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A WORD FOR EGYPT’S COPTIC CHRISTIANS BEING PERSECUTED

12 Oct

 

Music: Glorified by The Parachute band.

Nga Kupu Aroha:

91

 1الْمُحْتَمِي بِقُدْسِ أَقْدَاسِ الْعَلِيِّ، فِي ظِلِّ الْقَدِيرِ يَبِيتُ،

 2أَقُولُ لِلرَّبِّ: أَنْتَ مَلْجَإِي وَحِصْنِي، إِلَهِي الَّذِي بِهِ وَثِقْتُ

 3لأَنَّهُ يُنْقِذُكَ حَقّاً مِنْ فَخِّ الصَّيَّادِ وَمِنَ الْوَبَاءِ الْمُهْلِكِ.

 4بِرِيشِهِ النَّاعِمِ يُظَلِّلُكَ، وَتَحْتَ أَجْنِحَتِهِ تَحْتَمِي، فَتَكُونُ لَكَ وُعُودُهُ الأَمِينَةُ تُرْساً وَمِتْرَاساً،

 5فَلاَ تَخَافُ مِنْ هَوْلِ اللَّيْلِ وَلاَ مِنْ سَهْمٍ يَطِيرُ فِي النَّهَارِ.

 6وَلاَ مِنْ وَبَاءٍ يَسْرِي فِي الظَّلاَمِ، وَلاَ مِنْ هَلاَكٍ يُفْسِدُ فِي الظَّهِيرَةِ.

 7يَتَسَاقَطُ عَنْ جَانِبِكَ أَلْفُ إِنْسَانٍ، وَعَنْ يَمِينِكَ عَشَرَةُ آلاَفٍ، وَأَنْتَ لاَ يَمَسُّكَ سُوءٌ.

 8إِنَّمَا تُشَاهِدُ بِعَيْنَيْكَ مُعَاقَبَةَ الأَشْرَارِ.

 9لأَنَّكَ قُلْتَ: الرَّبُّ مَلْجَإِي، وَاتَّخَذْتَ الْعَلِيَّ مَلاَذاً،

 10فَلَنْ يُصِيبَكَ شَرٌّ وَلَنْ تَقْتَرِبَ بَلِيَّةٌ مِنْ مَسْكِنِكَ

 11فَإِنَّهُ يُوْصِي مَلاَئِكَتَهُ بِكَ لِكَيْ يَحْفَظُوكَ فِي جَمِيعِ طُرُقِكَ.

 12عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ يَحْمِلُونَكَ لِئَلاَّ تَصْدِمَ بِحَجَرٍ قَدَمَكَ.

 13تَطَأُ عَلَى الأَسَدِ وَالأَفْعَى، تَدُوسُ الشِّبْلَ وَالثُّعْبَانَ.

 14قَالَ الرَّبُّ: أُنَجِّيهِ لأَنَّهُ تَعَلَّقَ بِي. أُرَفِّعُهُ لأَنَّهُ عَرَفَ اسْمِي.

 15يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ، أُرَافِقُهُ فِي الضِّيقِ، أُنْقِذُهُ وَأُكْرِمُهُ

 16 أُطِيلُ عُمْرَهُ، وَأُرِيهِ خَلاَصِي.

Ko te tangata kei te wahi ngaro o te Runga Rawa tona kainga, ka noho ia i raro i te taumarumarutanga o te Kaha Rawa. Ka kiia e ahau a Ihowa, Ko ia toku piringa, toku pa, toku Atua, ka whakawhirinaki ahau ki a ia.

Mana hoki koe e whakaora i te mahanga a te kaihopu manu, i te mate nanakia. Ka hipokina koe e ia ki ona hou, a ka piri koe ki raro i ona pakau: ko tona pono hei whakangungu rakau, hei puapua mou. E kore koe e wehi i te mea whakamataku i te po: i te pere e rere ana i te awatea.

 I te mate uruta e rere ana i te pouri: i te whakangaromanga e whakangaro ana i te poutumarotanga. He mano te hinga ki tou taha, tekau hoki nga mano ki tou matau; otiia e kore e tata ki a koe. Ka titiro kau ou kanohi, ka matakitaki ki te utu mo te hunga kino.

 Ko koe hoki, e Ihowa, toku piranga! kua waiho e koe te Runga Rawa hei nohoanga mou: Kahore he kino e pa ki a koe, kahore ano he whiu e tata ki tou teneti. Ka korerotia iho hoki koe e ia ki ana anahera kia tiakina koe i ou ara katoa.

Ma ratou koe e hiki ake ki o ratou ringa, kei tutuki tou waewae ki te kohatu. Ka haere koe i runga i te raiona, i te neke: ka takahia e koe ki raro te kuao raiona me te nakahi.Ka whakaora ahau i a ia, mona i aroha ki ahau; maku ia e whakateitei ake, mona i matau ki toku ingoa.

Ka karanga ia ki ahau, a ka whakahoki kupu ahau ki a ia: ka tata ahau ki a ia i te wa o te he; maku ia e whakaora, maku ano ia e whakahonore.Ka whakaroaina e ahau ona ra, a na noa ia: ka whakakitea hoki taku whakaoranga ki a ia.

 

Thoughts: “Today, I’m thinking about the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt.

Egypt was once under the rule of dictator, who amassed $30 billion in personal wealth through oil control and gold stockpiling. When this leader was overthrown in what was dubbed the ‘Social Media Revolution of Egypt’ power regimes of oppression, were broken in Egypt’s political order.

When I lived in Hollywood, I noticed that some descendants of Holocaust survivors from Auswitz, were some of the most likely candidates to behave in a dictatorial manner, like Adolph Hitler. At times such people were simply inhumane to other people around them and were berloody awful towards their staff (or team members) as well.

Being a Kiwi, who was not American, I perhaps felt freer to say something to such people. I would take them aside and say, “Do you think you’ve internalized an Adolph Hitler complex from your socialization process? Do you think the nightmare of what your forebears survived, in some strange way, still subconsciously (or very consciously) now lives in you? It is always the enemy within, we must conquer.”

Of course, I would get fired in such a moment of truth, or dropped from A-List Hollywood party lists too. I was cool with that. Who wants to be under a dictator, ever? No, not ae.

Perhaps in a similar way, Egyptian people (particularly the Muslim community) ganging up on Coptic Christians in Egypt, who make up a tenth of Egypt’s population, show this same dynamic. The now overthrown dictator, has somehow managed to live on, in the majority population, who have internalized his behaviour and are now being very ungracious towards the Coptic Christian populations of Egypt.

I don’t know what to say to this new oppressed minority in Egypt. In a Kiwi way, I guess I would send a song out to them, via the internet as an olive branch of empathy towards their safety, well being and human rights as people.

~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 12.10.11~

 

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