March 29, 2002

Reflection on Good Friday

Dear Friends,

What is Easter like in Madagascar? Our usual tradition is to dress in special clothes, attend a sunrise service. and share with our Malagasy friends the joy of Easter. Usually we organize an Easter-egg hunt with the neighborhood kids. We share with them that finding the eggs is like finding the new life that Christ offers through his resurrection. In Madagascar, Easter Monday is a holiday and everyone takes time to go on an Easter outing with family and friends. Often, churches organize outings together. It is a time of fellowship, games, singing, and celebrating relationships.

What is Easter like now? We must honestly say that we do not feel the normal joy and anticipation that comes with Easter. The past two weeks have been full of increasing violence and repression. It is hard to see that good is victorious. It is a good time for Easter, if simply to force us to remember that our Lord died and rose again.

For it is like Good Friday in Madagascar—the day our Lord was crucified. The Malagasy people are living through a time of great suffering, and the end is not in sight. They are living the agony of the cross. Evil appears to be triumphing. Ratsiraka's government is strangling the country's economy through an economic blockade of Antananarivo. A major bridge was just blown up today to further isolate the capital city. Medicines are becoming scarce in certain areas. The media has been censored in most parts of the country, and officials in Ratsiraka's government are promoting racial hatred and division in the provinces. Journalists have been threatened and tortured. Church personnel and buildings are being targeted because of the role the churches played in promoting truth and justice prior, during, and after the December 16 election. People are living in fear. In the north, Ratsiraka's government officials have established "black lists" with the names of Ravalomanana's party leaders and other opinion leaders. Government officials are directing military and armed gangs to capture these people. Many have fled while others have been arrested and tortured. Many of the pastors in the north have now left or are in hiding. There have been cases where members of particular ethnic groups have fled their homes in many different parts of the country.

Just as in the Easter story, there has been betrayal here. The Malagasy people do not understand why the United States and other members of the international community have not sided with the will of the people. The people are being terrorized by Ratsiraka's government and the military under his control, and the international community is remaining silent.

In the midst of this evil and betrayal comes Easter. What are we to do with the fact that Jesus overcame evil and rose from the dead? For Christians, it is a sign of hope and assurance that evil will not triumph. We do not know the day and time, but we are assured that evil will not have the last word. Our Easter prayer for Madagascar is that evil will be vanquished soon, that the repression of the people will end swiftly. We are committed to follow Christ and do what we can to stand with the Malagasy people as they seek justice. It is Good Friday, but Easter Sunday is coming.

So what will we do this Easter? Sunday we will dress in our special clothes and celebrate Easter with fellow Malagasy Christians at the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar seminary. Then we will color Easter eggs and have an Easter-egg hunt with the neighborhood kids. We will enjoy the youth and innocence of our children. We will celebrate that Christ is risen; good has overcome evil and that evil will not have the last word.

Please pray for the Malagasy people.

Peace in Christ,

Elizabeth & Dan Turk

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 41