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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It's a tiny, unassuming but immaculately maintained church, with thin plywood walls, a modest flower garden — and a gun rack where soldiers can check their rifles at the door.
Perhaps nowhere else is the notion of faith more important than in a war zone such as Afghanistan, where life itself can be a fragile commodity and a day's work is often shrouded in violence and death.
On this Easter Sunday, the pews at Kandahar Airfield's Fraise Chapel were filled with a multinational cross-section of Catholic and Protestant faithful as American padre Rev. Jim Connolly reminded the congregation that the work they do is for a greater good.
“You're living on the edge of life and death, and you've got to ask some hard questions,” Rev. Connolly said after Sunday's Easter service.
U.S. and Canadian soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force leave after Easter prayers at the Kandahar air base on Sunday. (SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images)
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“On many occasions, people are saying, ‘Is it really worth it? Is it really this important?' My basic hope is that I can help them come to a sense that yes, it is important, it does matter, because every single one of us counts.”
Sunday's services capped a difficult three weeks for Canadian forces in Kandahar province where three Canadian soldiers lost their lives in three separate incidents.
The ramp ceremony commemorating the most recent death, that of Sgt. Jason Boyes of 2 Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was one of four this past week alone for the multinational NATO coalition known as the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. Two Americans and a Romanian also died.
“Every time that we lose soldiers ... the whole coalition is losing soldiers,” said Rev. Bastien Leclere, who's originally from Edmonton and who assisted in Connolly's Sunday service.
“We're all in this together, and we all pray together, and we keep up each other. It is important that we support each other in this journey. It's a marathon, not a sprint.”
Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, of Matane, Que., from 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Man., was found dead March. 11 in an accommodation room at Kandahar Airfield.
Military officials have said the death was not combat-related and that it remains under investigation.
Bombardier Ouellet's death came 10 days after Trooper Michael Hayakaze, 25, from the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), based in Edmonton, was killed by a roadside bomb in Mushan, 45 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
“Any time we have to say so long to a comrade, it's a very difficult thing, because out here, we really don't have too much else to depend on except than one another,” Rev. Connolly said.
“When one of us goes to the ‘big home,' those of us who are still here at the ‘little home' — we miss 'em. And it reminds us that we too still have some difficult work to do.”
Later in the day Sunday, Capt. Patrick Hannan, 39, of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, based at CFB Valcartier, Que., emerged from the modest chapel after a Protestant service.
Capt. Hannan, originally from Sorel, Que., admitted he'd rather mark Easter at home with his family. But his work in Afghanistan brings hope to those who have none, he said, and Easter is a holiday that's all about sacrifice.
“I think that for us to be here in Kandahar and to show hope to people who don't have any is a good thing to do and also a privilege,” he said.
Capt. Hannan, who's in his ninth month of serving in Afghanistan, has lost a number of friends since he's been here — something he acknowledged can often be difficult to reconcile with his faith.
“When it happens, one of the initial reactions is revenge, and revenge only attracts revenge,” he said.
“We're here not to avenge those who fell, but to give hope, so as long as you keep the faith I think you can reconcile both of them.”
The coalition's enemies believe they, too, are fighting for a just cause that's rooted in their own beliefs about God, Rev. Connolly acknowledged.
“Truth is big, you know?” he smiled.
“All I can say is it's up to God to work that out, and I hope he does so quickly. But you know, when you're an eternal God, what is quick?”
“The important thing is, that as far as the people to whom I minister here are concerned, to help them keep the focus — what we're doing is building a hope, not just for here, but also for the world to come.”
Regardless of faith, every member of the Canadian contingent at Kandahar Airfield awoke to a special treat Sunday — one of 2,500 Easter Cream Eggs courtesy of Canadian chocolate maker Laura Secord.
“Our hope is to deliver a small but traditional taste of Easter to the Canadian personnel serving in Afghanistan,“ company president Jamie Ardrey said in a statement.
