Arabs, Armenians, Catholics
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Do thou, therefore, enquire of us no further concerning
these things, for our belief originates not with man. We are
not taught like children; but we are indissolubly bound to
God, from whom nothing can detach us, neither now, nor
hereafter, nor for ever, nor for ever and ever.
I looked up to heaven. "What sin have these people committed against Thee?" I asked. "What wrongs have they done
to deserve the millions massacred and maimed since they embraced Christianity? Are not these chapels and cathedrals and
the daily Masses and offerings of prayer sufficient proof of
their faith in Thee and Thy works? Did not the Patriarch
rescue this Holy City from the carnage of war but only a few
days ago? Why, then, do You oppress them thus?"
I looked at the courtyard again, and no longer saw the
maimed, old Mariam Doudou, or Garabed weighed down as a
water-carrier. I saw the children: the pumpkin-round faces of
little boys with the large brown eyes, the chubby faces of little
Anna and Akabi, and their pigtails. The pink rags with which
their hair was tied looked radiant, and their tattered garments
made of a dozen different patches looked regal. I walked
among the youngsters, pulling at the long, tousled hair, the
pigtails. They squealed and screamed and pounced on my
camera. "Line up for a picture," I said, and two score of them
climbed on the grillwork of the sealed well and stood as still
as a litter of puppies;
"There must be a God," I assured myself. "These are His
children. He has saved them from the carnage of war yesterday and today, and He will preserve them for tomorrow. Perhaps these children will see a better world, a kindlier world,
one of peace and plenty, and of universal brotherhood."
I took leave of the place: walked past the Cathedral, through
the tunnel-like entrance hall into Vank Square, and finally
found myself before the headquarters of the Arab Legion, the