friends on Saturday. I had helped them plan a silent demo outside the Town Hall protesting the Turkish oppression of Kurds in Turkey and now increasingly in Iraq. And now we stood with them to show they are not alone in their plight.There is no doubt that the Kurds have been treated abominably throughout history and still today are denied basic rights in the countries that 'occupy' their land.
"Why don't they protest back in their own country?" asked one passer-by rather contemptuously. Some of them have and ended up in prison for it. Simply possessing the Kurdish flag in some instances will land you in real trouble.
The balance of political involvement, entering into the arena of the many painful Kurdish issues and our commitment to building the Kingdom of God with the gospel remains a difficult tension. And probably it is good that it is so. Please pray for us in that constant struggle. We want to be clear in our Kingdom priorities but compassionate and empathetic for a hurting people and involved in the stuff of their world.
You may have thoughts on it. Let us know.
1 comment:
Hi Andy
I've imagined myself that that must be a tricky tension, and it's great to hear that you're having to grapple with it.
I'm glad you are standing with a hurting people - I have no answers on this...do you think there's a difference between the political and 'humanitarian' issues? The problem these people have will not begin to be solved with a nation state, and we don't want to teach them that it would. But their problems and suffering are real and we are compelled to show them something of the love of Christ in offering them hope of a permanent inheritance in Heaven.
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