For me, October is always a special time of celebrating life. My father and four of our grandchildren were born in October. In addition, it is also the month in which Grandparent’s Day is honored in many parts of the world.
October 24th, was the 68th anniversary of the ratification of the Charter of the United Nations, which has as its core a commitment: “to keep peace throughout the world; to develop friendly relations among nations; to help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms.”
According to a recently publicized Amnesty International Study, this October is also the first anniversary of the death of a 68 year old Pakistani grandmother struck down by an American missile (drone) as she picked vegetables in a field with her grandchildren, who were also injured!
As I ponder the 68 year commitment of the United Nations and the 68 years of the grandmother’s life, I am overcome with disbelief and grief! Not just for the grandmother, but also for her grandchildren, who witnessed her being blown apart in their garden and who were also injured in body and spirit. How are they to ever believe that they are safe anywhere in this world?
One of the performances this past year at the Children’s Peace Theatre in Toronto (which Eldon and I helped co-found in the year 2000) bore the title: “If Violence is the Answer, We Have Asked the Wrong Question!”
In my grief, as I read the story of the Pakistani grandmother, Mamana Bibi, the refrain from a 1960’s song from my youth came back to me: “WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?”