Article February 8, 1999 Issue

Open for business, open for peace

Standing with God against terrorism

By Brian J. S. Kissock

In the past thirty years, our small country of Northern Ireland has seen much trouble. The people have endured some of the worst atrocities that man could inflict on man. For many years, the Irish Republican Army had a sustained bombing campaign that focused on "economic" targets. In effect, it was indiscriminate, without warning, and deadly. For a time, Belfast and other towns throughout Northern Ireland resembled the pictures of London during the blitz of the Second World War.

For much of that thirty years, I worked in Belfast city center. We owned wholesale and retail shops, and many of these buildings caught the bomb blasts. I can vividly recall clearing premises of the torn-apart elements of glass, masonry, and woodwork as well as goods and garments. I also made signs indicating that despite conditions, we were open for "Business as usual." Sometimes I had to hang the sign on the last remaining frame of a window or door, but we did not allow terrorism to shut us down. Like many resilient people in our country, we stayed open for business.

I give thanks that none of our staff were killed during this campaign of violence, although I saw friends maimed and killed. In our church and among its members, there was much prayer, and we tried to hold to the wonderful truths in the Bible, and from Mary Baker Eddy's writings, especially those that deal with protection. The twenty-third and ninety-first Psalms were very meaningful to us.

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