Gladys Staines said 'people need to learn to forgive each other' in an attempt to soothe the nerves following communal violence in Kandhamal district.
BHUBANESWAR: Gladys Staines, whose Australian missionary husband and two minor sons were burnt to death in Orissa, has said 'people need to learn to forgive each other' in an attempt to soothe the nerves following communal violence in Kandhamal district.
The widow of Graham Staines expressing concern over the recent clashes between the Hindu and Christian communities that left three dead said, "People need to learn to forgive each other. Forgiveness brings with it healing, as I have experienced following the deaths of my husband and two sons."
Staines,who is in Australia, voiced these sentiments in letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the aftermath of the Kandhamal incidents since December 24.
"This news (Kandhamal violence) causes me great concern and I am deeply grieved," said Gladys.
She said her prayer and desire was that the communities would live together in peace and communal harmony.
Gladys had taken everybody by surprise when she said she had forgiven the killers of her husband and two minor sons--Timothy and Philip-- who were burnt alive as they slept in their jeep outside a church on the night of January 22, 1999 at Manoharpur in Orissa's Keonjhar district. The
Australian was targetted for allegedly trying to convert the local population.
Singh had already responded to the letter promising to protect Christians in the country.
In her letter Gladys said, "I am praying for you and other leaders of the country and the state to have strength and wisdom to guide you in restoring harmony and bringing peace in troubled areas. I pray too for normalcy to return as quickly as possible with everyone living together in harmony".
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