Showing posts with label london. Show all posts
A simple mind and heart to reciprocate
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Paul Anthony, a Jesuit scholastic and member of the Hurtado Jesuit Community that lives with JRS UK, reflects on a recent conversation about migration.
I was fortunate to attend the session on ‘Migration Conversation’ by Br Stephen Power SJ at the Hurtado Jesuit Centre. It was very informative and the statistics presented were an eye opener. Later, we had a discussion in different groups and I was very much drawn to their sharings. Some of the participants were migrants themselves. Many shared their feelings of sentiments, and what they did with migrants and refugees. What they said was inspiring and heart touching and came from deep down themselves.
When I was in Andhra Province (one of the South Asian Provinces of Society of Jesus), I used to share more often about JRS and its mission to the novice candidates, and in my Vocation Promotion talks to them. The little knowledge I was gleamed from books and newsletters of our congregation I never had met any refugee or volunteer working in JRS. Now I am fortunate enough to be placed in the Hurtado Jesuit Community, in London, as a part of my theology studies. JRS is part of Hurtado Jesuit community’s mission, now I can meet people involved in refugee works as well as asylum seekers and refugees as well. My interaction with refugees is short but it has created a huge impact on me. Simple ‘smiles’, ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’ produce ripples of happiness and joy in their faces. I am not able to advise them on legal matters but simply present myself and share the rapport of a mutual smile. My experience has been similar to that of all those who shared during the discussions, though their sharing has enriched my understanding and feelings towards refugees and migrants.
It is not qualification and experience which matter to have but a simple mind and heart to reciprocate ‘Hi’, ‘Hello’ to those who are in need. ‘When I was hungry, you gave me to eat and when I was thirsty, you gave me to drink’. People not merely long for the satisfaction of physical needs but also for emotional and relational needs. They are hungry for the food of communication and communion and thirsty to receive the water of compassion and acceptance. They desire a space to share their feelings.
The sharing was a great breakthrough and showed me how I need to respond and grow spiritually. It made me realise that the best present I could give to the refugees is my pleasure at our presence together. I have discovered ways to make others happy and to be happy myself.
Discovering Oneself behind the Lenses - Photo Session Epilogue
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| Photo by Fourtotwentychars from Foter.com |
Ingrid, photographer and Founding Director at Fotosynthesis, shares her experience of organising a portrait day at JRS.
What did you today?
We had fun! Taking pictures of people and catching their smiles.
How many people came? How many photos did you take?
27, I can’t count how many pictures we took, they would not stop posing!
What did you see?
I saw people coming from the outside and looking cold and shy or hiding behind coats and hats. And then I saw them glowing, proud, some really felt like models. That was quite nice to see. They quite surprised to see the result and how beautiful they are... The people who came showed us a secret part of their person, it was quite an intimate afternoon with strangers. And they all want the pictures!
What do you enjoy about taking portraits?
I like the interaction you need to have with people, to engage with them. You have to make them feel relaxed and joke and... it’s funny, I don’t know their names or where they are from. It was more like ‘hey! come in, let’s relax and do the pictures’. It was quite enjoyable. I enjoyed working with M, my colleague, he is good about making people laugh. I liked the simplicity with the people here. I do a lot of photo shoots, but I didn’t see anyone being critical, they just felt good the way they were, which is not often the case. I really liked how people left the room full of energy. One thing is there is a lot of trust, they really trusted us to tell them, which position to sit in or pose, so they did very well.
Did you learn anything today?
I don’t know if I learned anything new, but I remembered again the transformative effect that a photoshoot has on people. The photoshoot breaks the wall, it has an instant positive effect. It was a very therapeutic and hopeful day.
One of the participants said: “It was the best, it made me happy!” Is there anything else you would like to say?
I’d like to be a little mouse and see people’s faces when they see their pictures and see their reactions to the photos, to hear their experience of being photographed. And I’ll be excited to see where the images end up, in a family album or who knows?!
More information on Fotosynthesis, visit here.
Look out for more information and images telling a story about JRS’s work here on this blog soon...!
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Advent Together
Kate and Rosemary both took part in Pax Christi’s annual Advent Service at St Aloysius church near Euston in London this week. Kate shares what she enjoyed about the occasion.
Jesuit Refugee Service UK was invited to offer a testimony and focus for prayer for a gathering of people who work for justice all the way through the year. We were together to listen to stories, reflect on scripture and sing. The event was both intercession for people who all year round struggle in impossible circumstances and a festive celebration at the same time.
This service was particularly important to me. It was beautifully designed and presented with a lot of thought and love - whether through the choir, Westminster Deaf Service interpreters or the different creative stations for prayer. It is not often that I feel my worship truly reflects my work and commitment to working for peace. So I am grateful that on occasion we were able to honour refugees, those caught up in the troubles in the Holy Land, women who suffer from violence and those who seek to transform conflict throughout the world.
Each theme had a scripture verse, a personal story, a prayer from Pope Francis or a litany and a song. During the service we were all invited to make a pilgrimage around the church to each area, by way of accompanying people throughout the world who find themselves in situations of flight, discrimination, trafficking or isolation. We sang in English, Arabic and Hebrew and made a commitment to instil in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. It meant a lot to me to share those words with a mix of people who I know do that in their daily lives.
After the service, we all went downstairs to share a mince pie and glass of wine. JRS had a stall with crafts made by refugees in Kenya (www.jrsea.org/mikono) and sold more than £100 of products. Thank you to everyone who bought something from us.
Read more about Pax Christi’s work: www. paxchristi.org.uk
Read more about JRS’ work in Syria: http://en.jrs.net/campaigns_
The collection was taken for Pax Christi and JRS Syria. You can donate here: https://en.jrs.net/donate
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God Has Blessed Me Since I Arrived in This Country
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| Diluckshun in front of JRS centre |
Diluckshun, staff member at JRS-UK, writes of his own journey and what JRS means to him.
I am Sri Lankan. I claimed asylum when I arrived in the UK on the 18th of September 1999.
My first interview for my asylum claim took place in Liverpool on 19th January 2001. After attending the interview I received a refusal letter from the Home Office. I appealed. There was no reply and my solicitor advised me to leave the matter to one side and continue my studies. My solicitor wrote several letters to the Home Office to grant me permission to work; all were refused without any explanation. After November 2004 I was reporting monthly to the immigration authorities.
My aunt, who has been my guardian since I arrived in the UK, helped me to continue my studies, including a BA in Business and Finance and Level 3 Accountancy (AAT).
I first met JRS in November 2007.
My first contact was to attend the JRS founder’s anniversary celebration. I visited the JRS office and was offered voluntary work. I worked once a week on a Thursday and managed to continue my studies.
My contacts with other asylum seekers like me have been very rewarding. I came to know a lot of their problems and we comforted each other by listening and sharing our problems. This experience made me to be a happier and a stronger person inside. I welcomed each and every individual that I met at JRS and this enabled me not to bother about my asylum status. I became very busy by getting involved with my studies, voluntary work, and other social commitments. In November 2008, I visited my solicitor and asked him to make a fresh appeal. He advised me that he will make a phone call and will find out the present work on my file, which he did. He phoned me to make an appointment to see him and bring three passport size photographs. Soon after that, when I went to report on the 11th December 2008 as usual, the officer at the desk at the reporting centre informed me that I had been granted leave to remain. When I heard the news I was so happy and praised the Lord in silence.
God has blessed me since I arrived in this country and I am really grateful to all who have helped me in many ways. I remember and pray for all asylum seekers whose cases are still pending.
I express my sincere thanks to all of at JRS for offering me a part time paid job as an assistant administrator at JRS in Feb 2009.
Finally, I got married in 2010 and now I am a father of a child.
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A Poem - Cold and Rain
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| A photo by Elvis Payne from Foter.com |
Cold and Rain
by Muler
Cold and rain
is my patience
because it remind me
my past experiences.
Cold and rain
Is my experiences
For many reasons.
Cold and rain
Is my frustration
Because he is madness.
Cold and rain
He give me bad welcome
when I wake up on the morning.
Cold and rain
he is the one reminded me
my friends on my time
been sleeping on the street.
Cold and rain
he is my best friend
because he always is with me.
Cold and rain
when I think of you
I always remember
London. When I think of you
I think of London.
Cold and rain
You give hope when you show
You for light
Like the light on the fridge.
To me it is not be my part.
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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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Three Types of Listening
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Photo by Steven Shorrock, from Flickr.com
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Jesuit Refugee
Service UK is based at the Hurtado Jesuit Centre in East London. The Centre has
just completed a “listening exercise” in
the local neighbourhood. Kate, who works with JRS and at the Centre reflects on
the importance of listening when we are building relationships with other
members of our community.
What does listening
mean to you? What does the dictionary tell us it might mean? Here are three
meanings I found: “to give one’s attention to a sound” i.e. to be attentive, to
give ear to, to concentrate. Another
meaning: “to take notice and act on what someone says” i.e. follow what they
say, bear it in mind, take it into consideration, an active response to a request or some advice shared. And finally:
“make an effort to hear something, be alert and ready to hear” i.e. a sense of
listening out for something that might be missed, trying to catch something at
a deeper level or from a place
beyond where we already are.
Over the last six
months, at the Hurtado Jesuit Centre, we have set time aside to build
relationships with our neighbours and community partners in Wapping and across Tower
Hamlets. This meant us concentrating our attention on those around us, being
curious about their work, caring enough to find out what their needs are and
enjoy getting to know them. Sometimes it meant easy connections, otherwise it
was about popping by, building trust and creating space to listen.
Now we are at the
stage of reflecting on what we have heard: it is about taking notice of what
people were generous enough to share with us. Now we have gained the privilege
of being welcomed into other people’s projects and priorities, we need to
follow up on what they have said, to consider it carefully and explore with them
how we can act on what they have said matters to them. This is less about us
reaching out to offer something to others, but a process of getting to know
another and developing something jointly.
And as we search for
a sense of what is beyond where we are now, in terms of our programme, we hope
that we will be alert to the unexpected, open to fresh wisdom and willing to
respond to surprises. Community engagement is never boring, but hopefully we might
avoid being so busy that our imaginations get tired or that we get pressured
into taking the easy option. So we trust that as our Centre grows in maturity,
we continue to have time to welcome people each week, be responsive to real problems
and get involved in creative, challenging activities.
I wonder if these three types of
listening are ones that we can all bear in mind as we go about our busy
community work in our neighbourhood and local borough? To listen to one another
with respect as we share different perspectives and learn something new. To
listen with a view to putting what we have learnt into action, to really make a
difference in practical ways. And to listen out for that deeper wisdom or clues
for future community needs, changing trends and creative opportunities to work
together over the months ahead.
Read the
report of our findings “Welcome to Wapping: The Value of Community in a Tower
Hamlets Village” . One of the themes emerging from the report is Migration and
Immigration which will be developed with JRS-UK.
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