Last Sunday Christians across the world celebrated the resurrection of Christ, one of the most important events in the Christian calendar. Traditionally it is a day of gathering and joyful worship. But in a park in Pakistan where Christian families celebrated Easter, a bomb killed at least 70 people, mostly women and children. Hundreds more were injured.
Every parent hopes that their child experiences the gift of innocence, the security of loving people and the simple pleasures of picnics with family and friends for as long as possible. On Sunday, a terrorist chose to target a theme park where children played on swings and ran with freedom and happiness. The faction that claimed responsibility for the bomb said it was aimed at Christians and those attacked included Christians and Muslims. The Pakistani population contains less than 2 per cent (approximately 3.8 million) of Christians.
In that moment when the terrorist struck, not only were innocent children killed, but many more witnessed atrocities that will haunt them forever. In condemning the attack, Imam I.H. Kausar, national President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia, stated that “if someone kills an innocent person it is as if he has killed the whole of humanity.”
In a report on the Aljazeera website, the uncle of six-year-old Zainab Jamshed said his niece asked “again and again if we are going to the park for real. Zainab was very excited that we decided to spend the day at the park.” Now Zainab is dead and her family mourn.
As we reflect on the period of Easter, let us also remember those families who lost their most precious children, friends and family members on Easter Day.
Image by BBC World via Twitter.
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