Showing posts with label courage. Show all posts
The story of a refugee is a story of great courage
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Rome, 20 June 2015 – Refugees do not choose to become refugees. They become refugees out of compulsion. They experience separation from loved ones, starvation, discrimination, fear, trauma, indefinite incarceration and worst of all, the demonization of their human dignity. They hope not only for survival, but for a peaceful and decent life, free from persecution and discrimination. Even when they eventually do make it to a safe refuge, it is very hard for them to restore their lives by themselves. During this time, their hope for education and equal opportunity often fades away.
My name is Antony Mukui*; I'm 28 years old and I come from Kenya. My story, though tragic, is sadly not unique.
I should say that compared to the millions of refugees across the world, my journey has been through God's grace a fairly easy one.
It was the night of 5 November 2013, when my family and I were attacked in our home by a gang of about 12 men armed with crude weapons: machetes, axes, knifes, etc. I was outside of our house talking to my cousin Joseph inquiring why the electricity shut off. As we talked, this gang confronted us. They took me hostage and ordered my cousin to go back to sleep. Little did I know that was the last time I would see him alive.
I was led to the house and the ordeal began. All the while, they were looking for my mother, who was then an employee in one of Kenya's security services. This ordeal lasted just about an hour, and at the end of it all I was injured terribly. My young sister, 12 at the time, had gone through an attempted rape; my 92 year old grandmother had been harassed and traumatized; and my friend and colleague Peter was seriously injured and had to spend two months in the hospital undergoing reconstructive surgery on his mouth.
As you can all imagine after such a traumatic event, we lived our lives in fear, sleeping in shifts at night. While the local police guarded our compound, we stood watch too. The investigations were going nowhere; and after four months of this, we made the decision as a family to leave the country that we had called home for all our lives into an uncertain future.
A new home. We arrived in Italy on 21 January 2014. Based on the recommendation of by the Kenyan Superior of the Jesuits and with permission of the Superior General of the Jesuits, Franciscan Cappuchin priests took us in their San Lorenzo di Brandisi college, where they usually house foreign students who are studying in Rome. We have been living with them ever since.
They have helped us not only by offering us a roof over our heads but also a place to heal our inner wounds by providing us with spiritual counseling and allowing us to be part of their family. We eat meals together, have discussions, play football and watch games together from time to time.
This transition has not been easy on my family, leaving everything behind: a good house, good jobs, a car, all our friends and family. The life of a refugee is not an easy one; there are many challenges that one has to go through including the lack of employment, housing and proper documentation.
Rebuilding through faith. Worse for me is the feeling of not belonging, of not being human. As a refugee, every day you cling on to the hope that the next day will be better than yesterday. This hope and our faith in God is what have kept our family together over the past year, despite all the difficult times that we have faced. It is the faith that as long as we have our lives, we can always rebuild and achieve greater things.
Every day, I am inspired by the stories of my fellow refugees that I meet from all over the world. Many of them are young men and women like myself who have undergone so much pain and suffering in their young lives, but who all have two things in common – hope and determination to make something of their lives despite all the challenges they face.
Ultimately, I must say the story of a refugee is a story of great courage. It is a story of a people who refuse to give up when everything around them seems to crumble, who chose to hope when it would be so easy to give up.
I challenge all of you to look at refugees as your fellow brothers and sisters, as human beings.
I believe that we can all do our part to help those who are suffering. As Pope Francis reminds us, we must all be able first to see, and then help others to see that migrants do not represent a problem to be solved. They are brothers and sisters who need help and should therefore be welcomed and loved.
Each one of us must answer the Holy Father's call not only by helping to provide housing, food, employment and education, but more importantly to tackle the root causes that cause people to flee and find durable solutions to those problems.
Opposing the war in Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr., said "a time comes when silence is betrayal." That time I believe has come for us as far as the refugee crisis is concerned. The time has come for all of us to not only speak up, but to act. This I believe is our duty not only as Christians but as human beings, and in doing so, we will love our fellow man and "Push forward, not back."
*Antony currently volunteers at the Jesuit Refugee Service International Office
This piece first appeared on the JRS International website: http://en.jrs.net/index
Advent, Christmas 2014
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| Photo by lednichenkoolga from foter.com |
Sister Marguerite, a
volunteer with JRS, reflects on joy and suffering at this special time of
Christmas.
Today
is Gaudete Sunday, a day of rejoicing,
of joy as we await the birth of
Jesus. So many thoughts run through my mind as I write. Pope Francis’ Apostolic
Encyclical, ‘Evangelli Gaudium’, the Joy
of the Gospel, the Joy of the Good News, calls me and challenges us to
be people of joy. But how can there
be joy when there is so much suffering
and conflict in our beautiful but broken world right now? One has only to
turn on the TV or read the newspapers about Syria ,
Iraq
Paradox
of suffering suffused with joy, of joy embracing suffering. It
is just over two years now since I started volunteering with the Jesuit Refugee
Service. Only yesterday the person I had been visiting at the detention center was
deported, the pain of walking with
him in his suffering. But I need to
balance it with the wonderful surprise of a phone call last week from another
who was given permission to stay, her refugee status granted and inviting her
home for a meal to celebrate and share in her joy. Another courageous young man with astounding faith is still
in a detention centre. Paradoxically, instead of draining my energy, visiting
him gives me life. A terrific life example of one suffering intensely but with such faith and courage that brings a
deep joy in embracing his cross.
They,
each one, edify and challenge me and give me much, much more than what I am or
try to do for them. And yet, so many are still smiling amidst their suffering,
some for long years and wow! Their faith and courage are amazing. I would
probably have crumbled if I were in their shoes. ‘I see better now and my eyes hurt.’ (Audre Lorde). To keep believing
that God has become human, He knows, He understands and He is in everything,
both our joys and our sufferings. To learn again the great
paradox that the deeper the pain carved,
the more radiant the joy. In today’s
reading at Mass, the prophet Isaiah is also speaking to me and all of us, ‘He
has sent me to bring good news to the
poor, to bind up hearts that are broken…I
exult for joy in the Lord.’ Meister
Eckhart said, ‘What good is it to me for our Creator to give birth to His Son,
if I do not also give birth to Him in my place, my time, my culture?’
As
Christians prepare to mark Christ’s birth we can find ways to be more aware of
God’s presence in our world and our own lives right here and now! May God grant
us the grace to learn to be more aware of Her/His incarnate presence in
everyone and every experience, in joy and
in suffering. Let us pray earnestly
for peace which our world is in such need of today. May the Prince of Peace
give me, you, all people, peace in our hearts and homes, which will flow out to
our communities and the whole world. A Peace which only God can give, peace in
times of joy and especially in times of suffering. Joy to the world, the Prince
of Peace has come!
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Vigil in Honour of Deaths in Detention
‘Alexandra’ from JRS-UK took part in
a vigil organised to honour the lives of asylum seekers who lost their lives
whilst in detention in the UK.
She describes why she was pleased to go along to support others.
I went to the
vigil to support everyone who has to seek asylum in the UK and everyone
in general who are in detention. For me, because I can’t go to the detention
centre to support them, I went to show that I am supporting them. I hope that
they close the detention because there is no right to hold people like this.
To show
everyone that we are together in this campaign, we did a circle, we had lights
and candles to remember those people who were in detention and lost their
lives. There were 5 people in the last 2 years who died.
I remember
the speech of the lady who told when she arrived in the UK there was
detention only of a few people, now there are many more. Someone that day also gave a testimony about
how he went through detention. If this person had not been in detention he
could have had a college degree by now. People explained their experience. One
shared how he was treated, the stress of being in detention, people telling him
to go back to his country and he did not know what would happen. And then there
was the MP who reminded us that we can make a difference through campaigning
and that, for example, ending children in detention. So yes, let’s end
indefinite detention!
From JRS we
were five taking part. In the audience I noticed around there was a good mix of
people: refugees, organisations, vicar from the church, Congo Support Group
came, local people from Hackney, volunteers from Citizens UK, people filming, the
Bishop from London Churches Refugee Group.
I felt very
good on the evening because there are some people who recognise that we are
first of all human beings, that there is no need for detention. It is stressful
to be an asylum seeker first of all, it is stressful to come to the UK, then
to find yourself again in detention… It is good that there are people who are
standing up to say that we should stop it. There are lots of people, many
voices, so we are a force for change. When I saw the flyer, I was excited to
hear that there is campaign to close detention, to put less people in stress.
But I also
feel angry. To keep someone in detention, when they are closed somewhere, they
suffer inside. When they are locked up, they are not doing the basic things they
are used to. They think a lot, they remember the trauma they went through back
home. It is not helping. They are isolated. At least at the Day Centre I can
come, I can chat to friends. In detention there is no change – it’s monotone.
The vigil was organised by Citizens UK, London
Churches Refugee Network, Detention Action and Detention Forum.
More information about the campaign
to end indefinite detention:
www.detentionaction.org.uk/timelimit
www.detentionaction.org.uk/timelimit
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A Visit of Heart to Heart
London, 04 July 2014 - In this testimony from the UK a JRS volunteer describes her unexpected encounter with an Afghan man held in an immigration removal centre. This chance meeting of two people, one free and the other detained, reveals a surprising role-reversal and highlights the inner human spirit that knows no borders.
One day I made an unscheduled visit to the detention centre. Neither the officials nor the detainees were expecting me, so I settled down in the multi-faith room and looked around at the books of different religious texts, the floor, the walls, and the carpet. There were no windows in this room making it impossible for anyone to connect with the outside world. Time passed slowly and alone I began to regret not informing the centre of my intended visit.
Then suddenly I saw Feizal.
When I first met Feizal he was very pale and was constantly being admitted to hospital. Often depleted of energy, he seemed withdrawn and sad. English is not Feizal's first language and he struggled to express himself the first time we met. However, today was different.
Like most detainees, Feizal has a sad story. Feizal's hometown is in Waziristan, a troubled border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Taliban killed his father and then tried to force Feizal to fight for them. A school teacher, and a pacifist, he could think of nothing worse than killing another human being: so he refused. Consequently, the Taliban issued an order that Feizal be killed. He had to go into hiding. Feizal's mother managed to give him enough money to travel to the UK.
As soon as Feizal reached the UK he claimed asylum. His claim was refused and he was placed in immigration detention.
On seeing me sitting alone, Feizal immediately came up and sat next to me. His health had greatly improved and his downtrodden demeanour was replaced with one of strength. His English had also greatly progressed.
Feizal told me stories of his childhood and how he loved playing cricket. I complimented him on his dramatic improvement in English: he said this was due to him attending English classes at the detention centre. In the future, he hoped to teach English.
One gesture that will always stay with me was when Feizal pointed upwards and said with a big smile, "Above everyone, above the Taliban, above the law, there is Allah."
Despite all of his difficulties, Feizal still retained complete trust and confidence in God.
I left the centre feeling extremely humbled. I had set out with the intention of helping detainees. Instead, I had received care from a detainee. Although Feizal had so many problems of his own, he cared about my well-being and spent nearly an hour trying to make me feel valued, so that I wouldn't feel I had wasted my time in coming to the centre.
I realised that Feizal's actions were ones of true love: the giving of the self to the other. Feizal did not have money, did not have power nor even his liberty but still he had his heart and he chose to use it to make me feel better. And for that I will be forever grateful.
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Bianca Venkata is a volunteer member of the JRS UK detention-outreach team and visits detainees at an immigration removal centre in the UK.
If you would like to join as a volunteer, come and visit JRS UK Volunteering.
If you would like to join as a volunteer, come and visit JRS UK Volunteering.
A Poem dedicated to JRS
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| Above: The Parents - Woodcut by Kathe Kollwitz(1867-1945) |
The following poem titled 'Refugees' is written by Fr Patrick Purnell SJ, especially for JRS. The poet gives us a vivid picture of refugees with a dignified voice despite their agonising situations.
Refugees
by Patrick Purnell SJ
Stealthily, we moved from the edges,
Drawn by dreams of plenitude,
Leaving our homes at the margins
Of the deserted flatlands,
Where nothing grows
And what we had of wheels and cogs
Grow rust and harbour cobwebs.
It was fear that urged us on,
Hacking at our hearts,
Fear of the demented power,
That fed upon its own illusions
And cut the naval string
Which bound us to our Tribal Story.
We were stripped at gunpoint
At the precise point of intersection
Between what passed as frontier of the
Nations.
We carry nothing with us
But the golden memories
Of a love that had once
Bound us together as a people,
The incense of a gifted race
Which had ministered a fruitful land for a thousand years
And we carry, like a sacrament,
The myrrh of our Nation’s woundedness
In which is mixed the wisdom of our ancestors.
This is who we are.
These are our gifts,
As we stand before your walls
And if this is not enough
To gain entry to your land,
Let the sun come down
Upon our dry bones
And the moon carve us a grave.
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Last month my penfriend detainee disappeared
He was lost, perhaps deported. I was at a loss, someone I had come to know through the post had disappeared without my ever knowing the end or indeed the beginning of his story. As a pen befriender one is not permitted to ask about the detainee’s case or background and it would be irresponsible to ask after family, education or occupation when these lifelines have been severed. I had lost someone I would never know, yet whom I had come to cherish in my life.
My responses were those of bereavement - anger, sadness, bewilderment but also an urge to pray. My prayers were for my friend and for those who had befriended him, not least the art teacher of the detention centre who had encouraged him to create wonderful, exuberant cards, who had brought colour and life into his life. Prayers too for his future that he would be held in those arms of the Loving God we can none of us fall through.
What joy it was then to hear from the JRS intelligence network that he had been found, transferred to another unit in this country. Joy mixed with anger when I reflected on how someone could be disappeared by a people management system that needs to keep its statistics in good order.
And then a greater joy that dissolved all anger and created only compassion and thanks. A letter, or rather another exuberant card arrived from my friend addressed from his new detention centre, together with a printed message that someone, somewhere had helped him to write. His courage and love of life shine through, but can this story of one man contribute anything to the stories of unknown thousands displaced across the world?
I am reminded that there are many people out there involved in managing refugees, some, like the unknown art teacher are evidently good people helping detainees to be individuals not numbers, and it is not only the captives, but also all the captors who need our prayer.
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