Wrong Place, Wrong Time?

One of the last things Douglas saw was a man running away from the sound of the grenades with a walkie-talkie, dressed in blue. Then the errant truck exploded. The blast was so powerful that Douglas doesn't remember hearing anything go off. He woke up three days later to blackness in the Kenyetta Hospital in Nairobi. "I heard people wailing and crying around me," Douglas recalls. He was told of the bomb. Two hundred Kenyans and 12 Americans were killed, with an additional 5,000 injured. Douglas was blind.

Interestingly, about 75 percent claim Christianity as their religion, rounded out by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists. Douglas is a man of deep Christian commitment; he wanted to be a Catholic priest growing up, but his parents discouraged him since there were only two boys in the family. Today he reaches out to all denominations with a message of peace, and amazingly, forgiveness even for bin Laden and the Al-Qaida terrorist network. (Four members were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the Kenya bombing and a nearly simultaneous vehicular assault of the embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.)

Douglas lost not only his eyes, but his job. His wife, Teresa, is a high school teacher, and they have two children, 6 and 2 ?. Douglas is currently in the U.S. for occupational training in computers, and to bring attention to the plight of the thousands of injured Kenyans whose aid is running out at this time. Douglas leads a survivors' organization called Visual Seventh August. Much of the support was limited to the fixing buildings and businesses.Douglas has reached out to survivors of the September 11 attacks, laying a wreath from Kenya's survivors on the Pentagon steps to show solidarity with the victims. He also spoke at various trauma/peacebuilding seminars and churches. "I have no resentment or bitterness against bin Laden or anyone," he affirms. "To me killing terrorists creates more terrorists, it is not a solution. There are more peaceful alternatives, including negotiation and prayer. Both Christians and Muslims should be encouraged to pray. Show love to each other. Maybe bin Laden lacks love. If you are defensive, it makes someone fight back even more" he says.

Even so, earlier articles written (1999) indicate that Douglas did go through a period of bitterness and anger. Adjusting to life as a blind person was not easy. He began studying Braille, which is very difficult, according to Douglas. Thus he feels for other victims, especially of September 11, and earlier the Oklahoma City bombing victims (whom he knows and has met with). "I know it is difficult to accept the situation when something like this happens. But that is the only way to deal with it. You can't reverse what happened. [Bitterness] only retards the recovery. People tell me my life has become an inspiration for anyone struggling with a hardship," said Douglas.

Douglas propels us all to a higher plane of living. Another columnist wrote, "The last thing Douglas saw were men at their worst." Now his vision is to "be part of a global movement of peace" (Cary Clack, San Antonio Express News, August 4, 2002).

Douglas' story, and the amazing story of Kenya pulling together, is told in a new book, by his friend, Elijah F. Akhahenda, a fellow Kenyan and professor at St Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas: When Blood And Tears United A Country, The Bombing Of The American Embassy In Kenya. (Check www.amazon.com)

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Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly columnANOTHER WAY (http://www.thirdway.com/aw/).For information on using Another Way in a local newspaper, contact:ANOTHER WAY, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801-2497; or call1-800-999-3534; fax at 540-434-5556; or email me at:Melodie@mennomedia.org