Das Kreuz mit dem Eisregen und dem Eisenhut

Eisenhut

Meine Freundin, eine wunderbare, kreative und kluge Frau hatte ALS. Bei ihr war es eine seltenere Form, es begann mit der Sprache und mit den Händen. So wie der junge Mann im Video am Ende spricht, so war es bei ihr am Anfang schon. Sie konnte noch laufen, als sie schon längst von fast niemand mehr verstanden wurde, und schreiben konnte sie damals auch nicht mehr. Ich konnte mich, wenn auch mit Mühe, relativ lange noch mit ihr unterhalten, dabei ahnte ich mehr was sie sagen wollte, als ich es wörtlich verstand. Da sie schon älter war (Ende 50) und sich zuvor nie damit beschäftigt hatte, lernte sie auch nicht mehr richtig, mit dem PC umzugehen. Als sie nach ca. 6 Jahren, im Endstadium der Krankheit, einen Computer bekam und eine Brille, mit deren Hilfe sie hätte mit den Augen die Tastatur bedienen können, konnte sie den Kopf nicht mehr halten und war insgesamt zu sehr geschwächt. Ich habe das mal versucht mit dieser Brille, es war sehr sehr schwierig!
 Sie musste per Sonde ernährt werden und benötigte auch eine Heim- Beatmung. Wenn sie sehnsuchtsvoll versuchte, ein Stück aufgeweichten Marmorkuchen zu essen, war das eine Tortur, begleitet von furchtbaren Erstickungsanfällen. Natürlich musste sie gefüttert werden. Am schlimmsten war für sie, dass die Leute mit ihr sprachen, als wäre sie eine Idiotin. Weil sie eben nicht mehr verständlich reden konnte. Einmal hörte sie die Pflegerin, die von der  - übrigens wunderbaren und liebevollen -Tochter meiner Freundin eingestellt worden war, vor der Zimmertür zu dem Hund des Hauses sagen: "So, jetzt bringen wir der Oma ihr Freßchen" ... Das hatte die Frau sicher nicht so böse gemeint wie es klingt. Aber für meine Freundin war DAS eine eiskalte Dusche!
 Insofern ist es gut, dass mal aufmerksam gemacht wird auf die Krankheit. Und auch, dass Spenden fließen.
 Aber wohin gehen diese Spenden genau? Was wird erforscht? Wer setzt die Spenden wofür ein? Welche Methoden werden bei der Forschung angewendet? Das konnte ich noch nirgends lesen.
Wissen eigentlich alle, die sich mit Eiswasser begießen, was los ist oder ist es nur so super witzig? Cool???

Sie bekam mal Besuch von ehemaligen Tennispartnerinnen, meine Freundin. Da fragte eine der Frauen sie, wie sie das nur aushalten könne. An ihrer Stelle hätte schon längst ihrem Leben ein Ende gesetzt, meinte die Frau. So etwas zu erzählen dauerte sehr lange. Aber als ich verstanden hatte, was sie mir gesagt hat, konnte ich nicht widerstehen und fragte meinerseits: "Und was hast Du geantwortet?" Sie schwieg lang und suchte nach Lauten - Worte konnte man es nicht mehr nennen. Dann sagte sie, dass sie manches Mal, als sie noch laufen konnte, in ihrem Garten vor dem Eisenhut gestanden habe. "Was hat Dich gehindert?" fragte ich. Nach langem Mühen kam die Antwort: 
"Meine Moral". 
Das vergesse ich nie. Ich weiß, was sie sagen wollte. Es gibt immer einen Grund, das Leben hoch zu schätzen.
Wenn ihr einen Menschen trefft, der aus welchem Grund auch immer behindert ist, behandelt ihn als das was er ist: Als gleichwertigen Menschen! Das ist am wichtigsten, lasst ihn oder sie nicht im Eisregen stehen!
Und vergesst nicht, für denjenigen zu beten. Wegen der Moral, um Gottes willen!

Ein dringender Appell des Ordensmeisters der Predigerbrüder an alle Regierenden und die Mitgliedsstaaten der Vereinten Nationen

Excellencies,

None of us can feel untouched by what is happening in Iraq at the moment. What we see happening there is screaming out for solidarity and a coordinated response to stop the extreme violation of human rights against defenceless minority groups who are deprived of their basic human dignity. This is violating International Humanitarian Law and is a crime against humanity. Our own brothers and sisters are among these people who continuously keep us informed of their terrifying plight. The perpetrators are posing a serious threat not only to all the people of Iraq and of all its neighbouring countries but to all of us, as they represent a mind-set and approach to life that, if successful, will attract many more adherents who can imperil any state. While the conflict appears to be about religion, in fact it has nothing to do with religion as God is a God of life and not of death.

We are blessed to have a forum such as the United Nations where commitment exists to build a harmonious and peaceful world. However, many people in fragile situations have become cynical of its operation when their cries for help and protection fall on deaf ears. This current crisis can be an opportunity to break out of a mentality focused only on “our own national interests” to one focused on ensuring the preservation of life and human dignity of every single human being regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, or any other identity.

We commend the efforts of those countries that are responding to the security and humanitarian needs of the fleeing people of Iraq. However, this is still not enough to ensure their survival. When a state does not have the capacity to control brutal levels of violence that the world agrees needs to be stopped (as is the case now in Iraq), then the international community has an obligation to intervene to remove the capacity of the perpetrators of that violence.

In the light of this, we call upon you and all the Member States of the United Nations

• to be seized of this crisis in Iraq today and to ensure the immediate deployment of specialist military units from as many countries as possible that have the necessary capacity to stop the ethnic and sectarian cleansing taking place, to ensure the safe return of the refugees to their homes and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
• to stop the provision of any arms to the perpetrators and to sanction those who continue to provide arms to them.
• to respond immediately to defuse the humanitarian crisis currently escalating.
• to protect the persecuted members of minority groups and, according to International Humanitarian Law, to grant them asylum without delay.
• to put in place immediately conditions for dialogue and peace talks that include all sectors of the society.

We hope and pray that you and your governments will answer to this urgent call.

Fr Bruno Cadoré OP

Master of the Dominican Order (Order of Preachers)

(14 August 2014)

 Issued by Fr Mike Deeb OP, Permanent Delegate of the Dominican Order to the United Nations. Enquiries to mike.deeb@un.op.org

Leider habe ich  nicht die Zeit, diese Texte zu übersetzen - aber ich vertraue darauf, dass sie sich trotzdem verbreiten

Ein neuer Brief aus dem Irak

Dear all,

We continue to share our daily struggle with you, hoping that our cry will reach the world. We are like the blind man of Jericho (Mark 10: 46-52), who had nothing to express himself, but his voice, asking Jesus for mercy. Although some people ignored his voice, others listened, and helped him. We count on people, who will listen!

We entered the third week of displacement. Things are moving very slowly in terms of providing shelter, food, and necessities for the people. There are still people living in the streets. There are still no organized camps outside of schools that are used as refugee centres. An unfinished, three story building has also been used as a refugee centre. For privacy reasons, families have made rooms using UNHCR plastic sheets in these unfinished buildings. These places look like stables. We all wonder, is there any end in sight? We appreciate all efforts that have been made to provide aid to the displaced people. However, please note, that providing food and shelter is not the only essential thing we need. Our case is much bigger. We are speaking about two minorities (Christian and Yezedians), who lost their land, their homes, their belongings, their jobs, their money, some have been separated from their families and loved ones, and all are persecuted because of their religion.

Our church leaders are doing their best to solve the issue. They have been meeting with political leaders, with the President of Iraq and Kurdistan, but initiatives and actions of these political leaders are really slow and modest. Actually, all political meetings have led to nothing. Until now, there has been no decision made about the current situation of the displaced minorities. For this reason, trust in the political leaders has diminished, if it exists, at all. People cannot tolerate it anymore. It is too heavy of a burden. Yesterday, a young man expressed that he would rather die than live, without dignity. People feel that their dignity has been stripped from them. We are being persecuted because of our religion. None of us ever thought we would live in refugee camps because of that.

It is hard to believe that this is happening in the 21^st century. We wonder what is exactly happening. Is it another plan or agreement to subdivide Iraq? If this is true, by whom and why? Why are the events of dividing the Middle East, that happened in 1916, being repeated now? At that time it was a political issue and innocent people paid for it. It is apparent that there are sinfully, cunning people dividing Iraq, now. In 1916, we lost seven of our sisters, many Christians died, and more were scattered. Is it just circumstance we face this division again, or is it deliberate?

However, the struggle is not only in the camps, with the displaced people. What has happened in our Christian towns that have been evacuated is even worse. The IS forced out of their homes those who did not leave their towns up to the night of August 6^th. Yesterday, seventy-two people were driven out of Karakosh. However, not all of them arrived; those who arrived last night were in miserable condition. They had to cross Al-Khazi river (a tributary to the Great Zab) on foot because the bridge had been destroyed. There are still quite few on the side of the riverbank. We do not know when they will make it to Erbil. It depends on the situation and negotiations between the Peshmerga and the IS. There are some people who went to fetch the elderly and the unable to walk. One of our sisters went to bring her parents, and told her story. Another woman, said that she was separated from her husband and children, and she knows nothing about them; they are probably among the others who are on the other bank, or they might be among the hostages taken by the IS. Also, a tree-year old daughter was taken from her mother’s lap, and she also knows nothing about her. We do not know why the IS are sending people out of Karakosh, but we have been hearing from those who just arrived, that IS are bringing barrels into Karakosh and the contents are unknown.

In addition, we know of four Christian families who are stuck in Sinjar for over three weeks; they are probably running out of food and water. If they do not get help, they will die there. At the present, there is no contact with them, and there is no way to negotiate with the IS. 

As for our community, we know that our convent in Tel Kaif is being used as an IS headquarter. Also, we know that they had entered our convent in Karakosh. Those that recently arrived have stated that all the holy pictures, icons, and statutes are being destroyed. Crosses have been taken off the top of churches and they have been replaced with the IS flags. That is not only in Karakosh and Tel Kaif.  In Baqofa, one of our sisters heard the situation was calm, so she went back with few people, to get her medicine. She found the convent had been searched; everything was open and strewn across the rooms.  The minute they entered the convent, three bombs hit the town.  They left immediately.

Apart from what is happening to the Christians, yesterday, Friday the 22^nd, a Shiite suicide bomber and gunmen attacked Sunni mosque of Abou Mussab in village under Iraqi government control in Diyala province leaving 68 dead. It is heartbreaking to hear about people get killed while praying. In terms of Media and news release, this massacre overshadowed what is happening to the Christians in Nineveh Plain. We are afraid that our struggle will become only our own affairs, and it will not have impact on the world anymore.

At last, we have to say that people are losing their patience. They miss everything in their hometowns: churches, church bells, streets, and neighborhood. It is heartbreaking for them to hear that their homes have been robbed. Although they love their towns, most people are now thinking of leaving the country so they can live in dignity and have future for their children. It is heard to have hope in Iraq, or to trust the leadership of the country.     

Please, keep us in your prayers.

Sister Maria Hanna OP

Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena-Iraq

P.S. Please share the letter with other people. Let the world hear the cry of the poor and the innocent.

- Siehe hier 

Gebetskette für den Irak

Auf dem Blog der Dominikanerinnen von Bethanien wird gerade eine Gebetskette für den Irak organisiert. Man kann sich noch beteiligen.

Ein Brief aus dem Irak

Die Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena im Irak haben diesen verzweifelten Brief an die Ordenskurie geschickt, die ihn auf ihrer Internetseite op.org veröffentlicht hat. Weil er dort kaum gesehen wird, stelle ich ihn hier ein. 

Lesenswertes zum Thema auch hier und hier

Dear Sisters, Brothers and Friends,

You might be surprised that we are writing this letter so soon since you received the last one. But events are happening so quickly here shocking everybody because of its brutality and cruelty. On the night of the Feast of Transfiguration shooting started after mid-night, and continued until noon of the next day. On the morning of the sixth of June many shells fell on Karakosh. Between 8:30 and 9:00 a shell fell on a house and it killed two boys (nine and five years old) who were playing in the garden; and it also killed a 37 year-old woman who was trying to pull water from the pipes. This caused many people to leave the town for their lives. On the afternoon almost all people who remained went out for the funeral of the victims at the church. Although atmosphere of the funeral was sad and calm, it was obvious that people were scared of something would happen.

On the seventh of August we gradually started to understand that the Peshmerga, who were supposed to protect Karakosh, were pulling out, leaving the town unprotected. Everybody was shocked because Kurdish government promised to defend Karakosh, and the other Christian towns. At the same time, ISIS started to get closer to Karakosh and the residents stared to leave the town. As a community, in no time we were to prepare to leave; we took the least with us unaware of what to take and unable to comprehend what was really happening. There were thirty sisters left Karakosh in three cars, and two families accompanied us, as they had no place to go. Three Franciscan sisters came with us, too. When we left the convent, we were surprised to see a big number of people leaving the town on foot. Moreover, it was strange to see only very few guards at the checkpoint when we were leaving the town.

We were not alone on this, other towns shared the same horror. Christians from fifteen villages among them Karamles, Bartela, Bashiqa, Telkaif, Baqofa, Batnaya, Telusquf were forced to leave their homes because ISIS was advancing. Our sisters also left their convents in these towns. In Telkaif, while a young man (Lugin) with a young priest were trying to help a lady who was not able to leave on her own, he was shot and killed by the ISIS. Our exodus started at 11:30 pm, and before that we decided to pray and have the Holy Communion so that if the ISIS entered the house, it will not be defiled. But on the last minute, we decided to leave one piece in the tabernacle praying it will protect the house and the town.

When we arrived to the intersession of Mosul-Erbil, we were shocked to see a huge mess of cars driving very chaotically to Erbil. The view was beyond describing, as words cannot fully capture it. Men, pregnant women, children, handicaps and elderly were moving toward Erbil. There were Christians, Muslims Shiites, Yezeds and Shabak; some people were on foot, some were riding trunks of pick-up, lorry trunks, and motorcycles. There are three checkpoints to arrive in Erbil. It took us five hours, from mid-night to five o’clock, to pass the first one; we reached the second one at seven o’clock and the third one at eight thirty. We arrived the convent at 9:30 exhausted emotionally, physically and mentally. What we saw was unbearable; people were suffering for no reason but because of their sect, religion and trace. We felt like we were in a nightmare wishing that someone would waken us up or that when the sun comes out it will be all over. But it was not the case, we were actually living a hard reality.

It usually takes an hour and 15 minutes to drive from Karakosh to Erbil, but the day before yesterday, it took us 10 hours. It was very hot that night, and because it was very crowed many cars were taking side routes. This caused Upon arriving in Erbil, we saw a big number of people from doomed towns that we mentioned above; there were a lot of people in the streets in the heat of summer sun, with temperature rising over 45 degrees waiting to find a place to stay. Many family welcomed people in their homes and churches but still so many people are staying in parks even in streets and under every tree for shading. These people are way more than Erbil can house, neither can the church meet their needs.

We also learned that there were about a hundred people left in Karakosh who decided not to leave and we learned from them that the ISIS entered and took some houses as a center for them. They also walked in the street saying Muslim prayer “Allahu Akbar”.   Since there was no room for all sisters who came from Karakosh and Bartela to stay in the convent, about half of us are staying in the Chaldean Seminary for which we are really grateful. At the same time, many families preferred to stay in the garden of the convent rather then staying in the street so we provided tents for them. Our sisters from other doomed towns also left their convents and headed to other Kurdish towns. We cannot say what will happen; how long people will stay like this or what the ISIS will do to our towns or if we will ever be able to get back home. Everything is so unclear. The situation is extremely difficult. For the time being people have some money to support themselves, but no one knows how long they will endure with the little they have.

As for the safety, Erbil is a Kurdish city and most refugees are staying in Ankawa that is a Christian suburb and protected by Peshmerga. It is hard for people to believe that even this city is safe that’s why they are thinking more and more to leave the whole country.  You may ask what the world can do for us. We would say, stop the blood, stop the oppression, and stop violence. We are human beings here; stop making us target for your weapon. The world needs to stand as one to protect minority against the evil and injustice. People want to live normal life in peace and dignity. Please help us out to stop the evil.

Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena –Iraq -