aysabaw.com

On the morning of Holy Friday, we parked our car in front of a vulcanizing shop to get both our front tires changed to gear up for a 2-hour drive. I was  inside the car browsing through my news feed when a group of shirtless men hitting their bleeding backs, passed by. It was amusing and not at the same time. I have seen this pilgrim every year on TV, newspapers and social media so there’s nothing new to this except that this time, I was amused to see this with my very own eyes.

I noticed red dots on the window. I called my husband and brought this to his notice. He said, the left side of the car was smothered with tiny dots of blood.

These men hit their backs to bleed or carry huge crosses under the scorching heat of the April sun, walking barefoot on the burning cemented or asphalt roads for hours.

And I wondered, what is the worth of these men’s sweat and blood? Will this wash away their sins?

As the small dot of blood dried and darkened, I wondered if the color of the blood has something to do with its type. Will it be darker if its type O? And lighter if its type AB? Or could it be the other way around?

I have type O blood, the cheapest in the market they said. The most common. The type that blends in very well with all other types.

And I wondered, what is the worth of these men’s blood? Do they have the cheapest one like mine? Or do they have more expensive type?

On the morning of Easter Sunday, I checked my news feed only to be flooded with news of bombings in Sri Lanka, churches and hotels were the targets.

A day that was meant for joy, peace, love and life was covered with news of blood and death.

The bombing reminded me of the terrorist attack in New Zealand. Mosques were bombed during prayer time. In Sri Lanka, the Church was bombed during the Sunday service.

To me, the bombings were just the same cowardly attacks, different faiths targeted.

And this type of blood shed, to me will never be worth even 100 times the lives of the perpetrators.