[:mt]Żagħżugħa, martri għall-paċi[:en]Myriam, a martyr for peace[:]

[:mt]Myriam Dessaivre, żagħżugħa ta’ 26 sena minn Toulouse kienet ma’ ħames żgħażagħ Franċiżi oħra li nqatlu fin-Niger, il-Ħadd 9 ta’ Awwissu 2020.

Myriam Dessaivre, żagħżugħa ta’ 26 sena minn Toulouse kienet ma’ ħames żgħażagħ Franċiżi oħra li nqatlu fin-Niger, il-Ħadd 9 ta’ Awwissu 2020. Sfaw maqtula wkoll ix-xufier u l-gwida, nies tal-post, li kienu qed jakkumpanjaw lil dawn iż-żgħażagħ fi żjara lil riżerva ta’ ġiraffi fi Kouré, li tinsab daqs siegħa ‘l bogħod mill-kapitali Niamey. Myriam u ż-żgħażagħ l-oħra kienu fuq missjoni umanitarja ma’ ACTED, organizzazzjoni internazzjonali ta’ solidarjetà li twieġeb għall-ħtiġijiet umanitarji ta’ popli li jinsabu f’sitwazzjonijiet ta’ kriżi. In-Niger hu pajjiż li qed jiffaċċa bosta sfidi, fosthom sitwazzjoni ekonomika diffiċli.

Din iż-żagħżugħa li kienet tħobb il-ħajja u dejjem bi tbissima fuq wiċċha, għażlet li timpenja ruħha bis-sħiħ favur il-ġustizzja u l-paċi. Studjat fl-Università Kattolika ta’ Toulouse fejn ħadet lawrja fil-komunikazzjoni u l-informazzjoni. Wara kompliet tistudja fl-Università Paris-Dauphine fejn ħadet Master’s degree fi studji dwar il-paċi. Speċjalizzat fil-qasam ta’ soluzzjonijiet f’kunflitti politiċi. It-teżi tagħha kienet dwar is-sitwazzjoni politika fil-Kolumbja. Meta spiċċat tistudja marret tagħmel esperjenza ta’ xogħol fil-Kolumbja, fit-Tunesija u fiċ-Chad fejn setgħet tkompli tidħol aktar fil-fond tal-istudji li għamlet.

Meta din it-tfajla tkellmet f’konferenza nazzjonali ta’ Moviment għall-Paċi, hi kienet qalet x’ wassalha biex tagħżel dan l-istudju. Innotat li n-numru ta’ żgħażagħ li jridu jaħdmu għall-paċi qiegħed dejjem jiżdied u li l-media soċjali qed tgħin biex dan iseħħ, kemm permezz tal-aħbarijiet li twassal kif ukoll għax ’xi mod qed tqanqal dejjem iżjed is-solidarjetà globali. Qalet:“Il-media soċjali tittrażmetti r-rabja li wieħed iħoss meta jisma’ b’tant ġrajjiet koroh li qed jiġru fid-dinja u dan qed iħalli l-effett tiegħu fuqna, tant li naslu biex nistaqsu: imma jien meta ser immur hemm biex ngħin?”. U kompliet: “Ma nistagħġibx li ħafna aktar żgħażagħ qed ifittxu xogħol, professjoni li tagħtihom sehem f’ħidma għall-paċi”. Temmet tgħid li dan jista’ jkun mezz biex wieħed jaħdem għal dinja aħjar.

Myriam kienet tgħallmet dwar dinja aħjar, dinja aktar magħquda mill-kuntatt li kellha mal-Moviment tal-Fokolari. Flimken ma’ żgħażagħ oħra tal-Moviment hi kienet ħadet l-impenn li tgħix għal dinja magħquda.

Sophie, waħda mill-ħbieb tagħha rrakkuntat: “Myriam kienet l-akbar ħabiba li kelli. Iltqajt magħha meta kelli 13-il sena waqt Mariapoli li saret f’Lourdes”. U kompliet tgħid li Myriam kellha prinċipji u konvinżjonijiet sodi u li dejjem iddefendiet l-valuri tal-ġustizzja u l-paċi. “Ix-xogħol tagħha kien wieħed diffiċli, imma kien għal qalbha ħafna …. Għalkemm għamlet mewta kerha u terribbli, imma nistabar meta niftakar li hi tat ħajjitha għal dak li emmnet fih”.

Ħabib ieħor iddeskrivieha bħala tfajla sabiħa, umli u dejjem wiċċha għad-dawl li “tat ħajjitha biex taqdi l-ħajja, tkun ta’ servizz għall-paċi u għall-oħrajn”. Qal li l-mewt ta’ Myriam twasslu biex jgħid li “l-messaġġ li bniet matul ħajjitha kien qed jasal permezz tat-tluq tagħha lejn is-Sema”. Membru tal-Moviment tal-Fokolari li kienet tafha sew qalet: “Il-ħolma ta’ Myriam twettqet għax irnexxilha tgħaqqad l-esperjenza ma’ impenn sħiħ f’dan il-qasam”.

Il-katavri tas-sitt żgħażagħ Franċiżi waslu fl-ajruport ta’ Orly, Pariġi fl-14 ta’ Awwissu fejn ġew mogħtija tislima nazzjonali. Aktar tard, il-qraba u l-ħbieb ta’ Myriam tawha l-aħħar tislima f’quddiesa li saret fil-Knisja ta’ Kristu Re f’Toulouse.

F’dak l-istess żmien kienet qed issir laqgħa onlajn, li fiha kienu qed jieħdu sehem 120 żgħażagħ minn bosta pajjiżi tad-dinja li rrappreżentaw il-Moviment Ġen, il-fergħa taż-żgħażagħ tal-Moviment tal-Fokolari. Dak li jgħaqqad lil dawn iż-żgħażagħ hi l-għażla li jgħixu sabiex il-bnedmin jagħrfu li huma aħwa ta’ xulxin, u hekk l-għaqda tkun is-sisien li fuqha jinbnew  dawk ir-relazzjonijiet umani meħtieġa biex fid-dinja tagħna jkun hawn il-paċi, l-armonja, il-ġustizzja, is-solidarjetà…. Dawn iż-żgħażagħ mill-ewwel raw f’Myriam l-anġlu kustodju li mis-Sema kien ser jgħinhom fil-proġett tagħhom #Daretocare. Permezz ta’ dan il-proġett huma jixtiequ jqanqlu inizjattivi li jippromwovu aktar impenn attiv fil-ġustizzja soċjali, fl-ekonomija u l-politika.

Xi ħadd qal: “Inħoss li Myriam qed tgħidilna: ħarsu ‘l quddiem, ibqgħu mexjin! Tinħlewx  f’dak li hu bla valur!

Emilie Tévané (Nouvelle Cité)

 [:en]Her smile, her joie de vivre, her commitment towards justice and peace are words that come to mind when one recalls Myriam Dessaivre, 26 years old, who lost her life on Sunday, August 9 in Niger.

Myriam and five other French youth were killed, together with the Nigerian driver and guide who accompanied them when they were visiting the Kouré giraffe reserve, 60 km southeast of the capital Niamey. These youth were on a humanitarian mission, with the NGO Acted, in a country that faces multiple crises and ranks at the bottom of the human development index.

Myriam, a martyr for peace, obtained a first degree in communication and information at the Catholic Institute of Toulouse and then a Master’s degree in peace studies at the Paris-Dauphine University. She specialized in political conflict resolution and the title of her thesis was: “The Colombian State and the FARC: is reconciliation possible?” She furthered her studies in this field through work in Colombia, Tunisia and Chad.

During a Peace Movement national council meeting held on June 18, 2016, Myriam spoke about the choice of her studies. She was then 21 years old. Today, her strong and meaningful words impress us even more. We quote what she said at the end of her talk: “I have the impression that there is a growth in the number of young people of our generation who want to promote peace.   I think that social networks are contributing towards this, not only through the abandunce of bad news, but also because of the increase in some sort of “global solidarity”. Anger caused by horrible happenings, such as terrorist attacks, wars in the Middle East and famine, is transmitted instantly through social networks, and we are directly affected. We come to the point of asking ourselves: “When do I go there?” So, I’m not surprised that more young people seek professions that engage in work for peace. May be, we are simply looking for the means to live in a better world”.

Myriam learnt more about building this better world through the Focolare spirituality and her commitment as a member of the Focolare Youth Movement. Her father, Jean-Marie, who died in 2014, was a volunteer. Her friend Sophie, who was very upset, said: “She was my best friend. I met her during a Mariapolis in Lourdes, when I was 13. With her, you could have a good laugh about anything”. And she continued to testify: “She had strong convictions and defended the values of peace and justice. Her work was not easy, but she was passionate about it and it fulfilled her. It warms my heart to think that however unfair, terrible and violent her death was, it was not without meaning. She gave her life for what she believed was right.”

Carl, another friend of hers, described Myriam “as a radiant, humble and beautiful person who gave her life to serve life, peace and others”. Speaking about what her death meant to him, he said: “I realize that the message she composed through her life is being delivered to us thanks to her departure to heaven. In one way or another, each one of us gets a daily provision of bad deeds and/or the lack of doing something about them; this is the marytrdom of evil”.

Anne-Marie, a focolarina who knew her said: “Myriam fulfilled her dream, she satisfied her passion by joining her experience to her commitment in this field”.  And she continued: “For the 120 Gen representatives from all over the world, who met for an online congress from August 7 to 14, it was evident that Miriam had to be the precious guardian angel for their Project #Daretocare,  aimed at promoting initiatives on active citizenship in the fields of social justice, politics and economics”. Anne-Marie remarked: “It seems as if now Myriam  is telling us: ‘Move on! Don’t waste time on useless things!”

 Emilie Tévané, for Nouvelle Cité  

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