Contempt for the other flows in our blood,
The ‘other’ remains untouched and unsacred,
They need conversion, they need sanctification,
Race, inhumanity, and contempt for the other dwell within our DNA.
Uprooting the other becomes our mission,
Pulpits preach, “Embark on a new mission field visit,”
“Acquire land in our new missions.”
Announcements persist,
Opportunities to expand your trade and procurement,
New mission fields have opened,
Surrounding villages offer affordable labor,
Our children are exposed to fresh cultures and ways of life,
New experiments and research avenues emerge.
Mission tours will offer parishioners new vistas of experiences,
Guesthouses and villas built,
To house our mission workers,
While the locals sustain their traditional lives.
But we preached and advocated the futility of their lifestyle,
Coats and suits grant a new identity,
Transforming you into a new human,
English sets you apart.
Mission hospitals aim to cure their ailments,
Indigenous treatments deemed witchcraft,
No place for Ayurveda, Siddha, or Homeopathy.
In the East and Africa, they lack science and technology,
Mission schools and colleges instill scientific and technological education,
Gentiles must be converted.
Thus, our mission continues,
Clearing the path,
Setting the road clean and neat.
P. Koshy ( 21 October 2023)