Maravi

Let Chiluba be mourned and buried in peace

Let Chiluba be mourned and buried in peace
By The Post
Sun 19 June 2011, 04:00 CAT

FREDERICK Chiluba is gone. His journey on this earth has ended. No one can add anything or take away anything from Chiluba today. This is how final death is. It is a definitive end of the process we call life.

All human beings must die, but death can vary in its significance. The ancient Chinese writer Szuma Chien said, “Though death befalls all men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.” To die having served one’s people selflessly is weightier than Mount Tai, but to live a selfish life is lighter than a feather.

Death is a mystery and yet is as real as life itself. We may not like to think about it but it is as real as the breath we take. It is only a matter of time before the announcement is made that this one or that one has died. Yesterday, it was an announcement about Chiluba’s death.

One day this announcement will be about each one of us. It is no wonder that some say that death is a great equaliser. You may be rich or poor, great or small, politically powerful or weak, but death will harvest all of us. The passing of somebody that we have known in so many ways – pleasant and unpleasant – and probably taken for granted, calls for serious reflection and deep meditation.

Sometimes, there is nothing one can do to save something that must die. And we are reminded in Ecclesiastes 2:1: “Everything that happens in this world happens at a time God chooses.

He set the time for our birth and a time for death …” We therefore have to be comfortable with the fact that one day we will die. This will help us to have a realistic view of the things that we do. It will help us to learn to value things that are important and ignore things that are not important in this life. A correct view of our mortality helps us to direct our energies in the most productive and beneficial way, in the service of the common good.

If we know that we are just passing through this world to do our small part in the relay of life, we will try our best to do those things which are good, which are useful, which are productive, which are enduring.

Although death is a difficult subject to think about, an inevitable reality that is often difficult to accept, it has a sobering effect on all of us.

Death helps us to have helpful attitude towards material possessions, how we acquire them and use them. What is the use of doing all sorts of wrong things to acquire wealth when you can leave it the very next day? None of us can guarantee that we will be around to enjoy the wealth we have acquired for ourselves. This is why it is foolish to be a thief, a plunderer, to be corrupt.

It doesn’t make sense to use one’s position in government or state apparatus to steal public funds and deny many of our people meaningful public services like health, education, clean water and other social services required in an organised society.

Those who want to acquire or have acquired wealth in this way should realise that they are chasing the wind and will never be satisfied, will never be happy, will never be truly happy. We are again reminded in Ecclesiastes 5:10-12: “If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want.

It is useless. The richer you are, the more mouths you will have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich. A workingman may or may not have enough to eat, but at least he can get a good night’s sleep. A rich man, however, has so much that he stays awake worrying.” This is the reality of life.

Living life dishonestly, corruptly – stealing and plundering public resources – may seem profitable but is a bitter pill on the deathbed. Nobody ever takes their loot with them to heaven, purgatory or hell when they die.

Clearly, we should not be afraid of death’s decree. We should always remember that it came to those before us and it will come to those after us. And in the world of the dead, no one will care whether you were rich, powerful, a king, a president and so on and so forth.

It won’t even matter what type of funeral you are accorded, state funeral or otherwise. It won’t matter what type of a coffin – gold, copper – your remains are buried in.

Like other deaths, the death of Chiluba reminds us of an old Rabbinic teaching, a beautiful one, that just before a person dies, an angel comes to him from heaven and asks the question:

“Tell me, is the world a better place because of your life which is about to end? Is the world a better place because of the efforts you exerted? Is the world a better place because you were around?” In the case of Chiluba, we can narrow the question down and ask:

“Frederick, tell us, is Zambia a better country or nation because of your life which has just ended? Is Zambia a better place because of the efforts you exerted? Is Zambia a better place because you were around?”

We don’t need to answer these questions for Chiluba because we all know what Chiluba did or did not do, we all know how he governed this country when he was given an opportunity to be president of our Republic. We all know what he has done or did not do since he left office as president in 2001 up to the time of his death.

We all have answers to these questions for Chiluba. But probably this is not the best time to delve into these issues. Decency requires that we allow Chiluba’s family and friends reasonable time for mourning. Let them bury his remains in peace.

We know that the death of a politician is political. But we urge Chiluba’s family and friends to keep the politics under control. The temptation to try and extract maximum political capital from Chiluba’s death may be very high, especially given that we are in an election campaign period.

If Chiluba’s political friends will fail to exercise self-limitation and modesty over the period of Chiluba’s funeral, things may backfire. We say this because their political opponents will certainly hit back.

We also urge those who were not in good terms with Chiluba and his friends to exercise maximum restraint and allow Chiluba’s friends and family to mourn him and bury his remains in peace.

If to maintain peace calls for them to stay away from his funeral, they should let that be so. There is nothing much for them to lose or gain. Moreover, a person should be mourned and buried by his family and friends. And should this be their wish, let it be so.

Many issues will come to a close with Chiluba’s death and burial. But there are others which will not die with him and which will remain with his friends to sort out. Again, the time for this will come. For now, let them mourn and bury him in peace.

Labels: FREDERICK CHILUBA, OBITUARIES, PRESIDENCY

posted by MrK @ 3:35 PM