Syndicate: FWD: An Easter letter from BG

["Vid Petrovic" <v9@ix.netcom.com>]

April 11, 1999. ORTHODOX EASTER

Last night we all went to church awaiting Easter. Our Patriarch Pavle
spoke at the sermon. "All that is hidden will be reveiled", he said to
some thousand souls that gathered from all over town. Midnight. We all
walked around the church three times with Pavle leading the procession.
An explosion. No one ran for shelter. The ceremony continued as if
nothing had happened. Terror(ists) overhead, I thought. The thought
seemed somehow familiar to me but I could'nt think about it at the
moment. We came home safe. Went to bed, tired. At 4am a plane flies over
our home and we all wake up. That was low and darring - a brave pilot.
Anti-plane guns go off somewhere in the night and the plane is gone. The
plane never came back for a second run. Well, one is enough. I stayed
awake and watched the light of day creep in on me. 6am and the siren
tells me 'good morning'. Why do they fly at night over Belgrade? They're
probably keeping us on edge. Psychological warfare - I thought. I
remembered an article, sent to me by a friend from the states through
Internet: it spoke of "DU" (depleted uranium). My friend warned me that
they are using it already. The projectiles are filled with it so they
are heavier and more deadly - "more penetration" when there's DU. But
that is not all. This DU thing lingers on for years and brings cancer,
leucemea etc. with the times to all those exposed. Am I getting paranoid
here or what? It's Easter. Be happy. Think of your loved ones - I asure
myself.

But we took some 15 to 20 misiles in 18 days. Can't stop thinking about
the ordeal. All the misiles have fallen within a 1 mile circle of our
home. That is too damn close and the only thing struck and destroyed was
an empty building some 300 yards away. They droped 5 misiles on that
building. In total, that's 20 million dollars gone up in smoke
destroying an empty building - 1 million dollars worth, at its best.
Where's the catch? I am trying to reason. They are missing their
targets! No, that is naive - I am not going to be stupid here. Think!
Within the city of Belgrade most of the misiles have landed in the
immediate vicinity of hospitals hitting buildings of no importance to
strategy... So, what's the point? To scare us? That is just as stupid
since no one is scared - they are sitting on the bridges all night and
no one's running when the misiles came down. Empty buildings... hmmmmm?

Good God! But the buildings next to them are hospitals! And my friend
had sent me an article... No, that can't be. I am being paranoid. It is
Easter. I must keep the faith - Christian faith - keep myself composed.
My child depends on my stamena. Yes! Be calm. It's Easter. Lets' break
some Easter eggs. We do.

8:01pm Sirens! Can't we have our Easter evening in peace? They did. Why
can't we? Just tonight! No? Well, that is terror(ism)!

And then it struck my mind. Thare is a God! "...the threat to human
freedom and Christian faith created by modern technology - technological
tyrany over humanity" (Jaques Ellul).

Henry McGuckin, you are a visionary!

They can not stop bombing us on Easter because "modern technology has
become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new
social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity
imposed on all human activity" (Ellul).

They just have'nt done their "job" as expected because we're too good at
the game - so, they can't give us a break for Easter. They are behind
skedual! 'Efficiency is no option but a necessity'!? Frustrated by not
being "efficient" and instead of pulling out of here for good they
decide to "step up the operation by bringing in more planes - now 680 in
number"! Quantity will bring quality? How much stupidity will come out
in the open in order to make the statistical "efficiency".

Hay! We, the people down here, have not multiplied overnight - no, you
managed to lessen our number, but we are still in the range of 8 million
or so. "DU" does'nt kill instantly! Can't you wait. You have poured down
enough to exterminate us in a few years to come - slow but "efficient".
What other "efficiency" are you looking for? It won't happen! Take my
word for it and stop this stupidity for humanity's sake! You are risking
a World War! "680" planes? OK. We'll sit and wait for them to get
"efficient", but what if they're not? Will it be a 1000 planes then?

I am a bit worried. No one at my home caries a gun. We can't shoot them
nor this Uranium thing, when it materializes. On the other hand we could
shoot it but we'd have to shoot each other in that case. Is that the
general idea? Well, we won't do it because we are Christians - Orthodox
Christians! It is as simple as that.

Predrag
from Belgrade on Easter-day '99.





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