The heart-breaking twin earthquakes that struck parts of Türkiye and warravaged Syria are truly devastating.
The shocking and frightening images of pain and damage are beyond words, and extremely distressing.
Eyes are full of tears, the hearts have become filled will grief and sadness, and our cry is for Almighty God to have mercy on humanity. This is a catastrophe that has turned comfort into difficulty, wealth into poverty, health into pain, life into death and safety and security into fear – all in the blink of an eye.
Life, in its entirety, is a trial, and sometimes tests befall the globe at scales beyond the imagination of the mind. It is especially at trying times like these that we must self-reflect and search for guidance from our divine scriptures and religious scholars, and also look out for the life lessons that we can derive from these tests in a meaningful and transformative manner.
As I write, rescue teams continue their heroic efforts, and sadly the death toll continues to rise. My heartfelt prayers are with all our fellow human beings in the region.
As nations, organisations, businesses and individuals support the relief work under way, I urge everyone in our community to pledge some support to a trusted organisation aiding in the relief efforts.
Send prayers, thanks and warm thoughts to all the frontline courageous aid heroes on the ground.
* Mohamed Saeed, Pietermaritzburg.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Do you have something on your mind; or want to comment on the big stories of the day? We would love to hear from you. Please send your letters to arglet@inl.co.za.
All letters to be considered for publication, must contain full names, addresses and contact details (not for publication).