Recently I watched a kind of documentary about the democratic republic Kongo/Africa with the title „City of joy“. It is about mines, war and rape as a war strategy.
A Congolese doctor and a Congolese woman, who grew up in one of these villages nearby a mine founded a special place, the „City of joy „ for the raped and hurted women. The woman describes how she grew up in her village which for her was like living in paradise, fearless and happy until the soldiers came and her whole reality changed. From heaven to hell on earth and then this huge challenge to find a way back to life.
The women who come to the city of joy experience a deep process of transformation by opening up themselves presenting each other their deepest wounds telling their stories. You can see in the movie how hard to digest it is also for the other women to listen all the cruel and unbearable stories, but they stand it. They stay and through that I could feel that healing is already happening. Watching this I also become part of their circle, there is nothing outside, all is although within me, I cannot separate myself from their pain, it is also my pain.
It touched me very deep how and under which awful circumstances the love becomes visible. The strength of these women, who refuse to be kept hostage in fear and hate and by that offer a turn around in their perspective. When you ask where can be love in all of this, these women are the response. I can feel this deep connection between the women all over the world and in the love for them I am part of this sisterhood. This ability to show the own deep vulnerability and woundedness enables all the participants and listeners to go into their own wounds and discover the love by embracing the pain of each other.
Perhaps it is the task of the women in these times to make all the pain transparent so that finally men and women ( or the masculine and the feminine part in each one of us) can come together for their reconciliation again.
As love expresses itself through forgiveness at least within my heart I can feel this invincible stream of healing grace...
Saraj