Sharp Contrasts

This past week, we have been shocked with the tragic news of two incidents in the Middle East that resulted in the unwarranted death of innocent people. The first, and most publicized, the massacre of 16 villagers in southern Afghanistan by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. The second, happening just three days earlier in the Kurdish province of Iraq, was the execution-style shooting of American teacher, Jeremiah Small, by one of his students, eighteen-year-old Bayar Sarwar.

A shot of Yousiff & Alia Matty taken
during my visit to Iraq in 2006

This second incident happened in the city of Sulaymaniyah in a classroom of the Classical School of the Medes, a project of my good friends, Yousiff and Alia Matty. All of my eight years at Partners International involved helping to fundraise for their impressive vision of building three K-12 schools in northern Iraq utilizing the renowned international classical curriculum.

As I reflect about these two incidents, I see amazing similarities in the actions of the perpetrators.  For example, both…

-          Acted totally alone

-          Used guns firing at point-blank range

-          Obviously reached an emotional breaking point resulting in their violent actions

-          Acted out in the open in front of others, not secretively or clandestinely

-          Resigned themselves to their subsequent fate (Sgt. Bales gave himself up afterwards while Sarwar turned his gun on himself, taking his own life.)

But it is the sharp contrast of the victims’ families’ reactions that leaves me most impressed.

In Afghanistan, the cry is for revenge. Regardless of the just punishment Sgt Bales will receive, I will not be surprised to hear in the next few weeks that the spirit of revenge has spilled over into other incidents of Afghans wanting to get even by somehow hurting other innocent Americans.  Whether or not you blame local culture or Islamic religious tradition, the fact is that wanting to get even for such an act of unwarranted killing is simply built into our human spirit. It is tragic, but it is human, and we can sort of understand that.

In Iraq, however, the response by Jeremiah’s parents stuns both us as it did the local population. Instead of venting their anger on Sarwar’s family, they instead offered a public forgiveness. As World Magazine reports:

… most remarkable was the reconciliation evident between Small's family, who are Christians, and Sarwar's, who are Muslims. The shooter's father, Rashid Sarwar, apologized to the Smalls for the killing. The teacher's father, Dan Small, said, "We do not have any hatred for the family of the student who killed our son." At one point both men embraced. (http://www.worldmag.com/articles/19280)

The Smalls choose to have Jeremiah’s body buried there in Iraq announcing to all, “We give you our son.” This action speaks volumes to a Middle Eastern culture that understands it as a strong symbol of respect for their culture. Not only does it leave a bond between the Small family and the Kurds, but it will be remembered for years as an act of love and care.

What a shame this positive ending to such a tragic event has not been given more media exposure that portrays the sharp contrast to the other events in Afghanistan. I know our world could certainly benefit from this powerful example of the human reconciliation that is possible from God-reconciled and transformed hearts.