08/19/2019, 11.16
AFGHANISTAN
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Kabul, attempted marriage: "Without hope" for peace

The Islamic State claims the massacre that killed 63 people.  The Taliban distance themselves from the atrocity committed by the rival group.  Peace talks in crisis.  Fr. Moretti: "The word "God" on the mouth of the attackers is blasphemy".

 

Kabul (AsiaNews) - "Without hope": this is how Mirwais Elmi defines himself, the Afghan spouse whose family was decimated by militants of the Islamic State (Is)  during his wedding ceremony, last August 17th.  In total, 63 people were killed in this latest "barbaric" act, as President Ashraf Ghani called it. The injured, more than 180.

The carnage was wrought while the relatives of the spouses danced and celebrated.  While the Caliphate claimed the massacre, the life of Mirwais and his wife was devastated: the man reports that the woman continues to have fainting spells, while he himself no longer sees a future after the loss of 14 members of his family,  including his brother.  "I will never be happy in my whole life," he says.

The massacre was carried out in a district with a Shiite majority;  the IS militants and the Taliban profess Sunni Islam. On their part, the Taliban have distanced themselves from the gesture of the competing group.  Spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said: "There is no justification for such a deliberate and brutal murder that has targeted women and children."

The bloody attack took place in a delicate phase of the peace process between US and Taliban representatives.  At the beginning of July they met in Doha, Qatar, in an attempt to end 18 years of civil conflict that destroyed the country.  Representatives of civil society and women also attended the talks, and a "road map for peace" was outlined.  This has rekindled hopes for the future, although immediately signs of crisis have emerged;  in the following weeks in fact the initial enthusiasm gave way to the war machine, with various attacks against hospitals and schools.

According to Fr. Moretti, chaplain at the Italian embassy and head of the missio sui iuris of Afghanistan until 2015, "we cannot remain indifferent to these tragedies that affect humanity, even if they occur 3 thousand kilometers away".  Quoting yesterday's Gospel, "so ardent and provocative in its message against indifference", the priest said: "Indifference is the cancer of humanity.  Each attack is an inhuman act.  Among other things, this was accomplished in a moment of celebration, of incipient new creation, and is even more inhuman ”.

For Fr.  Moretti, "once again the inhumanity of these fanatics shows that the word "God" on their lips is a blasphemy.  You can only pray for these people, so there is peace in Afghanistan.  Certainly the attack is not in favor of a path of peace.  Whatever reading you want to give, it is undeniable that terrorism is still present in the country.  The Americans want one of the conditions necessary for the peace agreement to be a territory no longer prey to terrorist groups, but this attack shows that ISIS is present and operating ".  What happened during the marriage, "one of the most joyful moments in a man's life, does not send a message of peace, nor is it a wish for peace.  It is also synonymous with the fact that there is no security: these groups can attack anyone, anywhere, and whenever they want. "

Fr. Moretti, who recently visited Kabul to follow local Christians, says: "The situation is distressing, the green area [reserved for embassies, ed] is full of walls.  Everyone lifts walls, tall, gray and sad.  The Afghans themselves warn that Kabul has become a squalid, ugly city.  In the green zone all the news of the attacks arrive in a muffled way, as if they were not real.  The attacks take place in total indifference ”.  (A.C.F.)

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