Awake!, March 8, 1973

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Awake! — March 8, 1973

Source: jw.org

Contents

Humility—an Aid to Patience

Carnival and Its Origins

Bacteria—Some Harmful, Many Helpful

Blind Man ‘Sees No Pollution’

Managua—Victim of a Tragic Nightmare

What Is Happening to Christians in Malawi?

The Refugee Camp at Sinda Misale

Brutal Persecution Breaks Out Again

A Vital Help in Time of Need

Who Was Jesus Christ?

Watching the World

What’s the Meaning of World Events?

Would You Wish This for Yourself and Your Family?

Humility—an Aid to Patience

A BIBLE scholar known world wide had spent the early morning hours, together with some traveling companions, viewing the ruins of Jericho. After returning to their hotel they were served a late breakfast, the waiter placing the food at the foot of the table. By the time the platters reached the head of the table they were empty. The scholar waited patiently, unperturbed, until the waiter finally brought more food. What enabled this man to wait so patiently when it really would have been fitting for him to have been served first? His humility.

To be patient, as this man was, means to be slow to anger, to be long-suffering, to keep calm, not to lose one’s temper because of trying circumstances. Patience makes for peace and harmony. An Arab proverb expresses it: “Patience is the key of joy; but haste is the key to sorrow.” Because we are all imperfect, wives need to be patient with their husbands, husbands with their wives, parents with their children, teachers with their students, overseers with those in their charge.

Today impatience is a common fault, for everybody seems to be in a hurry. Besides, there is so much pride and ambition, which cause many to be impatient with those who seem to slow them down in their race to get to the top. Such persons would do well to consider the Russian proverb: “The future belongs to him who knows how to wait.”

Wisely God’s Word counsels us to be patient, to be long-suffering: “Exercise patience, therefore, brothers, . . . make your hearts firm.” “Love is patient,” we are told. Why? Because love is “never boastful, nor conceited.” Also, we read that “the harvest of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience.”—Jas. 5:7, 8; 1 Cor. 13:4, New English Bible; Gal. 5:22, NE.

A great aid to patience is humility. This is apparent from the inspired words of King Solomon: “Better is one who is patient than one who is haughty in spirit.” (Eccl. 7:8) In other words, he who is haughty is not patient; and this being so, it follows that humility is essential to patience.

God’s Word tells us that the haughty or proud person does not think soundly. (Rom. 12:3) He has little patience in dealing with others. His mental attitude is: “Why should I have to wait for others?” “Why should I have to put up with the irritations and annoyances caused by other people’s stupidity and selfishness.” “Who do they think that I am?” Far from being slow to anger and patient, the proud man is quick to express displeasure.

In contrast to this, humility aids us to be patient because it makes us willing to be of service to others. If we are humble we will not take ourselves too seriously, we will not expect too much of others, nor will we expect special treatment or special consideration. We will appreciate that we all make mistakes, that we all differ as to abilities and that we often try the patience of others; so we will be tolerant.

The Bible tells us that Jehovah God has shown patience over the centuries, yes, for millenniums. He has truly been patient with the human race, even as illustrated by his dealings with the nation of Israel: “Jehovah . . . kept sending against them by means of his messengers, sending again and again,” until, in righteous indignation, he had to act. Patient? Yes, he waited patiently for centuries before he punished that nation for their wicked unfaithfulness by letting them be taken into Babylonian captivity.—2 Chron. 36:15, 16.

Jehovah God is also slow to anger, or patient, with this present wicked generation. He has long had sufficient grounds to destroy this corrupt old world. But some people consider him slow in fulfilling his promises to end wickedness. Yet, he is not slow; he simply “is patient . . . because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9) Since humility and patience go together, can it be said that the Most High, the Sovereign Lord of the universe, is humble? Yes, it can, even as his Word tells us: “Who is like Jehovah our God, him who is making his dwelling on high? He is condescending to look on heaven and earth, raising up the lowly one from the very dust.” And as the psalmist David testified: “You will give me your shield of salvation, . . . and your own humility will make me great.”—Ps. 113:5-7; 18:35.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, beautifully illustrated this principle, that humility and patience go together, in his dealings with his apostles. They no doubt tried his patience time and again by their spiritual immaturity, by their petty rivalries, by their slowness to comprehend. But did Jesus ever lose his temper in dealing with them? Rather, he patiently illustrated the lessons he wanted them to learn. (Luke 9:46-48) And was he humble? He most assuredly was, even as he showed by washing the feet of his apostles. In fact, Zechariah’s prophecy foretold that he would be humble.—Zech. 9:9; John 13:4-15.

The Bible also tells us of the patience of God’s faithful servants of old. Concerning them, we read: “Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” as “a pattern of patience under ill-treatment.” And all of them were humble men, otherwise Jehovah God could not have used them, for “God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones.”—Jas. 5:10, NE; 1 Pet. 5:5.

So work at being humble. Really, no one should think more highly of himself than it is necessary to think. (Rom. 12:3) We all make mistakes, use poor judgment, sin. (1 Ki. 8:46) We may excel in some fields; others excel in other respects. The course of wisdom is to heed the counsel: “Doing nothing out of . . . egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior to you.” If we have that humble mental attitude we will have little difficulty in being patient with others.—Phil. 2:3.

Carnival and Its Origins

By “Awake!” correspondent in France

THE annual carnival in Nice had just come to an end. For more than a week the city had been in a festive mood: Floats lined the principal avenue, cardboard men with enormous heads and red complexions strolled down the streets, followed by dozens of flowered convoys full of young men and girls dancing and singing.

The streets echoed with the piercing cries of girls and women surprised by a shower of confetti. Many people donned grotesque masks, or otherwise disguised themselves. “His Majesty Carnival,” an enormous cardboard manikin with a crown on its head, presided over the festivities. Then, on the last day of the festival, this effigy was taken to the seaside and burned with great ceremony.

The celebration was over. Victory Avenue looked normal again. The stream of cars moved slowly along, while on the sidewalk the busy crowd went its normal way. Walking down the avenue, I kept thinking of the festival that had just ended. I had recently done research on the carnival, and could not help thinking about how widespread the celebration is and about its unusual origins.

A Riotous Festival

The carnival is celebrated in many cities throughout the world where the Roman Catholic religion is practiced. The celebration is generally characterized by the wearing of masks, by the processions, the songs and public festivities.

Carnival time is just before Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Roman Catholic forty-day Lenten season. During Lent, Catholics traditionally fast, eating only one full meal a day. The day before Ash Wednesday, called Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday (in French, Mardi gras), is the final day of the carnival celebration. The carnival is really a wild affair in many places, often lasting three days, but sometimes several weeks. Newsweek reported:

“In the Rhineland, suddenly tolerant policemen hoisted prostrate drunks from the sidewalks and helpfully propped them up against the lampposts. ‘Es ist ja Karneval’ (It’s carnival time), they shrugged. . . .

“With reckless abandon (which invariably leads to a higher birth rate in October and November), West Germans kept their annual pre-Lenten binges going till the last minutes of Shrove Tuesday in the Rhineland and southern Germany. . . .

“In the Rhineland, . . . Karnevalfreiheit (carnival freedom) is legally recognized as an excuse for almost anything except homicide or drunken driving. . . . Munich, too, takes legal account of Fasching [carnival time] . . . ‘Go home together and forget about it,’ more than one judge has advised a divorce-seeking couple. ‘It was only Fasching.’”

That report about carnival time in Germany was made several years ago. Regarding last year’s celebration, Time magazine said: “It was to have been Munich’s gaudiest, bawdiest Fasching ever. . . . All was ready for Münchner to abandon themselves, as they always had, to a month of drinking, swiving—judges do not consider adultery grounds for divorce during Fasching—and foolery . . . This year, though, the party has been a flop.”

Why? What dampened the revelry in Munich? A local doctor, Emil Vierlinger, explained: “Today’s young people celebrate Fasching all year long. Any modern store sells more fantastic clothing, and they can dance more wildly and to louder music in any discothèque.” So in this age of abandon and immorality people no longer need the carnival as an excuse for riotous living, the doctor, in effect, reasoned.

But the revelry and wild abandon of the celebrators has not seemed to be dampened in many places. Time, February 14, 1969, reported: “Carnaval, as everyone knows, is the time when Brazil plunges into the world’s biggest binge, a wild four-day pageant driven by the intoxicating beat of the samba.”

The November 1971 National Geographic said of the celebration in Trinidad: “Carnival begins at dawn on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. The revelers, who have been ‘jumping up’ all night, flood into downtown Port of Spain as a parade—an eddying tide of man and music. Some wave green boughs, fertility symbols as old as mankind. Everyone dances to the dazzling rhythms of the steel bands.”

Connection with Lent

These carnival festivals may seem to you to be strange, religious celebrations, especially for a religion that professes to be Christian. ‘What connection does the carnival have with the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church?’ you may wonder. ‘From where did the word “carnival” come?’

The popularly accepted view is that the word “carnival” has to do with abstinence from meat during the Catholic fast of Lent. The word is said to be derived from the Latin carne vale, meaning “flesh, farewell.” Thus “carnival is the final festivity before the commencement of the austere 40 days of Lent during which abstinence from flesh meat is observed,” explains The Encyclopædia Britannica.

‘But what,’ a person might ask, ‘does the drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and reveling, so characteristic of carnival celebrations, have to do with the commencement of the Roman Catholic Lenten fast?’

There seems to be little connection, as sincere Catholics, who deplore these riotous celebrations, may be quick to acknowledge. Where, then, did such carnival customs originate, such as dressing up in masquerade costumes, “putting to death” the effigy of the carnival, getting drunk, reveling and having parades with floats that sometimes resemble ships on wheels?

German Name Significant

In Germanic countries Fasching, also called Fastnacht or Fasenacht, is the name given to the festival just preceding Lent. The term is understood to derive from fasen or faseln, which means ‘to talk nonsense,’ ‘to drivel.’ Therefore Carl Rademacher, as director of the Prehistoric Museum in Cologne, noted that the German name for the festival “would thus denote a feast of folly, revelry, licence.” And as Rademacher pointed out, this name “corresponds well enough with many customary features of the Carnival.”

The plays that are featured during Fastnacht seem to substantiate the derivation of the festival’s name from words meaning ‘to talk nonsense.’ Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend says: “The Fastnacht plays developed out of the burlesque songs and antics of the masqueraders who followed the ancient Teutonic ship-wagon processions.” Carl Rademacher also observes: “We find repeated references to the use of such ship-waggons in German towns during the Middle Ages.”

Those processions that followed a ship on wheels were reported to have been riotous affairs. A monk told of a festival in the year 1133 in which a ship cart was taken from Aachen in Germany into Holland attended by a great procession of men and women. Naked except for a short shirt, the women danced, says the monk, ‘in devilish wantonness’ around the ship cart.

Could such processions be connected with today’s carnival festivals, which also feature masqueraders, dancing, wantonness, and sometimes, as in the Nice carnival, floats in the form of ships? Where may the ship-cart processions have had their origin?

Another Meaning of “Carnival”

Interestingly, a number of reference works give an alternative derivation of the word “carnival.” For example, Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend says: “Carnival is explained as . . . derived from carrus navalis, cart of the sea, a boat-shaped vehicle on wheels used in the processions of Dionysus (later in other festival processions) and from which all kinds of satirical songs were sung.”

Could this derivation of the word “carnival” from carrus navalis be the more accurate one? After considering the festivals of many ancient peoples, which featured ship wagons, promiscuous dances and masquerades, Carl Rademacher concluded that this derivation “has thus a good deal in its favour.”

Rooted in Paganism

But regardless from where the word “carnival” may actually be derived, the evidence is clear that this pre-Lenten festival is of pagan origin. The Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, explains:

“The Athenian processions with the ship-cart were held in honour of the god Dionysus. The worship of Dionysus had its Roman counterpart in the Bacchanalia, as also in the Saturnalia and Lupercalia—festivals which in the later Roman period were characterized by wanton raillery and unbridled freedom, and were in a manner a temporary subversion of civil order. This general spirit, together with certain special features, was transmitted to the Carnival in particular, and this explains why that festival has assumed its peculiar character in regions where Roman civilization reigned supreme.”—Vol. 3, page 226.

That the carnival celebrated in Catholic lands is actually an adaptation of ancient pagan festivals is also noted in The Encyclopædia Britannica, in its eleventh edition. This source also explains the attitudes of the popes toward this festival, saying:

“Anciently the carnival was held to begin on twelfth night (6th January) and last till midnight of Shrove Tuesday. There is little doubt that this period of licence represents a compromise which the church always inclined to make with the pagan festivals and that the carnival really represents the Roman Saturnalia. Rome has ever been the headquarters of carnival, and though some popes, notably Clement IX. and XI. and Benedict XIII., made efforts to stem the tide of Bacchanalian revelry, many of the popes were great patrons and promoters of carnival keeping.”—Vol. 5, page 366.

‘But why,’ you may ask, ‘have religious leaders, who have claimed to be Christian, condoned and even promoted a festival that is of pagan origin?’

It is because of the deep entrenchment of these pagan festivals among ancient peoples. They were so popular that people were not inclined to give them up. So the Church compromised, permitting the people to retain their festivals, but gave these festivals a different significance, associating them with Church teachings such as Lent. James Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics explains:

“By way of effecting a desirable change in the character of long-established popular festivals which could not be summarily abolished, the Church adopted the plan of providing them with Christian motives—a procedure which was very largely adopted in the case of the Carnival festivities.”

Execution of “His Majesty Carnival”

As already mentioned, here in Nice a huge manikin of “His Majesty Carnival” is, at the end of the carnival, taken to the seaside and burned. This is a concluding feature of many carnivals. From where may this custom have originated?

Interestingly, there is a remarkable parallel of this feature of the carnival with the ancient pagan festivals. Regarding this James G. Frazer, in his well-known work The Golden Bough, observes:

“The resemblance between the Saturnalia of ancient and the Carnival of modern Italy has often been remarked; but in the light of all the facts that have come before us, we may well ask whether the resemblance does not amount to identity. We have seen that in Italy, Spain, and France, that is, in the countries where the influence of Rome has been deepest and most lasting, a conspicuous feature of the Carnival is a burlesque figure personifying the festive season, which after a short career of glory and dissipation is publicly shot, burnt, or otherwise destroyed, to the feigned grief or genuine delight of the populace. If the view here suggested of the Carnival is correct, this grotesque personage is no other than a direct successor of the old King of the Saturnalia, the master of the revels [who, at the end of ancient pagan festivities was also put to death].”

A Festival for True Christians?

Does the fact that the carnival has been accepted by the Roman Catholic Church, even being approved and promoted by various popes, make it a Christian festival?

Well, you might ask yourself: Can you imagine Jesus Christ or his apostles sharing in the festivals with which the carnival originated, being a party to the drunkenness, immorality and wild dancing of those ancient festivities? If not, how can a person be a true follower of Christ and share in modern-day carnival festivities? Consider the Bible admonition:

“Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing,’ ‘and I will take you in.’”—2 Cor. 6:14-17.

Surely, obedience to this Bible admonition would require that one refrain from having any part in the carnival, which originated with pagan festivals that God considers unclean.

Bacteria—Some Harmful, Many Helpful

MORE than one physician has observed that the regulations for cleanliness found in the law of Moses presuppose knowledge of the harmful effects of bacteria. But it was not until 1676 that proof of their existence was established by the Dutch naturalist Leeuwenhoek. With the use of a primitive microscope, he was the first one to see these tiny “animalcules,” as he called them. Until his day men could only speculate on the existence of such microscopic organisms.

That bacteria were not made visible until the invention of the microscope can be appreciated when we note that bacteria are so small that they need to be magnified one thousand times before they can be clearly seen. In fact, they are so small that in a pinch of earth that you can hold between your thumb and forefinger there may be as many as 200,000,000 of them!

Bacteria are found everywhere, in the air, soil and water. This doubtless is one reason why it took so long to prove the law of biogenesis, namely, that all life comes from precedent life. Before Pasteur’s experiments on this subject it was thought that bacteria generated spontaneously.

Actually bacteria are considered to be plants. They grow and divide at various rates. At the rate of dividing every hour, one bacterium could become 16,000,000 in twenty-four hours! Fortunately conditions often limit their growth. Most of them can survive in temperatures short of boiling or freezing, but they need to have more moderate temperatures to keep growing and dividing. That is why food kept in a refrigerator lasts longer, and keeps indefinitely if kept in the freezer.

Different Classifications

Bacteria may be categorized according to the way the air affects them: the aerobic depend upon air, the anaerobic upon the lack of air or oxygen. By and large, bacteria prefer darkness to light.

Bacteria are also classified according to their basic shapes. There is the spherical kind known as “cocci,” which grow in pairs, clusters, or chains. Then there are the rod-shaped bacteria, and therefore termed “bacilli,” an example of which is the typhoid bacillus. Still another kind is the “spirelli,” the spiral-shaped bacteria, of which the Asiatic cholera germ is an example. And there is a subdivision of the latter, known as the “spirochetes.” The germ that spreads syphilis is one of these.

Smaller than bacteria are rickettsia, named after their discoverer, H. T. Ricketts. And much smaller than even the rickettsia are the viruses, their name coming from a root meaning “poison.”

Potential for Harm

Ever since the time of Pasteur there has been heated debate as to how much harm bacteria can do if the body is truly sound, if it is in optimum health. While Pasteur kept blaming the bacteria, it is reported that on his deathbed he said: “Bernard [one of his leading opponents] was right. The microbe is nothing, the terrain [environment, ‘host,’ the body] is everything.”

Still the fact remains, the possibilities of using bacteria in warfare are so terrible that upward of seventy nations recently renounced their use and pledged themselves “‘to destroy or divert to peaceful purposes, as soon as possible but not later than nine months’ . . . all biological agents.” Yes, bacteriological weapons are considered by some to be even more dangerous than nuclear weapons.—New York Times, April 11, 1972.

And every once in a while one reads in the press of persons dying from eating canned food spoiled by bacteria, such as botulinus and salmonella. Such spoiled food is so toxic or poisonous that you should not even taste it to see whether it is spoiled. Usually it betrays itself by causing the can to bulge, if not also by the odor and color of the food.

However, most bacteria are helpful. In fact, one American scientist took a count and found, among some thousands of millions of bacteria, a ratio of 30,000 helpful or harmless bacteria to one harmful one.

The Helpful Kind—in the Soil

Among the greatest ways in which bacteria benefit man is by their activity in the soil. It has well been said that if it were not for bacteria all life on earth would soon be at a standstill. How so?

Well, sooner or later all earth’s living things die—at least they have until now. Without bacteria to break down the dead bodies of insects, animals and humankind, as well as dead plants, the dead remains would soon so encumber the earth as to make life impossible for either plants or animals.

Certain bacteria also enrich the soil by taking nitrogen from the air and changing it into nitrogen compounds that plants can use—plants being unable to utilize nitrogen directly from the air. These valuable bacteria are found in small growths, or nodules, on the roots of legumes, a large family of plants that include clover, alfalfa and peas.

Then again, there is iron, indispensable to man, beast and plant life. Certain of the bacteria in the soil are able to take up this iron and make it available for plants. Bacteria also play a vital role in the utilization of phosphorus, another indispensable element of all living things. Bacteria make this nonmetallic element available to plants.

Well has it been observed that bacteria are “responsible for the fertility of our fields.”

Bacteria Aid in Processing Wastes

Bacteria also play a vital role in rendering city sewage harmless. In the so-called secondary or filter treatment sewage is sprinkled onto a bed consisting of broken stones or gravel. This provides surfaces where a film of oxidizing bacteria can live and work on the sewage. Where ponds may be frozen over for six months of the year, anaerobic bacteria, not needing oxygen, do the work.

The heavy remains of sewage are known as sludge. Bacteria also serve to convert this heavy sludge into a relatively stabilized form that is without odor and can be used for fertilizer. In still another method, biologically active sludge, that is, sludge containing much bacteria, together with oxygen, is added to the sewage to make it harmless.

Bacteria in the Body

Bacteria abound in the body, in the mouth and particularly in the intestines. In fact, it is said that in bulk the bacteria in the bowels exceed that of food and wastes to the extent of two to one. While there may be many harmful bacteria in the intestines, so long as they are outnumbered by the beneficial bacteria the body stays well.

In particular does the lactobacillus, or acidophilus bacteria serve the body well. It is used today to remedy minor bowel ills. Also, there are two kinds of antibiotics obtained from bacteria that serve valuable medical purposes.

Important, too, is the role that bacteria play in the digestion of cellulose in the rumen, or the cow’s first stomach. Men cannot digest cellulose, but the bacteria in the cow’s rumen break down the hay and grass the cow eats and produce from this cellulose fatty acids, protein and practically all the vitamins.

Bacteria’s Role in Fermentation

There is still another way in which bacteria are helpful to man and that is in the fermenting process. Do you like yogurt, or sour or clabber milk? You have bacteria to thank. Or do you like rich, flavorful cheeses, such as limburger, blue or Roquefort? Then know that not only are bacteria responsible for these aroma-rich delicacies but when you are eating them you are devouring bacteria by the millions!

Or do you like sauerkraut with your ‘hot dogs’ or cooked with pigs’ knuckles, or in some other tasty ways? Well, here again it is the bacteria plus, of course, a little salt that accounts for this change of sliced cabbage to sauerkraut.

And who does not appreciate that a little wine is good for the digestion, as well as for the heart and nerves? (1 Tim. 5:23) Well, while the fermentation of wine is primarily due to yeasts, bacteria also play a role in wine making.

Ever More Uses

Now researchers are experimenting with training bacteria to digest oil, to clean up oil spills. Bacteria are also used to produce synthetic proteins from petroleum. There is talk, too, of developing a biological cell that will furnish inexpensive light and power, the bacteria being fed on sewage.

It does indeed seem likely that with the passing of time bacteria will prove to be ever less harmful and ever more helpful.

Blind Man ‘Sees No Pollution’

◆ A nineteen-year-old college student in the state of Washington has been enjoying a regular Bible study with Jehovah’s witnesses even though he has been blind from birth. The minister who conducts the Bible study invited the young man to a regional assembly of the Witnesses being held in the area. He attended for all three days. At the next Bible study he was asked how he enjoyed the convention. The blind youth responded: “I thought it was marvelous. And I received many joys from being there. I saw no pollution.” The minister responded: “Excuse me. But I realize you cannot see. What do you mean?”

The student commented: “I kicked no cans, stepped on no paper or cigarette butts. There was no smoke and I heard no foul language, which I encounter at the college I attend and the other organizational functions I have attended. Also, the people were kind, even the young children. I did not see any pushing or fighting among them. I especially appreciate these fine qualities, and I can see that these people live by what the Bible teaches.”

Managua—Victim of a Tragic Nightmare

By “Awake!” correspondent in Nicaragua

THE sign is still standing. In mute testimony it declares: MANAGUA, 404,700 INHABITANTS. And in the center of the city another silent sentinel bears witness. The clock on the main entrance of the National Palace stands at 12:35.

At that early morning hour, Saturday, December 23, 1972, during the darkness, the capital of Nicaragua died in a terrifying earthquake.

With the quake’s epicenter located directly under the center of the business district, Managua ceased to exist as a habitable city in but thirty seconds. The death toll stands officially at over 12,000, but it will be impossible ever to determine the exact number that perished in the tombs formed by crushed houses.

City-wide Nightmare

The city, for the most part, was resting peacefully when a warning tremor came on Friday night at about 10 o’clock. But Managua has had many tremors. They occur regularly year after year, yet generally do not produce significant damage. However, that Saturday morning last December was different.

Shortly after 12:35 a.m., survivors of the mighty earthquake began spilling into the streets. A thick blanket of dust choked the city. The people were quiet, stunned. Just as the dust started to disperse, a second shock hit, not as strong as the first, but sufficient to bring walls down. Then at about 2 a.m. a third one struck. There was little damage left for it to do.

Reports from all over the city testify to the same reaction when the dust finally cleared. As it occurred in ancient Egypt when the firstborn in each house was struck dead, “there began arising a great outcry” and lamentation from the stricken people. (Ex. 12:30) The full realization of what had taken place was dawning. As rescue work began, there was the bone-chilling awareness of death all around.

During the early hours of the morning, fires broke out at various points in the city. The major one ravaged the central market, burning out a section fifteen blocks long. Neither water nor electricity was available. The central fire station was destroyed; its modern equipment tangled in the wreckage.

Personal Nightmares

All over the city families suffered the same nightmare. It was repeated a thousand times, yes, even tens of thousands of times: The house caved in. The survivors clawed their way out of the rubble, fighting for breath, choking in the dust-filled ruins. Yet many did not make it. Those that did immediately set to work assisting their family.

A mother of eight children reports: “My husband was the first one to get free of the ruins. After digging me out we worked frantically to find the children. The light of the tremendous fires in the downtown area assisted us to see. When we heard a muffled cry we would dig. There was an arm sticking out there, a leg farther over. Thanks be to God, we were able to save them all.”

Lola Díaz, a seventy-nine-year-old witness of Jehovah, was resting when the quake collapsed the wall beside her bed and buried her. Her daughter was able to dig herself free, and then quickly called for help. Several neighbors responded to her cries and together they dug out Lola, already unconscious. She recovered and is recuperating.

Conchita Gonzales was sewing late that night. As the walls came down she immediately crouched under her sewing machine. Cement blocks crashed on top of it, but she was safe.

Others, however, were not as fortunate. A family had just moved into their new residence on the northwest side of the city. Their home was made of cement blocks. Steel bars on the outside of the windows gave a sense of security. Yet, everything came crashing down as if it were made of wet mud. The entire family of eight perished, buried alive.

Then there was the happy wedding reception still in progress early that Saturday morning. Horror struck when the thick concrete roof came crashing to the dance floor. Thirty died.

But there were also remarkable and unusual incidents of survival. A terrified mother searched frantically for her little two-year-old daughter, digging in the rubble of what used to be her home. Later, the little one was found sleeping peacefully in a room at the back, untouched by the quake.

A guest in Room 318 of the Gran Hotel had just finished his shower. He tried to open the door to his room and could not. Finally it was opened by a couple inside. Standing naked, dazed and bewildered, he demanded: “What are you doing in my room?”

“Your room? This is our room, 418,” was the reply.

Neither party at the time realized that the third floor had collapsed, and the fourth floor was now situated on top of it. The naked man escaped death, but many others on the third floor perished.

To bury the thousands of dead, long trenches were dug in the cemeteries. The rows of dead piled one on top of another were a sight that will long be remembered. Some were buried in caskets, most were not. The dead arrived wrapped in plastic, blankets, sheets and some naked. Four bodies were placed inside a portable clothes closet with a rope holding it shut, and in this fashion were lowered to the bottom.

Rescue and Relief Operations

As reports of the tragedy began filtering out, the shocked world reacted quickly. Other countries began almost immediately to send medical aid and other supplies. So it was not long before earthquake victims were receiving assistance.

One of the first centers for providing relief supplies of food and water was the branch office of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, an agency used by Jehovah’s witnesses. It is located eighteen blocks from the quake’s epicenter, on the east side of Managua. The building suffered only light damage. The majority of the other homes around it were completely destroyed.

As a chilly dawn broke over the city that Saturday morning, the overseers of the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses acted with one accord and purpose. They wanted to know particularly how their fellow Witnesses were. They visited each member, one by one, to see what could be done to assist those needing medical aid and to attend to whatever other needs they might have. After this investigation, a full report was carried to the branch office, where an appraisal was made of how best to initiate the relief program.

In a few hours, reports started to arrive. By noon Saturday, fifteen of the sixteen Managua congregations had reported. Amazingly, there were no deaths among the more than 1,000 Witnesses in the city! There were bruises, cuts, scratches and abrasions too numerous to mention, but not even a broken bone! Seven Kingdom Halls were destroyed, and four more were damaged. At least 80 percent of the Witnesses lost their homes.

At once efforts were under way to care for these Witnesses and their families. The genuine love that exists among God’s people certainly manifested itself. By Saturday afternoon a Witness arrived with a truck and 300 gallons of water from a congregation sixteen miles away. Those at the branch office and their neighbors were greatly refreshed by this.

Then at 10 p.m. the first two truckloads of supplies arrived from Jehovah’s witnesses in Liberia, Costa Rica. A short time later, two more trucks arrived from Witnesses in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Thus food, clothing, medicines, water and gasoline were on hand within twenty-four hours or so after the disaster! The borders were open day and night. No visas were required in this national emergency.

A little after 7 o’clock Sunday morning the Watch Tower Society’s branch overseer of Costa Rica arrived with further supplies. Representatives from the branch of El Salvador brought more supplies shortly before noon on Sunday. Volunteer workers were pouring in from various congregations in Nicaragua too. They were quickly given assignments sorting clothing, packaging food and dispatching it. Others volunteered to cook simple meals to feed the workers that were devoting full time to the relief work.

Relief Work Gathers Momentum

On Sunday, the first day of the relief program, 578 persons received enough food for two days. That Sunday afternoon, the branch overseer held a meeting with the visiting Witnesses from Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador. They wanted to know: “What do our Nicaraguan brothers need? What can we do to help? What supplies should we buy?”

It was impossible to buy anything in Managua. So lists of needed supplies were drawn up and instructions given. By Monday morning trucks began to arrive with supplies from other places, and trucks continued coming day and night. At the end of two weeks it was decided that all supplies would henceforth be brought in from Costa Rica, due to its nearness and favorable market conditions. At the close of the third week the relief program of the Witnesses had packaged and shipped more than twenty tons of food, sufficient to provide 120,000 meals. Witnesses outside Managua had opened their homes to their Christian brothers and sisters in need of a place to stay.

From around the world Jehovah’s witnesses have been sending gifts for use in helping their fellow Witnesses in Nicaragua. And as supplies are needed, the Watch Tower Society is sending money to Costa Rica to buy these things. In addition, due to the kind cooperation of the Red Cross and the United States AID program for Nicaragua, 70 tents, 100 cots and 100 blankets were obtained for needy Witnesses. Also, 100 additional blankets have been purchased in Costa Rica.

We do not know how long our relief program will have to continue. But the government declared that it will be necessary to feed a quarter of a million persons in Nicaragua for nearly a year.

A Modern-Day Exodus

During Saturday, the day of the earthquake, as rescue operations continued, the attention of survivors also turned toward saving what personal effects had not been destroyed or irretrievably buried. By that evening Managua was living in the streets. The eerie night was cold and menacing. Improvised carbide lanterns and little coal-oil lamps began to flicker in a feeble and pathetic effort to relieve the fear.

Children whimpered and cried softly and dogs huddled by their masters, cowering in fright as the earth continued frequently to tremble. When, finally, after seemingly endless and sleepless hours, the welcome Sunday sun stabbed a shaft of light into the fear of night, thousands had but one single resolution, to leave this horror-filled city.

The government was broadcasting messages calling for immediate evacuation, but there were doubts as to what sections would have to be evacuated or how it was to be accomplished. However, in a three-day period about 100,000 a day fled the city in an unprecedented exodus bordering on hysteria. Transportation was at a premium. Private truckers were charging four and five times their usual rate. Day and night the loading and leaving continued.

The desperateness of some drove them to extreme and selfish measures to get transportation. A man driving a pickup truck explained: “I had stopped to make a right turn. As I was watching the traffic, a man darted out into the street with a revolver in his hand and stuck it into the window of a vehicle across from me, grabbing the man with his other hand.”

Looting

One of the sad aspects of this national tragedy was the looting that took place. Several days after the quake, large crowds began to form in front of the supermarkets. These were stocked full for the Christmas season. Armed guards were stationed around them as preventive measures to avoid looting. But soon the mobs became uncontrollable. The guards either fled or joined in the looting, according to many eyewitnesses. Five supermarkets were stripped. Even the plumbing fixtures were torn from their bases and carried away. Afterward, two supermarkets were set afire.

Many isolated cases of pillaging private homes were reported. The army was instructed to shoot anyone found stealing. For four or five nights after the earthquake the sound of rifle fire filled the city throughout the long darkness. Many were the cases where people would go to seek transportation to move their personal effects, only to return to find that their homes had been plundered during their absence.

One professor, after digging his family out of the rubble, found his small daughter in critical condition. The roof had collapsed on his car in the garage. So he used other means to take his daughter to the hospital. Returning the next day, after the death of his daughter, he found thieves looting his home. They had even entered his garage, jacked and propped up the roof and proceeded calmly to strip everything off his car including the wheels!

Courage in Face of Catastrophe

The Nicaraguan people, for the most part, are warmhearted and generous. They have developed a remarkable courage. Hardships in their lives are not new. And this latest one has been taken with characteristic courage.

Depicting this is the example of a woman who fled Managua and was living in a makeshift hut on the railroad station platform in Masaya, fifteen miles south of Managua. While waiting for her dress to dry, the only one she had been able to salvage, she spoke to a missionary of Jehovah’s witnesses whom she had invited in. She explained that twenty-seven families had to wait their turn daily to take a bath at a nearby gasoline station. With quiet courage she accepted her plight.

In one area to which refugees had fled, the dew was so heavy that in the morning their sheets were soaked and had to be wrung out and hung out to dry, ready for the next night. But no complaints were uttered.

Many in Managua, with no place to flee and too poor to get away, have remained in the desolated city. Groups band together seeking human companionship, comfort, and protection at night. Most people sleep on canvas cots that provide little warmth on chilly nights. The condition of the Witnesses still there is improving, but there are hardships.

Three weeks after the quake, one seventy-year-old was found sleeping in the street on her cot alongside a fence. To protect her somewhat from the chilly night winds, she had nailed some pieces of plywood around her. Witnesses working in the relief program set up a tent for her to live in. When she saw the tent being set up she broke down and cried. Other Witnesses felt the same when they received their tents. Many had been sleeping on the ground, others on cots out in the open. It does seem almost miraculous, in view of all that has happened, that no deaths have been reported among Jehovah’s witnesses.

Spiritual Assistance

Five days after the earthquake it was decided to evacuate the Watch Tower Society’s branch office and missionary home. It was relocated in the country, twelve and a half miles southeast of Managua. There a family kindly offered to share their living space so the branch office and relief work could continue to function without interruption from a central location. About 100,000 of Managua’s 404,700 inhabitants have remained in the city. Many Witnesses are among those staying.

The branch office and circuit overseer for the Managua area quickly worked out a schedule for visiting and uniting the Witnesses into groups. Congregational meetings were established and the field ministry reorganized. The visit of the circuit overseer was scheduled for one and a half days with each group. Thus by the end of ten days all groups were functioning smoothly.

This first visit of the circuit overseer was followed up by a second one of two days. One day was devoted to the field ministry and the other to special meetings. As martial law prevails, no meetings are held at night. The circuit overseer also delivers food and clothing with each visit as well as giving special instructions about hygiene and the dangers of contamination. He also checks on the health of the brothers from a physical point of view, taking note of any possible needs of hospitalization or of medicines. This entire arrangement has proved to be a real blessing to all.

Part of “the Sign”

Truly this was a tragic nightmare for Managua’s hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Fear, anguish and horror have prompted many persons to pray to God. Will they continue in their efforts to draw close to God? Will they believe the Bible—that “there will be great earthquakes” in this time of the end? Only time will tell.—Luke 21:7, 11.

Reconstruction work has started on buildings, but no man can bring back loved ones who have died. Only the Creator, Jehovah God, can. And we have the sure promise recorded in the Scriptures, that he will do this.—John 5:28, 29.

What Is Happening to Christians in Malawi?

IN RECENT months the world press has repeatedly called attention to the persecution of Christians in Malawi. These Christians, Jehovah’s witnesses, have been the victims of what London’s Sunday Telegram of January 14, 1973, called “one of the most vicious religious persecutions in Africa’s turbulent history.”

Regular readers of Awake! magazine are familiar with many of the details of this persecution, which broke out most recently in the latter half of 1972. The December 8 issue of Awake! carried a full report on this, entitled “Christians Flee Cruel Persecution in Malawi.”

That report covered the events that had taken place up to a few months ago. But what has happened since then? Where does the situation now stand for these Malawian Christians?

Before we bring events up-to-date, a brief summary of what has taken place in Malawi may help readers who are not familiar with the situation.

Waves of Intense Persecution

Intense persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses on a national scale began in Malawi in 1967. Then many Witnesses were savagely beaten and some were murdered. Hundreds of their women were raped, some repeatedly. Thousands of their homes, stores and places of worship were looted and destroyed. Their Christian activity, including their peaceful meeting to study the Bible, was banned, as was all their literature.

Last year, 1972, another wave of persecution broke out. This time it was even more severe than the one in 1967. The beatings, burnings, lootings, rapings and murders were on a much larger scale. The Witnesses were deprived of their livelihood and fired from their jobs. Indeed, a countrywide effort was made to destroy the some 23,000 of Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi. So they were forced to flee for their lives.

All of this came about as the direct result of official actions taken by Malawi’s one-party government. Matthew White, a correspondent for the London Financial Times, was in Malawi at the time. Writing from Blantyre, he said the following, which was published in the Financial Times on October 31:

“The purge of Jehovah’s witnesses . . . has unsettled the country more than any other post-independence event. Action against the Christian sectarians . . . followed a resolution passed at the annual convention of the Malawi Congress Party to deprive Witnesses of their livelihood and have them ‘chased away’ from their villages unless they joined the party.”

Those resolutions were endorsed by the president of Malawi, Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, in a rally at the city of Zomba on September 17. With what result? Correspondent White reports:

“Seeing this speech as the green light, squads from the party’s League of Malawi Youth and the Young Pioneers started house-to-house searches, evicting and sometimes assaulting Africans who could not produce or refused to buy party membership cards. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to gauge the full extent of this violence . . .

“What astonishes many people here—including some members of the M[alawi] C[ongress] P[arty]—is that President Banda should allow the hostility to get so completely out of hand.”

The savagery of the attacks caused a wave of revulsion on the part of many people throughout the world. The press of many nations reacted similarly. Typical of many press reports was this comment by the London Times of December 15, 1972:

“Hitler put them in concentration camps, they have been persecuted behind the iron curtain, and they have been persecuted in African one-party states. Dr. Banda of Malawi banned the sect in 1967, and this year the savage attacks of his Young Pioneers—the Kamusu’s party watchdogs—have driven thousands of them into neighbouring countries.”

Appeals were made to stop the persecution. But these did not prevail. So, as the Times noted, Jehovah’s witnesses were forced to flee Malawi for their lives.

The Issue

In an editorial on October 17, the San Francisco Examiner said of Jehovah’s witnesses: “You might regard them as model citizens. They pay taxes diligently, tend the sick, battle illiteracy. But they refuse, on religious principle, to buy membership cards in Malawi’s single political party.”

Thus, the immediate cause of this persecution is the refusal of these Christians to join the political party that controls Malawi, the Malawi Congress Party. They will not purchase the party cards, as is demanded of them. This is because of their Bible-based neutral stand on politics.

In this regard, they do just as Jesus Christ and the first-century Christians did. Ask yourself: What political faction, whether Roman or Jewish, did Jesus join? What political faction did the apostles join? The Bible is clear on this point. They did not join any of them. They remained neutral, peacefully carrying on their Christian activity as decent, law-abiding citizens.

To try to explain such matters to the authorities, every effort was made by Jehovah’s witnesses. Cables, letters, phone calls and interviews were used. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s witnesses in Brooklyn, New York, cabled a request to Dr. Banda asking him to have a meeting with representatives of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s witnesses. But the Malawi government simply answered that any information should be sent through the Malawi delegate to the United Nations.

This was done. A thirteen-page memorandum was sent to this U.N. representative. It explained the position of Jehovah’s witnesses, and why no government should fear them. In a section of this letter under the subheading “Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Refuse to Buy Party Cards,” the following was stated:

“The position of Jehovah’s witnesses in this matter is based on Biblical teaching and their conscience. Jehovah’s witnesses take a neutral position in all countries of the world, not taking sides or participating in any political activities, thus better to serve impartially as ministers of good news representing the heavenly kingdom of Jehovah God.”

Commenting on the matter of political involvement that would result from buying party cards, this section also noted:

“Jehovah’s witnesses respect and observe the laws of each country in which they reside as long as these laws are not contrary to the divine law. However, in the matter of political involvement, which includes the purchase of political party membership cards, they conscientiously feel that this would be contrary to the words of our Lord Jesus concerning his true followers: ‘They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.’ (John 17:16) Also, Christ said, as recorded at John 18:36: ‘My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought.’”

In addition, the Governing Body’s letter to the representative of Malawi in the United Nations said this:

“Jehovah’s witnesses take the same position as early Christians. The book ‘Christianity and the Roman Government’ states: ‘The Christians were strangers and pilgrims in the world around them; their citizenship was in heaven; the kingdom to which they looked was not of this world. The consequent want of interest in public affairs came thus from the outset to be a noticeable feature in Christianity.’

“Permit it to be said, however, that Jehovah’s witnesses have no intention or desire to interfere with what others do about participation in politics. They are not working against the Government of Malawi or against the political party. They themselves decline to participate in political matters or to purchase political party cards, even though it has brought great suffering upon them, because to Jehovah’s witnesses it is a matter of Bible-based belief and conscience.”

However, to this time, no reply has been forthcoming from the government of Malawi. No delegation has been allowed to represent Jehovah’s witnesses to the president or to other officials of that land.

Well over 20,000 of Jehovah’s witnesses were forced to flee Malawi. Most of them fled to neighboring Zambia. Several thousand fled to Mozambique.

The Refugee Camp at Sinda Misale

THOSE of Jehovah’s witnesses who fled from Malawi to Zambia were gathered into a refugee camp near the border of the two countries. This camp was called Sinda Misale. Several reports, including one by Zambia’s Rural Development Minister, Mr. Reuben Kamanga, indicated that about 19,000 of Jehovah’s witnesses were refugees there.

Since Zambia had not invited the Witnesses into their country, they were treated as unwanted visitors. The camp was isolated by security forces so that there would be no free access to it.

Some supplies were provided by authorities. In addition, money and supplies donated by Jehovah’s witnesses all over the world poured into their branch offices. For instance, in South Africa alone nearly 1,000 canvas tarpaulins and 157 large crates of clothing, in addition to blankets and other supplies were sent. These got through to the refugees.

The South African Witnesses arranged another large shipment. It included money for 10,000 new blankets, medicines and other necessities. Medical doctors also volunteered, and these were available to go. Indeed, such offers and contributions from Jehovah’s witnesses in other lands were more than enough to provide the refugees in Zambia with all their needs.

However, after the early shipments, Jehovah’s witnesses were informed that no more supplies would be allowed into the camp. Efforts were then made to send the supplies through the Red Cross, but these efforts failed.

The United Nations sent its representatives to Zambia to investigate the situation. When, on December 19, it was learned that one of these officials, Mr. Emmanuel Dazie, was in Zambia, Jehovah’s witnesses tried in every way possible to see him. They wanted to learn what was happening to their Christian brothers in the camp and to make arrangements to get relief supplies to them. But to no avail. Mr. Dazie brushed off the Witnesses, saying that he was heavily booked and could not arrange to give them any time for an interview.

In the meantime, over 350 witnesses died at the camp of Sinda Misale, according to available reports. Bad water, malnutrition and lack of sufficient medical supplies were the causes. The greater number of those who died were children.

Finally, officials from Malawi and Zambia determined that Jehovah’s witnesses at Sinda Misale would be sent back to Malawi. Arrangements were made to do that, unknown to the Witnesses at the camp.

The Transfer—A Deception

In December, Jehovah’s witnesses at the camp were told by officials that they were going to be moved, but to another place in Zambia. Such a move was not objectionable to them. But they were not told the truth. The actual destination was Malawi.

That the Witnesses were deceived as to the destination is clearly documented. Over one hundred interviews with Jehovah’s witnesses who were actually involved have proved this conclusively. According to London’s Sunday Telegraph, they had been told that their destination was another camp in Zambia:

“On December 20, 21 and 22, a fleet of 52 lorries and 13 buses driven by Zambians arrived at Sinda Misale. According to an African journalist who visited the camp . . . Jehovah’s Witnesses were told to board transport for another camp in Zambia.”

The United Nations representatives did nothing to thwart the deception. In fact, they became a party to it. The Times of Zambia stated on December 23:

“The 19,000 Watchtower refugees who have just been repatriated to Malawi ‘were happy to return to their country.’ This was stated yesterday by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Dr. Hugo Idoyaga. . . .

“Dr. Idoyaga said he and a director of the UNHCR from Geneva, Mr. Skodjoe Dazie, had helped supervise the voluntary repatriation.”

About two weeks later, the Times of January 6 said: “The United Nations high commissioner for refugees in Zambia, Dr. Hugo Idoyaga, said the refugees had been happy to go back.”

But that was untrue. The Witnesses did not want to go back under the conditions that then prevailed in Malawi. Indeed, had they not been forced to flee for their very lives, they would not have gone to Zambia in the first place. That is why the Times of Zambia had correctly reported earlier, on December 18, that Jehovah’s witnesses “prefer to remain in Zambia.” Also, the London Sunday Telegraph said: “Despite the official assurances, the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not go back willingly.”

Scores of interviews with the Witnesses who were involved in the transfer verify this. Following is a summary of the situation told by these Witnesses:

“First of all, these brothers [that is, Jehovah’s witnesses] explained that it is not true that the brothers who were at Sinda Misale happily agreed to return to Malawi. The police and other government officials who supervised the move cheated the brothers by telling them that they were moving them to a new site in the Petauke area.

“The officials waited until all the leading brothers and others boarded the buses which were guarded by police, and then they told the brothers that they were being taken to Malawi.”

The Witnesses from Sinda Misale were to be taken to a camp in Malawi at Lilongwe. There, at an old airfield, Malawian officials and hundreds of Malawian security forces waited for them.

How many of Jehovah’s witnesses actually arrived there? This cannot be determined accurately at the present time. Eyewitness reports are incomplete.

One report by the Sunday Telegraph of London does say this: “On the 60-mile journey from Sinda Misale to Lilongwe . . . thousands abandoned the buses and lorries and fled back into the bush.” The newspaper also states that an “African journalist travelled all the way to Lilongwe on the last convoy, which had set off with 3,000 refugees from Sinda Misale. Eight buses arrived and only 29 Witnesses disembarked.” However, such reports have not been confirmed as yet.

But what can be confirmed is what happened to those who did return.

[Map on page 20]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

0 100 miles

Zambia

Sinda Misale

Malawi

Lilongwe

Mozambique

Fort Mlangeni

Brutal Persecution Breaks Out Again

THE reluctance of Jehovah’s witnesses to return to Malawi was well founded. This became evident when we learn what happened to those who were taken back.

What awaited them was another reign of terror. Nothing had changed. The vicious attitude against them still prevailed. Malawi’s government had taken no steps to alleviate the situation.

Return to Malawi

When the Witnesses arrived at Lilongwe Airport in Malawi, those who were known to be leading overseers were arrested and put in jail. Among these were John Chiwele, who had been supervisor of the camp at Sinda Misale, and Lazarus Chirwa, who was his assistant.

At the airport, the Witnesses were addressed by Malawi government officials. One of these was Mr. Kumbweza Banda, minister for the Central region. Another was Mr. Qaniso Chibambo, minister for the Northern region. The Witnesses were told that they had left Malawi of their own will, which was untrue; and that they had returned to Malawi of their own will, which was equally untrue.

…

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Awake!, March 8, 1973