|
During
our apostolic/community experience we had the opportunity to participate
in several program at Holy Cross Parish, Dandora.
-
The
HIV/AIDS clinic where we visited clients at their residences.
-
Small
Christian communities where we participated in faith sharing.
-
The
program for the elderly who come and meet at the parish.
-
And
the refugee program of which we share our experience.
Refugees are not a happy people. They are persons who are not
certain of how they will survive the next day, especially being in a
strange country. They are poor and sickly. Some have many family members
to take care of and this makes life even more difficult. Still some are
old and others are middle-aged. Some are actually young and one wonders
how they make ends meet.
Accommodation
for refugees is very poor and not easy to find. These people live in very
crowded conditions. Feeling with them, they are people in painful
situations. And we could only say, "We feel sorry that you live this
way but we thank God for preserving you up to this time". We saw
children whose parents can not afford to care for them since they are
unemployed.
Most
of the refugees we saw and ministered to were from Rwanda, Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Some are out of their countries due to
political instability while others due to tribal clashes in their regions.
What surprised us was that some of them left their countries because they
had heard that in Nairobi refugees receive 5,000 Kenya Shillings ( US
$64). This is of course a total lie. They don't get even one- fifth of
this money. Some used the little money they had to travel to Nairobi,
while others were helped by truck drivers.
Attaining refugee status is not easy. These people have to undergo
a series of examination by the UNHCR officials in order to verify whether
one is seeking the refugee status genuinely. Many don't fit into the
criteria and so they are denied this status. They therefore keep
struggling through the system till they succeed because they don't have
the money to go back either.
The current assistance to refugees in Dandora comes from the Jesuit
Refugee Service (JRS). This includes foodstuffs like beans, peas, sugar,
rice, cooking oil. They also get half of a bar of soap and a small amount
of money (100/= ksk – US $1.25). This is so meager. There are medical
referrals for those who need treatment at specified hospitals where JRS
meets their medical bills.
We
feel that working with refugees is a true Gospel witness
- When I was homeless you housed me, when I was hungry you gave me
what to eat, etc. Thanks to every one whose efforts are devoted to
assisting persons such as these the world over. It is quite moving finding
a stranger who wishes that all should be happy and he/she invests his/her
energy in caring for this person. We also realized that we are not in
ministry alone, but that God is using many people to take care of those in
need.
Language was a problem.
Daniel and I are not fluent Swahili speakers; yet this is the
language used for communication to many people. We felt a serious
limitation because we could not communicate very well what we wanted. We
only understood to a certain extent and constructed a few sentences we
felt could convey our message.
We prepared lists where they signed for their foodstuffs, soap,
money and medical requests if one was sick. We felt with them and we are
happy for the opportunity God
granted us, to work with these people. It is more difficult for
those who have not yet attained the refugee status because they don't have
access to these provisions. These can only be assisted by the person in
charge of refugees at the parish with the approval of the parish priest.
Otherwise there are those who go without food.
Basically we feel that being a refugee, one feels alienated; one's
sense of belonging/identity becomes uncertain. It is hard being out of
one's country without
gainful employment and in these circumstances. It is a challenge
for all of us, followers of Christ, when we encounter people in this state
of life. It is necessary to be present to them, to love them, to care for
them to give them hope and courage.
Having
only the concept of a refugee is not enough and it does not help. It is
important to reach out to them, to encounter them from where they live. It
is true that a great many of us have only a concept because we have not
met the persons affected. Encountering refugees or one who is a refugee
changes one's point of view most probably in a direction that can help
improve their conditions of living. If we can feel with them, then we can
become more charitable to them. Let us join in praying for peace and
justice throughout the world and especially in those parts, where people
are living as refugees. It is a universal duty to fight injustices in
society, for every one deserves happiness.
| 
