Day 5 from Gabriel

blog, 12/25/06 2:35am Eastern Chad

Dear friends, familia:

Nights in Eastern Chad seem very peaceful. The black dome of stars almost seems like a protective cocoon. It is so dark here, and the sky is so full of stars! It’s hard to believe that these heavens, on both sides of the border, have been witnessing such bloodshed. All the beautiful people we visited yesterday and today sleep under this same sky just a few miles away, and I wonder if they can even dream of a day when they might feel safe.

They tell us their stories–their villages being destroyed, their animals taken, their friends and families killed, and then they know that we’ll go home to our lands, and they stay. How is it that they are so welcoming and sincerely touched by our visit?

I’ve been here, in this little hut in Africa, trying to focus enough to write this entry, but it is now 3:17am, and my mind wanders, as little faces from the many, many children we saw today keep flashing through my mind.

I think so much about my own beautiful children, Noemi and Gabo. I think I would break, if I had to endure seeing them live the much less than complete life that hundreds of thousands of the children of Darfur live.

Tomorrow, Christmas for us, we go back out to a camp. I can’t wait to see who will hold my hand this time.

Happy holidays everyone. Thank you for coming with us, and thank you for participating in the daily action.

Peace, Gabriel