In the rush of daily news, it is far too easy for individual lives to be reduced to numbers or overlooked entirely. I am writing today because I do not want us to forget Rosa González.
Rosa was 80 years old, a civilian who lost her life in an air strike in Venezuela earlier this month. She wasn’t a soldier or a politician; she was a person — someone’s neighbor, perhaps someone’s grandmother — living her life when the unthinkable happened.
We often talk about “civilian casualties” as a clinical term, but behind that term is a human soul. As a resident of Massachusetts, I believe we must keep our hearts open to the suffering of others, no matter how far away they are. Kindness and compassion shouldn’t have borders.
Let us keep Rosa González in our thoughts. By remembering her name, we honor her dignity and remind ourselves of the heavy cost of conflict on the innocent.
Tony Blevins
Leeds