Beyond Ethnic Differences

In recent months, despite the disturbances in my city, I have continued to live in the hope that the day won’t be far off when peace will reign among everyone in our war-torn country. My neighbourhood is made up of a mixture of ethnic groups. Each day we have to face seeing dead bodies on the roads, threatening behaviour, violence, looting and rioting.
But even in the midst of all this desolation, I realise that if I make room within me for God who is Love, and show his love to others through the way I live, the ideal of unity will be like a seed which will eventually germinate in the hearts of others. I try to cultivate this seed each day, wherever I am, at work or with my neighbours, without ever making distinctions on the basis of ethnic differences.
I have therefore built up real bonds of friendship with many people. Even when we’ve been forced to move around to different neighbourhoods to protect ourselves from violence, we continued to keep in contact and to visit one another secretly. The love amongst us is more powerful than what divides us; it is stronger than the fear caused by the risks incurred when we meet. Unfortunately, however, not everyone feels like this. Many people go to great lengths to avoid contact with those of other ethnic groups so as not to jeopardise their lives or run the risk of retaliation.
On my way to work I always met a man who had an infected wound in his hand. I asked him why he didn’t get it attended to. He told me he didn’t have enough money, so I offered to take him to the doctor and said that he could pay me back when he could. He came with me a couple of times but then he stopped meeting me.
After some time I came across him and I asked why he hadn’t come back to the doctor with me. He told me he had been afraid of me because I didn’t belong to his ethnic group. He had also been afraid of all those he would meet along the road and of other members of his ethnic group who would punish him because he had allowed himself to be looked after by someone from a different ethnic group.
I realised that so many people had completely lost their trust in others. I felt that I had to love him right to the end in order to break this chain of hatred and prejudice. And so I decided to dress his wound every day on my way home from work. I felt that a good place to do this, for want of a better solution, was in the small wooden hut sometimes used by the soldiers assigned to keep an eye on our neighbourhood. I asked their permission to treat this man there. Although surprised and curious to see that I was looking after someone of another ethnic group, they gave me permission.
I started to change the dressing when I realised that I had left my scissors at home. I looked around in search of something I could use to cut the bandage. Immediately, the solider who was watching me, very kindly offered his bayonet for the job. The wounded man was astonished, but also happy, because he had sensed the kindness of the soldier and also because I was so determined to look after him. He told me that he didn’t think there were people who see no barrier in ethnic differences.
For me this was another confirmation that love is the solution to the problems of our country.

Spes (Burundi)