Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bukavu (Agenzia Fides) - We, the young people of Bukavu, the war generation, have suffered a lot of misfortune and trauma because of it. That is why we beg you not to start the war. Someone wrote: "If you want peace, prepare for war", but we say with Pope Francis: "Who wants peace, prepare peace". This is the appeal sent to Fides by Sister Teresina Caffi, a Xaverian missionary, launched by 60 young Congolese girls from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area torn by conflicts for decades, so that a new war does not break out in Europe due to the tension between Russia and Ukraine.
In their appeal, the girls underline that "States that wage war, multinationals that produce weapons and seek at all costs the wealth of another country will not suffer, will get rich, but it is the poor people who have to suffer; it is us, the young people, who are suffering. Let those who want war ask us what we, Congolese, are going through today, we who know what war means. There is no hidden treasure in the war. With war we lose our parents, brothers and sisters, property and life. During the war we lost many of our grandparents who perhaps today could tell us about their past life and teach us how to behave in life. In war, more than ten people are buried in the same pit, as if they were fertilizer. Women become widows, men widowers; children are left orphans; parents lose their children. So many children have never known their family; left homeless, they live on the street and have never been to school. War destabilizes society, brings famine and misery, humiliates people, tramples human dignity, does not allow people to work and rest day or night, prevents progress, damages many things in an instant, brings regression in all areas: spiritual, intellectual, moral, material ... War brings disorder and destroys the environment: bombs pollute the air and bring us diseases. Schools are closed, travel blocked, health centers destroyed, the country becomes uninhabitable. People flee by the thousands to live miserably in a neighboring country and sometimes they rebel against those who welcomed them and the war spreads. War traumatizes people from their mother's womb. Those who survive have great inner wounds and often remain mentally, physically or psychically handicapped. Violence against women in front of their children and their husbands is a wound that never heals. Unwanted pregnancies are on the increase and children abandoned in the street are becoming numerous. War divides us, hurts people's hearts and brings slander, jealousy, negligence, revenge and discord. And the person will be made to feel guilty throughout his life and may even reach madness. War exterminates youth, the world of tomorrow. In war, the soldiers look for young people to bring them into the forest and turn them into rebels. War leaves unemployment and habits of violence: murder, rape, thefts ... Life seems worthless to many. Children are born, grow up and grow old in war and that is why war has become a heritage from generation to generation. War distances us from God, because we do not respect the work of his creation and his project of love and brotherhood among humans. We are all children of the same Father: if we knew the value of our existence, we would not dare to shed the blood of another human being. What is this spirit that drives man to wage war against another man? Those who wage war will one day pay for the blood of the people they have shed and the goods of the people they have stolen. We will be condemned for every provocation of war. War is not a solution to problems, but a problem within a problem. After the war there is sorrow, regret. Nothing is gained in war, but there are always irretrievable losses. Love, listening and dialogue are the true ways to resolve conflicts! "We beg you, for the love of God our Creator, who knows the number of our hairs, seek to be reconciled, forget what divides you, lay down your arms. There are several ways to find a compromise without going to war. We are brothers: why should we hurt each other because of this world that is about to pass? This earth does not belong to us: sooner or later we will leave it. Let us be aware of the precious gift that God has given us: life! We must be "all brothers", as Pope Francis says. To fight all the challenges of humanity, such as the pandemic, natural disasters, we must walk together. Let us live in justice, the one that will make us see the other as a brother, a sister to love, with whom we walk and live together. We want to know joy, peace, justice, brotherhood. We want to build a new world! May peace reign in this year 2022 in Bukavu and around the world. May the Virgin Mary intercede for us". (T.C./L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 23/2/2022)
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