Gary Caveness

I AM HEARTBROKEN AGAIN. HOW MANY MORE TEARS MUST I SHED BEFORE THE WORLD HEARS OUR CRY? I am writing these words with a heart that is bleeding. Days ago, I stood beside a mass grave in Plateau State, Nigeria, weeping over the lifeless bodies of members of my congregation whose dreams, hopes, and futures were brutally cut short. I cried until I had no more strength. I thought those tears would be enough for one lifetime. But today, I am heartbroken again. Four more innocent people have been killed near my church. Four more families have been thrown into mourning. Four more homes have been filled with unbearable silence. Four more people who woke up with hopes and dreams will never return to their loved ones. WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DESERVE THIS? How many more graves must we stand beside? How many more mothers must cry over their children? How many more children must grow up asking why their fathers and mothers never came home? And who knows whether I am next? Who can guarantee that tomorrow I will not be the one lying in a grave while my congregation gathers to mourn me? Who will stand beside my family if the next attack takes my life? I am a shepherd. My responsibility is to protect, pray for, comfort, and lead my flock. But what happens when the shepherd is constantly forced to bury the very people he was called to care for? My beloved, I am tired of burying my people. I am tired of seeing innocent blood spilled. I am tired of watching children become orphans and women become widows. Must our children inherit nothing but stories of killings, mass graves, and broken families? OUR ONLY OPTION LEFT IS TO FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL. We cannot simply fold our hands and watch our families, communities, and future disappear. If we do not stand together, protect innocent lives, and demand urgent action, we fear that one day there may be no one left to tell our story. Are we going to wait until an entire generation is wiped out before the world decides that our lives matter? I am therefore making another desperate appeal to the United States Government and the American people. Please, hear our cry. Please, help us. We are not asking for sympathy alone; we are asking for meaningful intervention to protect innocent lives, strengthen security, support displaced families, and bring those responsible for these killings to justice. How many more innocent Nigerians must die before the international community acts with urgency? To the world, I ask: If these were your children, your parents, your brothers, or your sisters, would silence still be an option? I am not asking the world to remember us only when another mass grave is discovered. I am asking the world to help us while there are still lives to save. I WILL KEEP RAISING MY VOICE. I WILL KEEP SPEAKING FOR MY PEOPLE. I WILL KEEP CRYING OUT FOR JUSTICE. Our lives matter. Our children matter. Our future matters. May God remember Plateau State. May God comfort every grieving family. May He protect those who are still alive and give us the strength to see another day. Because honestly, I do not know how many more funerals this broken heart can endure. — Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo