I need a little moment of enlightenment, an epiphany. Because as we all know, life isn't fair nor was it ever meant to be. But it just boggles my mind the way history can repeat itself and the stupidity of hatred, revenge, and the lengths people will tread just to make a point.
I wanted write a post about the glorious appearance the Virgin Mary has made all over Egypt and to wish everyone a late, but very merry Christmas and remind those that the birth of our Lord is a grandeur of blessings that is not to be reckoned with. However, like clockwork, there has been another shooting at a church in Egypt on our Orthodox Christmas Eve, January 6th, 2010.
While Copts all around the world dressed in their finest apparel and singing praises during the evening Christmas Eve liturgy, the grapevine started spreading the word of the massacre outside a church in Nag Hammadi, a town in Upper Egypt forty miles (65 km) north of Luxor. A drive-by shooting occured shortly before midnight as the congregation exit the church. The motive for this shooting is thought be a revenge tactic for the allege rape of a twelve-year old Muslim girl by a Christian man, even though after a physical examination reported that the girl's hymen is perfectly intact. This comes as an addition to the five-day riot in November when news of the alleged raped spread.
It has been report that six Copts have been killed as well as one Muslim due to the open fire of machine guns used in the drive-by. Two of these martyrs include Abanoub Karim, on the left, and Paula Atef, on the right. Different newspapers have reported various numbers of those wounded from seven, fifteen, the highest reported being twenty-one. Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported that the shooters traveled to other areas afterwards and killed two more. In totally, the six victims at the church were mostly young men in their early twenties. Others include a fourteen year old boy and a man and his fiance.
Bishop Kirollos of the Diocese of Nag Hammadi told Middle East Christian Association (MECA) that he was the one intended to be assassinated. He also told UK's
Guardian that "it's all religious now. This is a religious war, about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt."
Needless to say, when I heard about the attacks, I was perturbed. Actually, I was more than that. I was angry. Where is our justice? Where is our vindication of peace and sense of safety? And most importantly, when will the Egyptian society finally get off their Islamic high horse and treat their Christian neighbors, those who were here long before they invaded, our God-given human rights?
Christians have rioted in Egypt and Diaspora Copts have protested and held vigils on their behalf. Now it's time for all of us, Coptic or not, Christian or not, to lend our hand to the struggle of righting an injustice.
On Thursday, January 21st, there will be a peaceful protest held in front of the main gates of the White House at 11am. Buses from St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Fairfax, VA as well as St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Maryland will be leaving their prospective churches to DC at 10am. Alternative means of transportation, and the easiest in my opinion, is to hop on the Orange Line to McPhearson Square (Blue Line if you live in Springfield, VA or Largo, MD) and walk the couple blocks to the White House. I hope to see you all there.
For those who cannot make the protest due to work, school, or transportation issues, you can still help out. The Coptic Assembly of America has composed a letter to send to President Obama pleading with him to address the injustice in Egypt. You can find this letter here:
http://capwiz.com/copticassembly/issues/alert/?alertid=14549671 or at the Coptic Assembly's homepage:
http://www.copticassembly.com/index.phpLet's all keep the victims, their families, and the success of this week's protest in our prayers.
