Zawadi was excited.
It was going to be the first time ever for her to vote.
The whole deal of her exercising her civil right seemed really cool, so that day she said her morning prayers and headed to cast her vote. She stood patiently in line and made sure she voted. She went home thinking that in two days the results would be out and a new president would be in place. The rest of the day didn’t have much going on, just people in small groups talking about who was most likely going to win.
The following day she got up, went to buy breakfast for her family, but to her shock, the store keeper told her that he couldn’t sell her anything because she wasn’t from the same tribe as him. She laughed it off because they had been friends for along time so he couldn’t possibly be serious but since she didn’t want any arguments, she went to the next shop and the storekeeper told her the same thing. Clearly something was wrong so she went to her close friend’s shop where she was sure she would get what she wanted.
After breakfast, she left to go open her grocery store, one she had been running for a few years now but what she saw left her paralysed with shock. Her stall had been burnt to the ground and before she could even think it through, to try and figure out what might have happened, she heard loud chanting behind her and turning around she saw a group of young men holding machetes in the air and chanting disturbing slogans. They surrounded her, demanding her full name and what she was doing in the streets.
Gripped with fear and tears rolling down her eyes, she was barely audible as she mumbled her name. She was lucky, it turned out that the men were from the same tribe as her, so they let her go, with a warning not to walk around because it was dangerous. Zawadi hadn’t had the time to watch news on television before that incident so when she got home she knew she had to find out what was happening. She sat wide-eyed in shock as she watched all the events unfold on T.V. She didn’t want to believe that it was her peaceful country with the killing and burning of property, but for sure it was.
She had to think fast, most of her neighbours were from a different tribe and she knew it wouldn’t be safe for her and her family to stay there. So she took her three year old daughter, Akinyi and her parents, and went to seek refuge at a nearby church. She tried to say a short prayer but it seemed like she couldn’t get through to heaven. It was as though the lines were dead like after a storm. Nevertheless, she got her family safe, or so she thought, and they all huddled together alongside all the other people from her village.
It was such a quiet evening; everyone was trying to get a little rest from the all the hustle and bustle of the day but it wasn’t long before they heard some noise from outside the church. Zawadi and some of the other adults went outside to see what all the fuss was about but the minute they stepped out, they heard screams from inside and turning to look they saw flames covering the church that their loved ones were in.
Her heart seemed to stop, there wasn’t anything anyone could do other than watch in despair. As the fire slowly died after what seemed like hours, she and the other people who had escaped the deadly ordeal decided to look for a safer place to spend the night, despite the pain they were all feeling: deep sadness of watching their loved ones burn to death.
They found a police station a few miles away where they spent the night. Early the next morning, there were police trucks, which were taking people to safer areas. One of them was headed to Zawadi’s grandmother’s place. Since she didn’t have anything on her, all her clothes had burnt in the church alongside her whole family, she decided to go and stay with her grandma. On the way all she had were questions in her mind: Where was God now that she needed Him so much? What had gotten into her old time friends so they had turned against her? What was left to live for?
All this was too much for her but she didn’t lose hope, something good always comes out of a bad situation, that’s what her pastor had preached on the previous Sunday. She got to her grandma’s place but there wasn’t anyone home. Her first thoughts were that her grandma had been killed, but after asking around she was told that there was a camp that had been set up just near the town for all the people in the area so that they could be kept safe under the watchful eye of the police. So she headed straight there and as she held her grandma in a warm embrace, she knew that although trouble may last for a night, joy would come in the morning. She had to trust God’s word since it is true.
A month later, she was back home with her grandma. At least they had each other. It is all calm now but her pain is still fresh, she is not cross with the people that burnt down the church, God has been teaching her that forgiveness is the key to healing and though it is hard, it’s possible.
It’s hard to look at people whom you have grown to love like your own family for so long in the same way after they get up one day and burn down your house, everything that you have worked for and leave you with nothing, but God says in the book of Luke 6:32-36, how different are you from the non-believers if you love only those that love you back, and lend to only those that you are sure they will pay back?
Jesus said that the world shall know us by the love we have for each other. The love that Jesus had for us that He died on the cross for us when we were still sinners, is the same love we have to give to those that hurt us. It is hard but its doable, if Jesus says to do it, then He’s going to give you the strength to carry you through.