Dear
John, I can’t stop thinking about it. Every day, I hear new
stories of horror from the Central African Republic. But this one
haunts me. I’m sharing it with you. Because I know that once
you’ve heard it, you’ll want to do everything you can to help.
As you know, the conflict in Central African Republic has
descended into bloody ethnic cleansing. Violent militia rape and
murder at will. Thousands of families have been forced to flee.
Fadimatou
Yamsa and her children were one such family. The violence
engulfing their homeland became too much so, in January this year,
they left their house on the outskirts of the capital, Bangui, and
boarded a bus headed to safety in neighbouring Cameroon. But there
was a roadblock. Their bus was stopped. Militias ordered all the
Muslims out of the vehicle using machetes and knives.
Fadimatou
knew what was coming. She’d handed over her seven month-old baby
to a Christian woman next to her. In the moments before she
stepped off the bus, Fadimatou whispered her family’s name and
the name of their home into the woman's ear. From that moment on,
the woman pretended that the baby, a little girl named Shamsia,
was hers. As the bus drove off, Fadimatou and her other children
were lined up outside the town mosque. They were stripped, robbed,
then hacked to death with machetes.
When
I think about Fadimatou’s final, horrible moments, it’s hard
not to feel overcome with despair. But this story isn’t just
about horror -- it’s about hope. I hope that Shamsia, the baby
girl, will one day learn how her life was saved by two women who,
in a split-second decision, chose to combat hatred with love. I
hope that she’ll read about this dark time in her country’s
history and learn how the global community rose up and took action
to protect families like hers. I hope that you, friend, will join
me and thousands of others as we follow the example of Fadimatou
and combat hatred with love.
Your
tax-time gift of $50 can help protect people whose lives are at
risk and support Amnesty's human rights work around the world.
For
human rights, Michael Hayworth, Crisis Response Coordinator
Amnesty International Australia
PS.
Other families like Fadimatou’s are still in danger. Please act
fast. Make a donation to help us halt the bloodshed in the Central
African Republic.
