Stampedi

Chaos reigned on the night of November 22, 2010 in Phnom Penh.  Over three hundred people lost life with more than three hundred injured.  Unrest overwhelms my mind and emotion as I see the sadness on the face of the people in the stores and on the street.  Those who hear the varying precipitating factor on how or why chaos initiated such a tragedy will tell their stories with extreme angst.  Families will gather together to support one another and question why joy turned to sorrow.  Children will be left fatherless or motherless which will increase their already difficult lives.  Those of us who have not grown up in Cambodia will wonder about life issues and the eternality of the tragedy.  We will be tempted to give answers to which many will have difficulty understanding.  Questions will be asked about evil.  Why does evil exist?  From whence came evil?  How to respond to this event makes one think of the deeper issues of life.  Where does one go for answers?  Is there a place of comfort?  Will I have the courage to stand with those who have been injured or lost a loved one in this tragedy?  Will I speak self-righteously or will I be a source of comfort?