By now you are all well aware of the tragic death of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues in Gaza.
They were killed in an Israeli air strike as they went about their work with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.
Zomi, short for Lalzawmi, breathed her last doing what she was most passionate about – serving people.
Zomi’s late mother Rini happened to be someone from my home state in India’s northeast, Mizoram.
She married Paul, an Australian man, who now lives in Shillong in Meghalaya, India.
(Interestingly, Zomi’s brother was in the same class as the sister of my wife.)
Zomi’s mum Rini was probably one of the few Mizos who moved to Australia when there was really no one from Mizoram, here. I don’t know the Frankcoms personally, but some of my Mizo friends here in Australia know them well.
From news articles written extensively about Zomi, it appears that when her mum Rini died of breast cancer years ago, it instilled in her, as a young lady, greater perseverance in life. She was by all accounts a humanitarian at heart, getting herself deeply involved in crisis response all over the world.
The Australian government is rightly responding to the situation in a prompt and measured way. But when it comes to any war or military conflict, we know how foggy it can get. We can only hope that Zomi will be given the honourable goodbye she deserves for her dedication and bravery.
This afternoon I joined representatives from Australian NGOs to lay flowers for Zomi Frankcom at the monument to commemorate the sacrifices of Australia’s humanitarian workers.
Zomi will not be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/NfHtWaZBH1
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) April 3, 2024
When we heard the news about her from Australian news outlets, as well as from Mizoram, we took the time to say a prayer for her family that God would comfort them in their shock and grief. We also reminded our children and ourselves of the brevity of life, and how we don’t know when the end will come. We reminded our children how much we need to commit our life to the One who can keep us.
We read Psalm 90, where the Psalmist writes about how fragile our life is, especially in the light of God’s holy wrath. Our prayer, along with the Psalmist, was: “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
For Zomi Frankcom, the Bible verse Hebrew 9:27 came when she was killed in the rocket attack that fateful day. We know that ours can also come any day.
Matana Pachuau shared these thoughts with his fellow parishioners at Trinity Christian Church, Padstow.
READ MORE: India on Gaza conflict: Calls for ‘immediate de-escalation’
