The Christmas truce

In 1914 Allied and German soldiers famously had a spontaneous truce along the Western Front,
singing Christmas carols, exchanging gifts and playing a makeshift game of soccer together. It' s a bittersweet story about the humanity which can exist even in the midst of war, yet, so swiftly devolved into fighting again, with young men on both sides laying down their lives for what they imagined was their country.

This week Afghan soldiers and Taliban fighters have done the same thing to mark the feast of Eid al-Fitr, that is, the end of Ramadan, with soldiers from both sides embracing and taking selfies together. The Afghan government called for a three day ceasefire, which for the most part has been holding, despite at least one car bombing. It gives hope that with the seemingly intractable acrimony in the Middle East peace may yet be possible.Let's hope and pray it lasts for more than three days.

Did this good news story get coverage on your news source? ABC online   carried it. It can be a good barometer of what version of the world your news source wants you to see.

Comments

  1. Dominic18 June 2018 at 17:02

    This story fits with today’s reading of Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. I pray that this will have more traction and spur on greater acts of love

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown22 June 2018 at 03:13

    Jim reports like this are exactly why we need an independent ABC not influenced by commercial interests

    ReplyDelete

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