When Faith Begins to Divide Us — What Remains of Humanity?

Hello everyone,

I am a small business owner in China exporting goods. When I see in the news that ordinary people are being hurt in wars, I feel deeply saddened. It feels so unfair to them.

I believe I might be able to help from China, since we have abundant supplies here. Even something as simple as disinfectants could save a life. But now, with transportation routes cut off, I don’t know how to reach those in need.

During the pandemic in 2019, I was in Paris. When the outbreak was severe in China, I helped my family and friends in Paris buy masks. Many kind French people also generously offered masks to help me.

Later, when the virus spread in France, I felt very grateful to those who had helped me. By then, supplies in China had become sufficient, so we shipped protective materials from China back to Paris and distributed masks to people around us.

I truly believe the world is connected, and people are willing to help each other. But for that to happen, there must be a way for those who want to help and those who need help to find each other.

I want to quote Yu Qiuyu from A Millennium’s Sigh (Cultural Sojourn) —

Every true religion begins with compassion.
So why does it turn into intolerance?
Every great civilization shines with openness.
So why does it end in hostility?
Jerusalem, with its broken walls, witnesses the brilliance and sorrow of human civilization, as well as the nobility and narrowness of faith.
A single wall can separate two worlds; a single door can separate life and death. Different religions fight over the same stones; different peoples fight over the same land. The cracks of the Western Wall are stuffed with prayers; the mosque’s dome echoes with recitations; the church’s bells contain millennia of sighs.

Faith has never disappeared, but understanding seems to fade.
Behind these grand narratives, it is ordinary people whose lives are truly affected.

They may be simply walking down a street and never return home.
They may simply hold a belief and yet be forced into opposition.

We may not stop wars, but we can choose something important:
Not to look away from ordinary people’s lives.

Even a share, a small act, a message of connection—
can make someone visible.