What happened to these doves after they were attacked?
No one knows. But the sight of two doves of peace being pecked by two bigger birds has a disturbing symbolism.
The birds were released by children standing next to Pope Francis after Sunday mass at Saint Peter’s Square Sunday.
Pope Francis said a special prayer for the people of Ukraine. There has been anti-government protests there since November. T’
he protests began after President Viktor Yanukovych, on the verge of signing an agreement with the European Union, nixed the deal and opted instead to forge closer ties with Russia instead.
While this shift may have triggered the protests, it’s the passing of laws that ban public gatherings that have offended many Ukraines.
Since the new spate of violence erupted last week, hundreds of people have been injured in clashes with police and at least three people were killed.
The doves were supposed to be symbols of peace. The attack by two bigger birds on the doves is now also being seen as symbolic.
One of the attack birds was a black crow, the other a seagull and some consider the predatory birds are representative of the discord dividing the country.
One of the birds lost feathers as it broke free from the attack, but the other was repeatedly pecked by the crow. No one knows what happened to the doves.
Photo credit: Associated Press
