Prayers for Colombia on the day of the candles
Colombia today celebrates the traditional Dia de las Velitas, lighting candles throughout the cities, villages and hamlets of the land in homage to the Virgin Mary and to pray for her strength, guidance and light to improve the ills of the world.
To mark this day Colombia Politics is lighting a candle to pray for the following:
1. A succesful conclusion to the peace talks in Havana.
2. The kidnapped still in the hands of the FARC, or any other guerrilla group for that matter.
3. Those displaced by the Paramilitaries or the FARC.
4. The children forced to work for the guerrillas.
5. The homeless chaps I see every day walk the well-to-do streets near my flat.
6. The man from the old destitute barrio of the Cartucho who tends to the car park of the block of flats just down the road, whose name I know not but who greets me with a cheesy smile every morning.
7. The victims of land mines.
8. The children whose parents send them out every night to trawl the restaurants and tiendas to sell us crayons or books or other nick-nacks.
9. The cooks in the family restaurants whose almuerzos fill me every day.
10. The millions in poverty; may the government´s Prosperity for Everyone mantra eventually mean something for you.
11. Those who have treated me like family here in Colombia, my adopted home, as well as my friends and family back in England.
The Christmas period began today, God bless everyone and may God grace Colombia with peace throughout this festive period.
It breaks my heart seeing those really young kids selling useless items on buses and in markets. It’s one of those situations where I really want to give them money, but I don’t want to encourage their parents to keep sending them out.
Arian, me too. It´s a real moral dilema and breaks your heart every time. The government set up a programme last year where it encouraged people to report parents who were sending out their kids. As they say here “no hay derecho” that these kids have a positively Dickensian life. Thanks for your comment.
Very thought provoking, thank you