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Concerned as we must be with our own problems and the political
uncertainties facing us we empathise with people affected
by war either as combatants or in familial relationships with
them. We have men and women soldiering in Iraq and Afganistan
in fearsome situations which appear to be worsening daily
and with a civil war threatened in Iraq.
George Bush and Tony Blair are being questioned constantly
on their policies there and on their attitudes to the horrors
of what has been happening in and to Lebanon and Israel. The
sights form those "theatres of war" are worrying
to everyone who feels for the victims of violent confrontations.
We speak as those who know what suffering and loss means
from wars, civil wars and recurring troubles in a land famous
and infamous for centuries of suffering from them. We commend
all those in lesser or greater capacities who have the task
of seeking and finding an end to the hostilities made familiar
to us by the media; especially those who labour unarmed and
carrying food, medicine and aid to the suffering from hunger,
disease and homelessness. The courage and self-sacrificing
zeal of these good men and women, constantly at risk of their
lives, is the other reality that people are often kind and
generous to others in need.
We would be remiss if we did not pay compliment to the many
volunteers who serve in post-war situations where the effects
are orphaned children, disabled and homeless people. The sterling
efforts being made by our own folk to relive distress and
despair make us proud and supportive of them in money and
goods.
The Institution is less known than it should be for its strong
emphasis on caring for the needy wherever and whoever they
are. Our charities, and support of others of like kind, are
as much an integral part of Orangeism as everything else for
which it stands.
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