May 31 is
traditionally a day dedicated to the Virgin Mary, at the conclusion of
"Her" month, the month of May. And on Sunday 31st it ended
up on the mountain Talo, a hill above Bozoum, where a statue of the Virgin Mary
watches over the city. We reached to top of the hill in a large number. The
dominant color is red, simply because it is the celebration day of the
"Legion de Marie", a catholic movement connected to Mary’s devotion.
We climb the mountain, and a beautiful surprising vision of Bozoum is front of
us. Together we pray that the Virgin continues to protect the city. At the end
of the Mass a hundred people make their promises before the statue of the
Madonna: they promised to pray and, most of all, to commit themselves to imitate
Mary in their journey of life. The social political situation in Bozoum is
quite stable, although there are moments of tension. Schools are near to
closure, while you still do not see the presence and a serious commitment on
the part of civil authorities and peacekeepers of MINUSCA. Thursday and Friday
I leave towards North. I drive for 450 km on roads rather ugly with fifty
bridges to be redone, a truck burned by bandits a few weeks ago. How sad it is:
I don’t see a peacekeeper. It is true that they are "only" 10,000; it
is true that for the salaries of the military the UN spends something like
600,000 Euros per day; it is true that they are busy elsewhere (but where????).
I’m convinced that could be helpful, especially for the people, being able to
see in a concrete way their presence feeling consequently a little more
protected. At Ngaundaye I take part in a meeting of the Parish
Committees “Justice and Peace” and “Caritas”, of which I am the diocesan director. What is coming out from our conversations it’s really bitter: a lot of
tension among the people, many episodes of violence, with killings for reasons
simply futile, a destroyed economy and the social environment even worse! Young
people often are swept away by violence and greed of money, ending in stealing
and violence of all kinds. It seems that nothing and nobody can change the
situation, no condemnation from nobody.
That's why I listen to these young people and adults of Justice and Peace
and Caritas, and I encourage them to not give up, and always react. Even a
small act of resistance can be crucial to change the present situation.
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| Le "danseus": la danza liturgica |
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| le acconciature... les coiffes.... |
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| Scendendo verso Bozoum en descendant vers Bozoum |
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