From the Bishop of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church and the Chairperson of the Local Ministers Fraternal.
From the Bishop of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church and the Chairperson of the Local Ministers Fraternal.
"We are deeply saddened by the terrible events of the past week. Indeed the City of Saints seemed to have lost its peace and unity. The peace and unity we had were built on a solid foundation of LOVE.
The love that the citizens of Grahamstown had for each other made it possible for them to co-exist. That kind of love makes people respect each other greatly.
I will always wonder about what it was that was able to force our peace and unity almost to its knees? I suspect that we might never find any positive response to that question. During the past week, we saw people turning against each other, we witnessed people shifting from loving to hate.
That hurt many people we used to call our friends and brothers. Yes, indeed, most of these business people we fondly called “my friend”. We called them such because to most they were much closer than even a closest relative.
I will continue to wonder what it was that was so powerful as to even undermine such a bond!
Economic exclusion maybe.
Indeed that is also a possibility. It also could be anger and anxiety . People have spread false and harmful rumours, because they were frightened by recent murders.
One false rumour was that there was a serial killer in town. Another was that body parts had been removed from the bodies. The other false rumour was that there was somehow a link between "my friend" and the murders.
The police have said clearly that all these things are just rumours and are not based on fact. Our friends feel a terrible sense of pain and loss. Imagine the same treatment dished out to you or your child away from home.
Who and where would you run to?
Everybody you know, and have come to know over a period of time, turning against you. What would you do? In the bible we find out which types of people found favour with God.
These were – the elderly, widows, orphans, foreigners and the poor. As you can see these constitute the most vulnerable class in our society. He (God) would protect and defend them even to the point fighting and destroying those who abused them.
I am sure that we do not want to see God fighting us in their defence, which would be a disaster. In order for us to escape such calamity, I make a special plea that all of us to do as we are ordered.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR JUST AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. IBUYAMBO MAWETHU!
I make this appeal in my capacity as both a Bishop of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church and the Chairperson of the Local Ministers Fraternal.
IBUYAMBO MAWETHI!
