Geography blended with time equals destiny, wrote Joseph Brodsky. As peoples fates diverge, so disperses collective memory, and the conciousness of a nation is united only in separate fractions of the same trauma. Let us consider the destiny of our people as they find themselves in unfamiliar geographies -- even for those who stay, home is changed by the flight of those around them -- and time, which has been so cruelly and abruptly decisive, stretches on unfathomably. -- bbc/news/world-middle-east-30595491 -- wsj/articles/iraqi-refugees-who-fled-islamic-state-face-somber-christmas-in-lebanon-1419380695 -- nytimes/2014/12/25/world/middleeast/iraq-christians-ousted-by-isis-celebrate-christmas.html?smid=tw-share The children “don’t really understand what is happening in their villages,”said Sabrina Yousef, one of the mothers. Miriam’s mother said: “It’s very hard. We are always crying. We miss Qaraqosh and want to go home.” For the parents, added to their grief is the burden of memories of what Christmases used to be like. -- newsweek/baghdads-christians-gather-defiantly-christmas-eve-mass-294712 “They live in misery… yet we still exchange blessings and congratulations of Christmas and the New Year, said Fadi Rafaat, 27, an assistant to the priest. We celebrate the happiness of Christmas, but deep inside we carry the sadness of Iraq. Christianity is the religion of peace and we pray for these people to return to their homes. We pray for all evil to vanish,” he said. #DemandForAction #SafeHavenNow
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 00:01:43 +0000