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This is what we
are about: We plant
seeds that one day
will grow. We water
seeds already
planted, knowing
that they hold
future promise. We
provide yeast that
produces effects
beyond our
capabilities.
Oscar Romero (1917-1980),
Archbishop of San Salvador
JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE
No. 17 OCTOBER 1999
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East Timor: Taking sides with the poor
W
e cannot take care of everything. But we do what is
possible under the circumstances,”
JRS East Timor director, Karl
Albrecht SJ, told his counterpart
in Indonesia, Hendra Sutedja SJ,
on 11 September. A few hours
later, at around 11pm, Fr Karl was
shot dead by an intruder in the
courtyard of the Jesuit residence
in Dili, East Timor’s capital.
The violence which
swept across East
Timor over the past
weeks claimed the life
of JRS East Timor
director, Karl Albrecht
SJ. His words about the
brutality he witnessed,
particularly in his last
days, highlight both the
tragedy of the Timorese
people and his
wholehearted efforts to
alleviate their pain. His
work is continued by
JRS in both East and
West Timor.
A little hard of hearing, it is possible that Fr Karl did not hear the
intruder demand that he turn off
his flashlight, and when he hesitated to do so, he was murdered.
He died aged 70 years, only three
days short of his fiftieth anniversary in the Society of Jesus on 14
September. It is not yet known
whether Fr Karl’s murderer was
mainly interested in robbery or
whether Fr Karl was actually targeted because of the help he gave
to refugees.
Fr Karl was one of thousands of
victims of the reign of terror which
gripped East Timor following its
population’s vote for independence on 30 August. An untold
number perished at the hands of
anti-independence Indonesian mili-
tary and their local militia allies, and
hundreds of thousands more fled
or were forced to leave their
homes.
JRS set up in East Timor earlier
this year when violence was reignited in the territory following the
announcement of the ballot. Fr
Karl, who had been in Indonesia
since 1959, spending most of the
nineties in East Timor, was appointed JRS director. Until the day
he died, Fr Karl assisted displaced
people in and around Dili, and was
shaken by the wanton cruelty he
saw. He was no stranger to the
repression of the East Timorese by
Indonesia, having witnessed the
infamous Santa Cruz massacre in
1991. Since then, the Indonesian
Jesuit Provincial, Paul Wiryono,
said: “Fr Karl’s whole heart was
dedicated to the struggle for humanity in East Timor.”
In a fax written to Hendra two
days after the 30 August ballot, Fr
Karl wrote: “I had occasion to witness some action in the afternoon.
The experience shook me almost
as much as Santa Cruz. I had set
out for Aileu, south of Dili, to help
the Maryknoll Sisters who were in
acute danger. I ran into a band of
militiamen, all in army battle dress,
with red and white bandanas
around their heads, and modern
weapons slung under their arms.
“On the way back, I passed a village which was totally on fire, the
huts of the village dwellers standing like blazing torches around the
compound. Barely a mile further,
I came across the militia gang I
had encountered on the way out.
They were herding a straggly
crowd of villagers, loaded with
2
No. 17
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bedding and bundles, I don’t know
to which evacuation point. It struck
me right in the stomach, seeing
those hapless people homeless on
the road to nowhere.”
Condolences for the loss of Fr Karl
have poured in from all over the
world. JRS International director,
Mark Raper SJ, said: “We mourn
the loss of Karl Albrecht SJ as a
companion and friend. At the same
time, we are proud of him. If we
cannot persuade any earthly authority that the suffering of the
Timorese people must end, may he
now be their advocate in heaven.”
Fr Wiryono adds: “His friendships
were built as he fulfilled his commitment to take sides with the poor.
Good bye, dear Father. May your
pioneering work on taking sides
with those pushed aside, open our
hearts.”
JRS is my job...
Extracts of a phone interview by Italian journalist, Vittoria Prisciandaro
(of Famiglia Cristiana magazine) with Fr Karl, 10 September, 1999.
What is the situation in Dili?
Half the town is burnt down and
more than half of the people have
fled the town into the hills. They
are hiding in the hills because the
military and the militia are roaming the town, burning up houses
and shops and government offices.
Most of the religious have left their
convents and have fled outside the
province. And the residence of the
bishop has been burnt down, and
also the diocesan secretariat. As
far as I know, no churches have
been touched. That is more or less
the situation now.
What is your situation? How
many people are now in the
residence?
There are only two of us, Father
Ageng and myself. Father Edu
Ratu is at the school with a group
of students and families. He’s trying to keep the militia away from
the school. And another secular
priest is at the seminary, he is doing the same, trying to keep them
out of the building.
Has your building been
touched by the military?
No, it has not. But they have reOCTOBER 1999
peatedly attempted to enter the
building. We have always been
able to keep them out, by engaging
them in conversation and trying to
reason with them. Because the militia are Timorese people and they
still have respect for the priests and
when we talk to them they listen
to us. But the situation is changing
now. The militia is retreating from
Dili and the army is taking over.
There are more army units coming into town... So far there has
been shooting and burning day and
night, but without any opposition.
Nobody is shooting in defence or
against them… they just carry on
like robbers, without anybody opposing them.
How many days have you stayed
in the building? Have you gone
out?
I am almost the whole day away.
From Saturday (4.9.99) until yesterday (9.9.99) I was trying to bring
food to the refugees in various locations, as far as I am able to do it.
I can still move around. I have
never been interfered with. But I
can’t get a truck. I can’t get a
driver because nobody dares to go
out on the street. So I have to do in
It struck me right in the
stomach, seeing those
hapless people
homeless on the road to
nowhere.
my small car. But I am visiting a
number of religious communities
and visiting the refugees in their
compounds. And now that they
have gone out of town, this morning I went out also after them to
look how things are with them. I
was able to organise a truck to
come back into town to pick up
some 30 or 40 bags of rice for
them and send it out of town. We
had difficulties, but we succeeded in that.
What is your job?
Jesuit Refugee Service is my job
and that is why I am looking after them as much as I can. I am
originally from Germany. I was
born in Germany, but I’ve been
for 40 years in Indonesia.
What do you expect now?
Well, we expect that within a
couple of days, some kind of intervention will happen. It must
happen, otherwise the people will
suffer from acute hunger and diseases. And very many of them
will die.
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Hunted, tortured, displaced...
rejected
Accompanying asylum seekers in Belgium, Europe, Raymond Pilette SJ has learnt
much about the harsh treatment and restrictive approach of the national authorities
which often lead to the rejection of what may well be valid claims for refugee status.
E
Not every
asylum seeker
will fit the
category of
refugee, but
all deserve at
least a fair and
open minded
hearing.
4
very morning, at around 8.30am,
people start queuing up outside the
gate of the Foreigners’ Office in Brussels. Around 150 people stand outside the
office daily, waiting their turn to face the
Belgian authorities, many to undergo their
first interview for refugee status. Four
or five usually pass the test; the others either present a case which is considered
as ‘untrustworthy’ or else slip in a few
‘contradictions’ and ‘unlikely things’, discarded as ‘not complying with the norms
of the Geneva Convention’ or being
‘fraudulent’. At 4.30pm, mostly gloomy
faces leave the office.
My work with JRS includes being an
“interpreter of choice” at the asylum
hearing of some asylum seekers. Most,
however, are unaccompanied in their interviews at the Foreigners’ Office, and
they are not permitted to take a lawyer
or social worker with them. At the end
of the interviewing process, a good
number of them become “illegals”.
Not every asylum seeker will fit the
category of “refugee”, but all deserve
at least a fair and open minded hearing.
Surely that is not too much to ask, but
often, it seems the approach adopted
by the authorities falls far short of such
criteria. My complaint is not so much
the outcome of the interviews, but the
procedure, the restrictive approach and
harsh treatment of people.
No. 17
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The experiences of asylum seekers who sought refuge in
Belgium speak for themselves (names have been changed):
Yakob’s father, accused of plotting
against his government in a South Asian
country, runs away. Yakob, 18 years
old, is arrested by the police who want
to know where his father is. He is
hanged upside down from the lockup
ceiling, beaten for four hours. In Belgium, he is granted the temporary right
to reside, but it is suddenly withdrawn.
Picked up by the police, he is sent to
three jails. His lawyer gets him out, for
five days only. He flees to Italy.
As is well known, the Myanmar (formerly Burma) dictatorship terrorises and
kills members of ethnic communities.
Isaac, 22 years, is one of their potential
victims: his father is murdered, his mother
and sister are raped and killed; he alone
survives. Stowed away in a cargo ship,
he makes his way to Belgium. Although
he has had no schooling at all, the interviewer asks him ‘difficult’ questions on
history and geography. Rejected, he must
go. Simple as that.
Hussein, 22 years, an active party member somewhere in South Asia, is jailed
and tortured. He flees his country, and
as soon as he lands at Brussels airport,
he is put in a ‘closed centre’. His case
is processed under ‘accelerated procedures’ and he is expelled within three
weeks for having false documents. Contacted later, his embassy in Brussels examines these documents and finds no
fault in them. Anyway, an authentification would take at least four weeks,
the embassy said.
Cornelius, 25 years, is a Sudanese.
Tracked down, beaten, threatened like
thousands of Christians in Sudan, he
seeks asylum in Belgium. He is not allowed to stay. However, a Christian
community offers him shelter. Not surprisingly, he still feels insecure, but claims
OCTOBER 1999
he is not depressed. “Why should I be
depressed?” he asks.“ God put me on
earth, Jesus accompanies me throughout life and takes me back.” Edifying,
and sad all the same. Cornelius has since
gone to Norway. Will he succeed there?
Mussa, a Nigerian, is a family man, with
a child born in Belgium. To the interviewers, he narrates his life story, interspersed with ‘apparent’ contradictions,
in a typical non-Western style: using
metaphors, instead of precise, clear,
down-to-earth facts. Stay is refused. A
minimum of good will and understanding may have led to a wiser decision.
Any pretext is
good to expel
them (the asylum
seekers). The
justice reserved
for foreigners
would be a
scandal if it were
applied to
Belgians.
A lawyer working with
asylum seekers
Hector is a Pakistani Catholic, a victim
of the notorious ‘Blasphemy Law’
against which Bishop Joseph of Punjab
killed himself in protest last year. Hector’s story is irrefutable: he is declared
admissible and allowed to stay in Germany for two years. Then suddenly, refusal... he leaves for Brussels. Ignoring
the seriousness of his situation, adhering strictly to the Schengen Convention,
the Belgian authorities reject him. Hector panics and flees to France, but will
this be the end of his running?
Not permitted to stay, unable to go home,
thousands of rejected asylum seekers
drift into precarious “illegality” all over
Europe every year. With no rights, no
security, and no future, their only hope
is that the governments who refused to
believe their need for protection in the
beginning will ultimately yield to the inevitable, and regularise their situation.
In 1999, France granted residence permits to 80,000 undocumented immigrants, and Italy did the same for
another 250,000 people. Belgium is currently considering such a scheme.
Raymond Pilette SJ works
with JRS in Belgium
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Hidden refugees: Prevailing against the odds
"Invisible" refugees and asylum seekers living in large cities find themselves pitted against barriers of policy
and xenophobia. JRS work with refugees and asylum seekers in urban settings aims to bridge the gap between
the harsh realities they face and their integration in the society hosting them.
Eve Lester
C
lassic images of refugees are of people in camps
or boat people. A relatively unknown and invisible group are refugees in urban areas in developing
countries. Refugees can be found in most capitals of
the developing world, from Moscow to Maputo, from
Nairobi to New Delhi. As a matter of law, there is
nothing to distinguish them from other refugees.
From a policy perspective, however, distinctions which
are arbitrary, technical, and sometimes unlawful have
been made.
In 1997, UNHCR started developing policies relating to assistance to urban refugees. They came under considerable criticism from NGOs, including JRS.
Although the policy has been reviewed, it remains
unclear. The reasons for the interest on the part of
UNHCR seem to be several, not least the growing
numbers and greater permanence of asylum seekers in urban settings. The end of the Cold War has
brought a change in refugee protection priorities; we
have seen a diminishing interest in refugee protection through resettlement. There has also been an
increase in such measures as visa restrictions and
carrier sanctions, designed to keep asylum seekers
out of developed countries. Responsibility for their
protection often falls by default to UNHCR when
governments play little or no role. However, the focus of the agency's revision of policy for urban refugees is on limiting access to assistance rather than
on strengthening protection. The preoccupation
seems to be with the strain on UNHCR resources.
Lack of donor interest in this invisible group of refugees does not help. Urban refugees cost more and
more and there is less to go around.
JRS works with urban refugees in a number of countries, providing social as well as legal assistance.
These countries include Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya,
Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia,
Ethiopia, Italy and England among others. Many of
the urban refugees with whom we are in contact
feel the weight of new restrictions. Despite the continuing lack of clarity in relation to policy, ad hoc responses in UNHCR offices do not reflect a rightsbased response to refugees' need for protection and
6
Income-generating activities (IGA) for refugees in Nairobi
have been well developed by JRS Kenya. The Mikono
IGA was set up in 1991, aiming to give refugees the
opportunity to start life afresh and keep hope alive. This
JRS project encourages refugees - through loans, grants
and incentives - to be self reliant. Underlying the drive
towards self-sufficiency is the belief that in earning an
honest living, refugees have the scope to realise their
potential and to uphold their dignity.
assistance. NGOs try to alleviate their suffering
through scholarship and vocational training, food,
medical and housing assistance, and legal advice
through refugee status determination procedures. The
JRS mission of accompaniment, service and advocacy leads it to serve refugees in urban areas. In
this, the JRS works with UNHCR in an effort to ensure that UNHCR's protection mandate is reflected
both at field and policy levels.
Where resources are limited, responding to the greatest need makes sense. However, the question remains,
should recognition of basic human rights be limited
by available resources?
Eve Lester is the former JRS Geneva representative
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Italy: Bridging the gap
Giusy D'Alconzo
L
ife is often hard for refugees and asylum seekers living in Rome. The failure of the government to provide organised initial assistance and integration programs is partly to blame for this. When
asylum seekers first arrive, they have several basic
needs: food, shelter, medical care and access to fundamental legal information. However, they are usually submitted to delays before getting the
accommodation and financial assistance they are legally entitled to. Asylum procedures are lengthy, and
prevailing uncertainty at this time has a heavy impact on the well being of new arrivals. Moreover,
Rome is a large and frantic city, so it is often difficult
for newcomers to learn their way around with ease.
Unfortunately, conditions remain tough even when
(and if) asylum is granted. Recognised refugees face
a multitude of problems: while having the right to work
and study, their integration in Italian society is an uphill
struggle. JRS Centro Astalli strives to bridge the gap
between the actual conditions of refugees and the
ultimate goal of their full integration in our society.
A JRS soup kitchen caters
for 300 people daily.
Facilities for asylum seekers who have just arrived in
the city include: a soup kitchen catering for around
300 people daily, a medical clinic and three dormitories. Legal counselling for asylum procedures and
other bureaucratic matters, and assistance in finding
housing also form part of JRS services. Recognised
refugees require different intervention, and JRS at
Centro Astalli assists them in their search for decent
jobs and stable accommodation.
Giusy D'Alconzo is legal counsellor on the JRS Centro
Astalli shelter project
Pretoria: Business efforts of women refugees paying off
Jing Thomas Ayeh
A
t the best of times, life in most places in Africa
is not easy: hunger, thirst, poverty and disease are
constant companions. In Pretoria, this tradition does not
hold true, and even at the worst of times, there is plenty
for the taking. But language, security, capital and stability are prerequisites for access to this abundance.
This is where many of Pretoria's refugees fall short.
In South Africa, being fussy
about differences is not a
thing of the past.
OCTOBER 1999
Even more serious, in South Africa, being fussy about
differences is not a thing of the past. Having the 'wrong'
complexion, speaking a foreign language or a local one
with a strange accent are all informal invitations for exclusion. Xenophobia, increasingly on the rise throughout the country, targets mainly black refugees from
other parts of Africa. Recent complaints label police
as the greatest perpetrators. Against all these odds,
refugees must strive and prevail. Enter JRS, UNHCR
and a handful of benevolent local businessmen. In July,
12 refugees were given small business loans and over
40 have benefited from such loans since the beginning
of the year. With meagre sums, many refugees are
muscling their way to the top of the informal sector.
Women are showing remarkable tenacity and flexibility. Already JRS business reports credit women refugees with a 75 per cent loan repayment rate as opposed
to only five per cent for men. So, although in Pretoria,
things often look bleak for refugees, there is hope as
they persevere to make good. As one refugee said: "I
lost out in the Great Lakes; in South Africa I must win."
Jing Thomas Ayeh is a field worker with JRS Pretoria
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Sri Lanka: How a family paid the price of war
C.Amalraj meets Antonio, a woman who has fought long and hard to keep her family safe despite ongoing
civil war in Sri Lanka. Already she has seen three of her seven children murdered before her eyes.
T
he door of Antonio's house Ida was the third of Antonio's We met Antonio in her home village
was forced open in the dead seven children to be murdered as on Mannar Island six days after her
of night, and five masked men in she looked on helplessly. "With dif- daughter’s murder on 12 July this
army uniform burst in as her fam- ficulty, I raised seven children year. She had just returned from the
ily slept upstairs. Years of bearing alone, often having to make do police station, where she learnt of
the brunt of Sri Lanka's brutal civil without food. The thought that one attempts to catch the culprits. As
war had led the widow and her day my children would grow up she talked, our eyes wandered to
children to expect frequent violent and raise a family of their own the pools of dried blood, the bullet
disturbances, but not this. The in- kept me going," she said, tears holes in the ground, which spoke
truders tied Antonio to a post. streaming down her face as she eloquently of the desperate strugThey then repeatedly raped her 21 showed us a passport-size photo gle Ida put up to fend off her attackers. Antonio also fought to save her
year old daughter, Ida, and killed of Ida.
daughter that night.
her, shooting her in the
mouth.
Ida, in her tragically short life had
While her daughter was bebeen a refugee, a rebel fighter, a
Just like that. Ida, in her
young girl who dreamed of studying ing assaulted, she tore herself
loose from the ropes the attragically short life had been
and
a
"normal"
life,
and
finally,
a
tackers had bound her in and
a refugee, a rebel fighter, a
rape and murder victim.
ran around the village, begyoung girl who dreamed of
ging frantically for help. No
studying and a "normal" life,
and finally, a rape and murder vic- Antonio's dreams for her family lie one opened the door for her.
tim. Her mutilated body lay on the shattered, one of the few things
ground until noon the following she has to remind her of Ida is the Over the years, Antonio tried hard
day, a gruesome witness to the medical report describing her inju- to keep her family together, but in
price paid by Sri Lanka's people ries arising from the attack. The 1990, they started to scatter. Ida,
for a war between government report tersely states that Ida’s lips, just a child at the time, fled to Inand rebels which has raged since and other parts of her body, had dia alone where she lived as a refuthe 1980s, and which sadly claims been bitten away by her unknown gee in the Indian camps. Life was
hard for her: education for Sri
little international attention.
attackers.
Ongoing civil war has raged in Sri
Lanka for the past 16 years with
little respite, taking its toll on the
island's beleaguered population.
This year saw renewed fierce
clashes between government
troops and rebels. Hundreds of
thousands of people living in the
north and east of the country have
been displaced because of the
fighting. The civilian population of Sri
Lanka is submitted to bombings,
crossfire, hunger, harassment and
worse from both sides in the conflict
who often seem to rival each other
in their capacity for cruelty. Apart
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No. 17
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Lankan refugees had been banned
following the murder of Rajiv Gandhi, allegedly by a Sri Lankan suicide bomber. Frustrated, Ida returned home when people were
forced to repatriate to Sri Lanka
in 1994.
to her home village for fear of the
army.
Return she did, however. In an attempt to save her daughter from
the army's wrath, Antonio offered
to surrender Ida to them, provided
they spare her. An assurance was
given, the girl was taken for questioning and released after hours of
interrogation.
As I recall what Antonio said, I
am reminded of the book of Job.
Life has been cruel to her, she
walks alone through a valley of
darkness. But she does not curse
God, she has a deep faith, as do
many other mothers whose children have been sacrificed at the
altar of war.
Barely a month after her return,
Ida witnessed the killing of her
Her words: "My daughter cried to
two brothers - both still in their
God for assistance in her last moteens - by a rebel movement. The
ments. No help came. I have
killers came to their house at
When
Ida
was
killed,
few
people
seen too much suffering. My
dawn, pulled the boys out of
visited Antonio to express their
heart nags me to ask my
their beds and shot them.
Antonio rushed to save them condolences for fear of retaliation. Creator to explain to me why
I should suffer like this? Yet,
and was shot in the hip for
Ida felt better after this, and even I do not curse God, government is
her pains.
allowed herself to believe she may on His shoulders. I cannot forsake
The murders of the two boys left have a future, to map out grand Him. Who will be the protector of
an indelible mark on the family. plans of starting a new life. Until a widow like me? Unless the Lord
One of Antonio's younger sons wit- she was raped and killed by five guards the household, it is guarded
nessed the murder, and has been men, who soon put an end to her in vain. I have lost all faith in human beings, no army or group can
seriously disturbed since. Another dreams of living a normal life.
protect helpless people like us. So
joined a major rebel movement,
opting for violence to deal with the Now that Ida is gone, Antonio is I still will not abandon my God. My
harsh injustices his family had suf- left to try to ensure that her daugh- only prayer is: I have never water's killers are brought to justice. vered in believing You. Should
fered. He was later arrested.
It is a lonely battle. When Ida was another tragedy take place, I ask
Ida was also drawn to a rebel killed, few people visited Antonio you for only one grace: Do not let
group which motivated her to join to express their condolences for me lose faith in You. I have noththem to avenge the death of her fear of retaliation. The rest of ing else."
brothers. Life as a guerilla fighter Antonio's family have fled to a
was tough, and after three years, refugee camp in India. But she
she left, but was afraid to return stayed behind.
C.Amalraj is JRS South Asia director
from heavy internal displacement,
some Sri Lankans defy security to
reach Indian shores, where they
often face further hardships in
refugee camps. JRS works with Sri
Lankan refugees in India, in the Tamil
Nadu camps - where humanitarian
aid is severely restricted - and
elsewhere, and in Sri Lanka itself.
In the besieged rebel-held parts of
the Vanni region in Sri Lanka, two
JRS workers share the suffering of
roughly 300,000 people who are
burdened by economic and food
sanctions and cut off from the rest
of the world.
OCTOBER 1999
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Zambia: Building a society at peace
Ali Soyei writes about peace education, the vital thread underlying projects operated by JRS in Meheba.
R
wandese, Burundians, Angolans, Congolese and
others, 78 families in all, work together on a JRS
irrigation project in Meheba, Zambia. This mix is representative of the refugee population at the Meheba
refugee settlement. It also reflects JRS efforts to
promote peace through common initiatives which
boost mutual acceptance and understanding.
Set up in 1971 to accommodate the first flow of refugees fleeing the war-threatened country of Angola,
the Meheba settlement has since been home to many
other refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and also small groups from
Sudan, Namibia, Uganda and Somalia. In 1993, an
invitation of the bishop of Solwezi led JRS to embark
on projects, mainly in the field of education, in
Meheba. The projects have since expanded, and
while education remains the main stream, projects in
health, information, advocacy, community and rural
development and pastoral work have also emerged.
But these projects are not an end in themselves, they
are a means to an end, to build a society at peace.
The cornerstone on which they are built is peace
There is no better gift
which can be given to a
people in exile than the
hope of peace.
education, based on the logic that a common objective facilitates an exchange of culture and norms. We
group different peoples together, so they can share
skills and support. Understanding differences in life
patterns is key to peace initiatives. Community and
rural programs, tile making projects, sewing and literacy classes ultimately all disguise the development
of peace education.
One example of a JRS project is tile making, a fast growing industry in the settlement. Rwandan refugees introduced the art as the most guaranteed and cheapest
way of roofing. JRS has supported the development
of the industry among Rwandans and encouraged its
introduction in other communities by providing training. This not only makes good roofing available to other
communities but also helps reduce envy which might
have otherwise made itself felt.
The promotion of peace education will be incomplete
if gender imbalances are not addressed. Sewing, as
well as literacy classes in Portuguese, English and
Luvale are provided as a means of enabling women.
The development of these skills and leadership training is an acknowledgement by JRS that each individual, community and gender have a role to play in
enhancing peace.
JRS also supports projects initiated by the refugee
communities, lending advice where appropriate. Further, in line with our aim to plead and serve the cause
of refugees, we bring injustices to the notice of the
authorities. We support groups such as 'Voices Of
Peace' and the 'Justice and Peace Commission'.
These are groups of refugees and Zambians who have
got together to highlight injustices in society by raising issues and seeking solutions. Where there is no
justice, there can be no peace.
In a community of such diversity as at Meheba, peace
must be at the heart of our work, because it speaks one
language which all can understand. After all, there is
no better gift which can be given to a people in exile
than the hope of peace.
Ali Soyei is coordinator of the JRS community development program in Meheba.
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No. 17
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I am starting to think accompaniment works both ways. We accompany each other. In that process, we learn from each other.
Accompanying at Meheba
Christina Northey
W
orking for JRS means I 'accompany', and I
thought about what this means in the Meheba
context. Initially, I thought accompaniment meant
standing in clinic queues to ensure people received
the treatment they were entitled to. I thought it meant
asking why it took so long so for people to receive
their refugee status. I thought it meant discovering
everything that was wrong in Meheba (and that is a
long list) and putting it right. Accompaniment is all of
these things but this is a very narrow view.
burial. It is sitting in Mass and realising my knees still
bend in the right places even though I have absolutely
no understanding of the language being spoken. It is
laughing with Pierre as the car rattles over the bumpy
dirt roads and it is eating bananas and dancing in the
dust with the children who see the Mission as their
home. It is realising that each day, I know even less than
I thought I did. It is understanding I like this strange
place I've found myself in, for the time being it's my
home, too. Is this accompaniment as well? Making
unusual places your home? Perhaps…
I am starting to think accompaniment works both
ways. We accompany each other. In that process,
we learn from each other. Accompaniment is learning the greetings for the many languages spoken in
Meheba. Accompaniment is attempting to tie a
‘chitenge’ properly around my waist and then accepting laughter and gentle criticism from Martha
when I get it completely wrong. It is transporting
piles of wood for John the Baptist so he can build a
piano. John the Baptist is one of the many lost people of Meheba. Sometimes drunk, mostly confused,
he also has a particular light in his eyes that shows
you the spirit and grace of the man.
This is my perspective of Meheba; it is a kind of work
in progress. There are developments and changes;
some subjects are added to the list, others are removed. I think it would be better if the person writing this were Congolese or Angolan or Rwandese or
Sudanese. Does accompaniment make a difference?
I'm not sure and I don't know I am the right person to
ask. Giving a voice is also accompaniment and this is
something to work on. Hopefully the next voice from
Meheba will be from a person, we, as JRS, seek to
accompany...
Accompaniment is bringing the body of a person, who
has died in a hospital far away, home, to Meheba for
Christina Northey is helping many aspiring refugee authors, playwrights and poets in Meheba to improve their
creative writing skills.
OCTOBER 1999
11
Servir
Jubilee: Celebrating 2000
Mark Raper SJ
T
he close of a year offers an
occasion to review history and
to imagine the future. More so the
end of a decade, a century or especially a millennium. JudaeoChristian tradition proposes these
as times to rejoice in gifts received,
to repent past failings and to make
resolutions. We are invited, not
only as individuals, but also as
communities, to mark this moment
in a public way. We are asked to
consider the state of our world, our
contribution to it, and its impact on
us. In reviewing our world, refugees offer valuable pointers.
Described in Leviticus 25, the Jubilee called for a year of grace
after seven times seven years, or
every 50 years. Attention was
paid to those who had lost land,
possessions or freedom, and a gratuitous redistribution was made.
Indeed Jesus' own manifesto in
Luke 4, "to proclaim the Lord's
year of favour", was a direct echo
of that Jubilee tradition.
Each of us is called on to face the
truth of how we live, and if we
have the humility to acknowledge
it, we are given the opportunity for
a new beginning. If we are rich
at the benefit of others we are to
be attentive to those in need. If
we have freedom, we are to work
to set free those who are not. If
we enjoy our human rights, then
we ought to consider and seek justice for those deprived of their
rights. For the close of this millennium, Christian churches, following this tradition, invite us to
review, repent and to set right historic and contemporary wrongs.
Among those denied their rights,
the Jubilee tradition turns the spotlight on refugees and asks that justice be given them.
The presence of millions of refugees 'hosted' in so many parts of
the world point us continually to the
need for a global view. They urge
us to open not our purses, but our
hearts to the whole world. Refugees pose the uncomfortable question: 'What sort of society do I belong to?'
across the border to Thailand, exploited in every way and thrown
back after use? Who will search
for the Sierra Leonean man whose
country has been destroyed and
who now risks drowning on a European shore as he seeks to find a
way to live and survive?
The state of our world demands
conversion. Turning to the refugee is a way to begin our own conversion and that of the world. "I
was a stranger and you welcomed
me". (Matthew 25:35)
Mark Raper SJ is JRS International
Director
After 24 years of waiting, the
world has learned of the suffering
of the East Timorese people in
their home land and recently we
have been able to know of those
deported forcibly to West Timor.
Knowing of this, it is more possible to act on their behalf. But who
knows of the Haitians living as
slaves in the ‘bateyes’ and sugar
cane fields of the Dominican Republic? Who defends the Burmese women and girls traded
Jesuit Refugee Service publishes Servir in English, Spanish, Italian and French.
JRS was set up by Pedro Arrupe SJ in 1980. JRS is an international Catholic organisation
with a mission to accompany, serve and plead the cause of refugees and forcibly displaced
people.
Publisher: Mark Raper SJ; Editor: Danielle Vella; Production: Noël Salazar Medina. Articles may
be reproduced with acknowledgement.
Servir is free. If you would like to be on our mailing list, write to us at Jesuit Refugee Service,
C.P. 6139, 00195 Roma Prati, Italy. Fax +39-06 687 92 83. Email: [email protected].
JRS website: http://www.jesref.org/
Photo credits: Noël Salazar (pgs. 1, 8, 9); Steve Curtin SJ (pgs. 2, 3); Michael Coyne (p. 4);
Michael Mullins (p. 6); Soo Youn Kum (p. 7 above); Mark Raper SJ (p. 7 below); Jenny
Cafiso (pgs. 10, 11). Line drawings: Sujinda Khantayalongoch (pgs. 5, 12)
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No. 17