Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
The girl’s father, a pastor, and
most of the family had left early for church, while Persis continued to
get ready. The girl never appeared at church and was not home when they
returned. After immediately filing a report with police, “the family
spent a sleepless night contacting relatives in the hope of finding
Persis,” according to the Oct. 1 report. Eventually, the family
heard Persis moaning for help outside their gate. The
culprits, realizing the severity of her condition, had callously dropped
her off. Supported by her elder brother Yessi Masih, Persis was brought
inside the house, her physical and emotional state in shambles… [After
rushing her to a hospital, the] medical examination revealed the
horrifying truth—Persis had been gang-raped. Despite the trauma, she
bravely identified one of the perpetrators, Muhammad Atif, thanks to the
assistance of the local police and CCTV footage.
Police acted quickly and arrested Atif before he had fled the
region. After commending police for this uncharacteristic move—police
in Pakistan are notorious for turning a blind eye to the persecution of
Christians—a local reporter, Aliyas Wattu, remarked that, “Persis was also beaten, and she bears visible marks of violence on her body.” The report concludes
that “Persis’ suffering did not end with the assault; she bore visible
marks of violence. The family, already grappling with the emotional
toll, faces an arduous journey towards justice.”
In a separate incident, “a gang of armed robbers subjected two Christian women to sexual assault at gunpoint while keeping the men tied up and confined to a room,” according to a report:
“This nightmarish event occurred in the early hours of September
14th.” Shortly after midnight, when the entire family was asleep, six
men quietly broke into the Christian household. The father, Intezar
Masih, his wife Rani (41), his sister Farzana (36), and children were,
“to their sheer horror,” rudely awoken to find themselves “encircled by
six masked men brandishing firearms.”
According
to Intezar, “We were warned not to make any noise, as the armed robbers
were armed with pistols and heavy guns.” Two of the men held the
family hostage, as the other four ransacked the house, “looting
everything they could lay their hands on.” Then they took Intezar and
his children to a separate room: “Two of the robbers,” he said,
“forcibly dragged me by my shoulder, took the children inside the room,
beat me severely, and eventually tied me up with a rope before
departing.” The report continues:
