Photo courtesy Wikipedia
I am praying in a pew at Saint Mary’s Cathedral.
The building has suffered burning, cyclones,
the Eelam war’s bombs. Four hundred years
ago Portuguese built the first church here,
which was dismantled later by the Dutch.
Then in modern times the air force strafed
its roof. Many parishioners live abroad.
The few left in Jaffna want only to broker
marriages and pay obeisance to the saints.
But they have not lost their pride. They pray
quietly, asking God to let their people free.
Prayers console now just enough.
This story part of a series to mark ten years since of the war in Sri Lanka. More content, when it is published, can be found here.