(The following comes from a poster on the Konkani Catholics e-group on Yahoo. We are publishing it here to bring attention to the plight of Indian Christians subjected to this barbarity. It is supplied to us via a Tertiary who lives in India. It was written as “a tribute to Fr. Edward Sequeira.”)
Today the whole world is talking about the terror attacks on India by Pakistani terrorists. Every TV channel in the world, every newspaper is filled with the heart-breaking stories and pictures of the tragedy that began on the night of 26th November 2008. The government of India has very generously granted lakhs of rupees to the families of the deceased. US has sent their representatives to promote peace talks between India & Pakistan. Every person in the world has condemned the terrorists and their disgustful acts. Signature campaigns and public demands have caused top government officials to resign.
Today, the police are claiming that all terrorists are either dead or arrested. There is no need to fear, none of them are on the loose.
But, is that really true?
Allow me to take you back to a few incidents (I call them ‘terror-attacks’ ) that happened right here in India, just a few months ago. Only it wasn’t in Mumbai, but another lesser known state Orissa.
– Priests were killed. Beaten up. Hammered and left bleeding naked on the streets to die.
– Nuns were raped.
– Children were burnt alive.
– Christians killed and cut to pieces.
– Rajni Machi, a 20-year-old HINDU girl, who was rejected by her parents because she was the eldest of 7 girls (the parents wanted a son), adopted by Fr. Edward Sequeira, was gang-raped by HINDU fundamentalists, and burnt alive.
– Hundreds of Churches & villages burnt and destroyed
– 60,000 plus Christians fled to the forests, with no food, no shelter, no sufficient clothing to keep them warm in the bitter cold.
– Volunteers from Mumbai and other parts of the country not allowed to go and help the victims.
– No provisions were allowed to be sent to them.
– Even today, 1000s of these poor, helpless Christians are hiding in the cold, dangerous forests, with no one to help them.
Now tell me are these fundamentalists any better that the terrorists? I say no, they are as much a terrorists as the ones who came from Pakistan. In fact, even worse. The terrorists who attacked Mumbai, attacked their enemies. The Indian fundamentalists, attacked their own brothers – fellow Indians.
And these terrorists in Orissa are still roaming around boasting about their great deeds. The Chief Minister of Orissa, Naveen Patnaik still sits on his throne. The attacks in Mumbai have ceased after 3 days. The attacks in Orissa still continue.
Will someone do something? Can we demand justice for the suffering? Or is that reserved only for the elite class of Taj & Oberoi in Mumbai. Some of those who were caught in the Taj and Oberoi have been saved and given a second chance in life. Can the people of Orissa expect the same?
Many of you reading this are in different parts of the world. Some of you are in the US. Can someone take this message to the US President? Will they force the government of India to send the army to Orissa and other parts of India that are under attack?
What will you do? Will you just forward it to a few ‘safe’ friends and forget about it? Will you take a stand to talk to every person you can about this injustice? Will you promise not to stop spreading this message till Orissa is freed of terrorists? We need a country that is free. Will you join this freedom struggle like Gandhiji once did?
I will.
For those who want to read more on terrorism in Orissa, here’s a link:
http://orissaburnin g.blogspot. com/2008/ 08/saved- from-fires- fr-edward- sequeira. html
Fr. Edward Sequeira is still recovering from the severe internal injuries and inhalation of smoke for hours when his home and children were burnt alive. This message is dedicated to his great love and sacrifice.
See also the following web sites:
http://orissaburning.blogspot.com/
http://www.konkanicatholics.com/
