By Fr.
Ali C Nnaemeka, O.M.I.
FR. ALI IS A MISSIONARY OBLATE WORKING IN
CANADA. UNTIL RECENTLY, HE WAS A PASTOR IN HIS COUNTRY OF NIGERIA. IN THIS
ARTICLE, FR ALI REFLECTS ON THE URGENCY FOR MORE STRONG MORAL VOICES AND ACTIONS TO HELP
VICTIMS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA MASSACRES.
Charlie
Hebdo: They were journalists who stood for free
speech. May their souls rest in Eternal Peace. May our Lord bless and comfort
their families during this time of grief.
Join
in prayer for the safe return of the Nigerian schoolgirls who
were kidnapped from their school, separated from their families. We pray for
their safety, swift rescue and return to their homes. To the grieving parents
and families, comfort them in their distress and hear our prayers for their
beloved daughters
The
terrible and dreadful terrorist attack of last week that killed founder of Charlie
Hebdo and 11 others is the most
notorious of its kind this year. It was an incident that future generations should
never forget.
However,
the situation provokes an important question: Did the perpetrators of the
dastardly act succeed in silencing Charlie
Hebdo? The answer is obvious, because in killing those journalists, the
terrorists ended up resurrecting thousands of other ‘Charleys’. And since their
death, « Je suis Charlie »
has become the new slogan of all those who believe in freedom of expression.
From Paris
to Montréal, from Élysée to the White House, from the Imam of Paris to the
Pope, etc. Condemnations poured in over the contemptible act by the terrorists.
In 2014, I,
the northern
Nigerian Charleys, died more
than 3500 times. More than 250 of my young girls were kidnapped, without the
world organising an international summit on terrorism. Another innumerable ‘Charlies’ were been massacred by the members of Boko Haram at
Baga in Northern Nigeria.
While I am
being battered and burned, my Nigerian president and his political opponents
are roaming the country, well armed, in 2015 electoral campaigns.
While I am dying, all the
Nigerian politicians’ are interested in is going about promising Nigerians fake
roads to construct, an utopic peace to create, still-non-realisable security
they would provide, invisible schools to be constructed, etc.
Even my compatriots and the
religious leaders are not concerned with my situation. What matters most for
them is which presidential candidate is from their tribe, or is a member of
their religious group.
Yet, Je suis aussi Charlie!
I am really
Charley! How would I not be Charley when I see that African presidents, just
like their fellow western presidents, have finally realised that terrorism is
an evil to be eliminated?
The presence
of six African Presidents in Paris during the solidarity rally offers me some
hope that maybe these leaders can now do more to help stop massacres in
Nigeria.
I am Charley
and I die every day in Northern Nigeria and even if no one speaks about it, I
will always remain Charlie. Je suis
aussi Charlie!
Fr. Ali
C Nnaemeka, O.M.I
Mani-Utenam,
(Québec)
Canada
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