Editorial

On humanity in this time of grief

People are born and die continually in Aylmer. However, the last week has been particularly tough on this front for all of us. As one girl lost her struggle to live, one man won his struggle to die.

Who wants to write about the passing of beautiful souls from among us? Sophia Nouha Randell has taken her final breath after a valiant battle with cancer. For even a journalist to have no words is fitting. With her passing came a wave of sorrow across our region. There really are no words for losing a child, one that was so loved and who loved so ardently. The kicker is that a family living not far away suffered a death as well. This one by suicide. This is one of the many mysteries of life, isn’t it? Two humans with entirely divergent life impulses. 

It is one of the gifts of life, too, not only that each of us is alive but that we can be touched by the lives, the fears, and the challenges which others around us experience, sometimes with the most drastic of consequences. We are not islands; we are not economists’ ciphers; we are neighbours. We are parents. Children. We are supports for others and we are in need of support ourselves. We are humanity.

The conclusion we can draw from both deaths is similar:  love harder and love now. With this Covid-19 containment, families have been gifted time together. That’s the blessing the Randell family cherished so dearly this past winter. And as helpless as neighbours feel about wanting to help the Hajjar-Randell family, there is something less specific, but infinitely profound, which each of us can do. We can hug our children. All these daily acts of love and respect are our tributes to the families around us who are grieving ... in this exceptional time of great grief.