Jul 31, 2009

Why I was at a candle light vigil for Iranians

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7HpSuyaOwY



I was there last night because, I am convinced that if everyone in the world would stand for the oppressed then no power can resist that pressure. (If you care to find me, I am at the end at 2:01 - 2:04.)

Today it is the Iranians, yesterday - the Rwandans, Albanians in Kosovo, people of Sierra Leone, decades back the Salvadorans, the Jews, and the list goes on. Who will it be tomorrow?

In the video, the clothes are mostly black for those mourning the loss of their loved ones or green for the political party that opposes the current regime. So, there's just a couple of hundred folks tops. Why is there little show of solidarity for the Iranian people from others? There was more turnout for Michael Jackson.

I think people need to go beyond the stances of their governments and see their brothers and sisters even in the so-called rogue states. And it is being done by groups like Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. What bothers me is that I have heard nothing from my Church about this. People are dying and being tortured abroad and there's not a word about how to address that situation. From a dogmatic standpoint, these Iranians even if they're Muslims and secularists are related to, if not part of the People of God. Review the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church "Lumen Gentium" and "Gaudium et Spes".

We'll soon be hearing less and less from Iran because, the regime is tightening up the information leakage. It does not mean that things are stabilizing. Even here, there is caution if not fear. I took pictures and was approached by someone to have his picture deleted because, he was going back to Iran sometime later.

At the end, people are formed by those who love them and those who refuse to love them. The Iranians need us now.

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