EVERYBODY'S CHALLENGE - Jesuit Refugee Service | USA

Each of us spoke of our own work, sharing what we had learnt from
our time with the refugees. We spoke of the deep human anguish of
refugees who had lost homeland, close family members, their freedom
to choose, their works and their dignity. Perhaps the most pervasive
problem was the sense of powerlessness. Many refugees had
experienced appalling suffering in their homeland or during their
flight but, in the camps, the universal problem was that of having no
say in their own lives and in their future.
In camps which were virtual prisons and under policies imposed
by governments with their own political interests, refugees were
most often voiceless. For some of us, this suffering was a challenge,
even a challenge of our faith. But we had also learnt of the people’s
resilience and courage. We asked how JRS workers can be companions
of our refugee people. Again and again, we turned to
prayerful discernment of this question.
We saw our first service as to share, even in some small measure,
the lives and sufferings of the refugees, to be able to love and respect
them, to be a sign of solidarity and hope. With people of whom the
overwhelming majority are Buddhists or animists we saw our presence
as witnessing to God’s love and the message of the Gospel but
without wishing to impose our own Christian beliefs.
Diakonia, Issue 1, November 1983
148