The village of Mullaithivu is in north-east Sri Lanka and is controlled by Tamil Tigers. The Indian Ocean Tsunami struck this small village killing around 3000 people - more than fifty percent of the local population. Since this is not a government-controlled region, it is not easy to gain access to it. Now let us assume you, the readers, have somehow reached this place. Imagine all the news you have read about Tsunami's destruction. Bring to your mind's eye the images of all those moving and gory photographs you have seen so far in various websites and in magazines.
What are you seeing in Mullaithivu around you? Flattened buildings on the beach. The destroyed church - 95% of the people in this area are Catholics. But isn't your nose telling something? The bodies are rotting. Rotting badly.
The local administration have arranged young rebels to pick up the bodies and burn them fearing public health problems. You are seeing few people collecting bodies around you. The village is filled with the smoke of funeral pyres. And you are now meeting a survivor - the local Roman Catholic priest.
What do you discuss? What do you talk? I do not know what you will ask. But one needs courage even to say few words. Let us now listen to what Mr. Jeremy Bowen of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) asked.
"Isn't it a shame they are not getting Christian burials?"
How terrible this is!
The question looks more abominable when we come to know the answer given by the priest.
"I don't think the Lord is very fussy about this."
4 comments:
First, I wonder what made him ask the question.
What's worse, for bowen, the christian priest's reply hasn't sunk in. He has put his question and the reply in his report. I wonder what the beeb feels.
True, I also thought why he has given both the question and answer in the report. Either he likes to show us how he reports the fact faithfully or he does not really follow the implications. I believe the first is less likely. And we can't tell anything certain about the second one! I would anyway like to explore Bowen's question. What could possibly have motivated such a question in a heart-wrenching situation?
I didn't actually remove my first comment. I clicked an icon that showed up near time. Oops! my comment got deleted. Hence I posted it again.
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