Christmas spirit in Mogadishu, Somalia

I get a lot of Christmas messages and field reports across my desk at this time of year and was looking through them wondering which summarised the spirit of Christmas most. But I am not sure exactly what the spirit of Christmas is. In amongst the commercial pressures of Christmas sometimes we forget "what it is all about" but when we ask what Christmas is all about there are more elements than the obvious one.

In the original nativity story there was a lot of self sacrifice in the idea of God becoming man in the incarnation; and perhaps self-sacrifice as much as generosity is part of the real Christmas. However, even though I cannot define it I do not find it hard to recognize Christmas spirit when I see it, and there is something extraordinarily Christmassy about this Christmas reflection from Somalia. It is an understated communication from a colleague who only a few weeks ago lost a close friend when our head nurse was shot but far from expressing the frustration and anger one might expect at those who maim and kill, he concentrates the arguments on why he and others should be allowed to remain running a medical service as a lifeline for tens of thousands of children despite the constant danger which they are all in.

I was told years ago that patience was a rather splendid thing in inspirational sermons but was rather less splendid when in involved hours of dealing with frustration and repetition. Bravery can be inspirational in theory but rather frightening when you have to face it down. Here I see undramatic bravery, but undeniable bravery and self-sacrifice none the less. Adding up the numbers and concluding we should carry on despite the high human price in Mogadishu would be callous from Cambridge but here is the person there doing exactly this calculation about their own life. They could leave without a second thought. But, Ahmed Ibrahim, whatever Christmas means to you I would like my Christmas message to the world to include my deep admiration for everything you and your colleagues continue to do.

Andrew Cates
Cambridge, Christmas 2008