or friend who had perished in the fire. Here I
learned that 55 persons had been killed in the accident. A similar
incident had occurred in the hotel a year earlier and apparently the hazard
had not been properly repaired. I also learned that Cambodians,
Vietnamese, South Africans, and Canadians had been among the victims. No
Americans were harmed in the fire.
>
> Persons from the community and the employees of a nearby
telecommunications company--some of whose technical staff had died in the
fire--continued to arrive until over one hundred people were present. The
spokesperson addressed those attending the service and a row of candles was
lit. Then the dozens of persons who had brought flowers were invited to
being them forward and place them on the steps of the hotel. Media
personnel and reporters and photographers eagerly positioned themselves to
document the compassion and sympathy expressed by those attending the
event. Afterward several other persons spoke briefly and at the close of
the ceremony some individuals who may have been family or friends of those
who perished in the fire were interviewed. It was a solemn occasion--a
graphic portrayal of a desire to make a statement of empathy for the
families and friends of those who had lost a cherished life in this
accident.
>
> The people of the Kurdish north have suffered similar heartaches during
their past. They have been continually encroached upon both by their
neighbors and by nations seeking to obtain a power advantage for the
purpose of profiting from the resources located in this region. Maybe
because they have known this same degree of pain they were prompted to
gather for this memorial to persons, most of whom they did not even know.
>
> All of us have experienced or at least known about this kind of tragedy.
It seems to be a predictable part of the human experience. It is one thing
to experience this suffering and loss. It is yet another thing to remember
how it feels so that when in a position to choose a way into the future,
behaviors that will result in this same degree of pain for others will be
rejected because compassion and sympathy shall still have been preserved.
>
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Austin Mennonite Church, (512) 926-3121 www.mennochurch.org
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