Features
Let us pray for her and the others
Last week Wednesday was a day in the life of this nation that I believe every well meaning Ghanaian will like to quickly forget. Most people were greeted with a very, very sad breaking news.
The crash of a military helicopter with some government officials on board and that initial reports indicate that there were no survivors. As someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, not just a loved one but a spouse, I could empathise with the families of the men who lost their lives.
Such terrible news of this magnitude, has the potential of affecting the mood of the whole nation. It can cause individuals who did not have details of the announcement of the incident to panic.
If my phone had been off that fateful afternoon, I do not know what may have happened to my sister who was aware that I was flying to Kumasi and heard news of a plane crash.
She later told me that she did not have the courage to call my number, hence the earlier call from her husband to me to ascertain whether I was alive or not.
On a personal level, the news was devastating because I had heard that the father of one of the eight was a distant relation. If the sad news impacted me so much, how about the mother of one of the lost souls who I learnt was her only child.
If this is true, then she deserves our special prayers for God to console her. I can imagine what she went through when she first heard the news of the passing of her only son and not just an ordinary son but a man of repute.
If you take into account the culture of our country, parents’ expectation is for their children to bury them when God finally calls them home.
Therefore it is a very unfortunate situation when the person you expect to bury you, gets taken away suddenly by death and death in the manner that it happened. I recall a woman in Obuasi who passed away on hearing of the death of her prominent son, who was a work colleague.
The woman was on a sick bed and passed on when someone broke the news to her even though she had other children who were still alive.
Usually when news of a road accident or vehicle crash resulting in death or deaths, it is taken as one of the normal life’s occurrences. Though sad, it usually does not affect us the way it would if the people involved are not close to us. When those involved are close to us, it takes on a different meaning altogether.
The life of a shining star in a family suddenly cut short, is a traumatising experience. In fact talking from experience, you first get a shock when you get the news of the passing of a close, loved one. Time stands still for a moment.
Then comes the whys and then what am I going to do. It is not a pleasant experience at all. It is not uncommon for people in such situations to collapse. That is why parents, spouses and children of the departed, require our prayers so God can comfort them in a way he only can.
One other person who also needs our special prayer is the spouse of one of the eight who is reported to have gotten married a few months ago. The loss of a spouse, a few months after marriage is so shattering and some psychological help must be made available to her.
It is very important that this is done to enable her regain her sanity and to move on in life and for the others as well. Through counselling, they would gradually and finally come to accept the reality of their loss and move on. May God have mercy.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah