Praying with Refugees
Confronted by the conflict, slaughter, and seemingly endless anguish in so many other places in our world, we wonder how God can allow such things to happen. The Old Testament describes how the people of Israel suffered war, violence, famine, persecution, and exile, and how they tried to find the presence of the loving God of the covenant in all those harsh realities.
This section of the website offers readers an opportunity to reflect and pray on the good and evil which happens. As we meet and work with refugees who have confronted evil and suffering, it is important to remind them and ourselves as well to keep in touch with God, the source of all good and love. This is the only way to withstand evil.
Confronted by the conflict, slaughter, and seemingly endless anguish in so many other places in our world, we wonder how God can allow such things to happen. The Old Testament describes how the people of Israel suffered war, violence, famine, persecution, and exile, and how they tried to find the presence of the loving God of the covenant in all those harsh realities.
This section of the website offers readers an opportunity to reflect and pray on the good and evil which happens. As we meet and work with refugees who have confronted evil and suffering, it is important to remind them and ourselves as well to keep in touch with God, the source of all good and love. This is the only way to withstand evil.
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Praying with Refugees in Congo (Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo) February 1, 2012 — About two million people have been internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by armed conflicts. The situation here is characterized by chronic and rampant sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees from Colombia (Caracas) January 1, 2012 — Thousands of Colombian women and men are forced to cross their border to find protection. Their flight marks the beginning of a long and difficult journey to find peace and dignity. Their lack of knowledge about refugee rights reduces the likelihood their applications will be accepted by their host countries. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees: the spirit of accompaniment Geneva, December 1, 2011 — The mission of Jesuit Refugee Service is to accompany, serve and plead the cause of refugees and forcibly displaced persons. Accompaniment, I have learned, is by its very nature reciprocal. It cannot be done alone and it cannot be done in a unilateral fashion. Read more >> |
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Praying with Ahmadiyya Muslim refugees Bangkok, Thailand, November 1, 2011 — Ahmadiyya Muslim refugees were forced to flee Pakistan due to religious persecution. August was a particularly challenging and happy month as this year it marked Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. During Ramadan, they are not allowed to eat or drink during sunlight hours, a challenge in the Cambodian heat. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees from Somalia Nairobi, Kenya, October 1, 2011 – Since the beginning of the drought and hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa in July, tens of thousands of refugees have fled Somalia, most of them into Kenya and Ethiopia. They march for days or even weeks. Some do not survive the journey; others lose family members on the way or have to leave them behind. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Syria (Aleppo, Syria) September 1, 2011 — Since the beginning of this year, the situation in a number of Arab countries has changed considerably — caused in great part by popular political movements. This has not only led to changes in the political regimes or bloody confrontations, but has also created much forced displacement of peoples. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees: the opportunity of education (Washington, D.C.) August 1, 2011 — Refugees don’t leave their countries simply because things are difficult, they leave because their lives are in danger and the situation is hopeless. They are driven by hope to seek new opportunities, not just for themselves, but, for their children. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees: hope for Haiti Washington DC, July 1, 2011 — The earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 caused much heartache, pain, and death. But, also present among the rubble was hope. For every story of hope there seemed to be one of heartbreak; every act of courage and progress teetered on the edge of frustration and hopelessness. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Australia Washington DC, June 1, 2011 — Boat people seeking asylum in Australia are first brought to Christmas Island, just 220 miles south of Indonesia but nearly 1,000 miles from the Australian mainland. Many of these boat people have no one to trust but God. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees from the Americas Washington DC, May 1, 2011 — Every day, undocumented men and women are deported from the United States without money, without food and without help. The deportees are primarily citizens of Mexico or Central American countries who were detained in U.S. federal detention centers and who are sent back to their country of origin. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees from Colombia Washington DC, April 1, 2011 – In this Lenten season, we bring to mind Christ’s Way of the Cross, which begins with the call to "remain here and keep watch with me." (Matt 26:38) Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees at sea Washington DC, March 1, 2011) – Every year, thousands of people from Africa try to reach Europe, risking everything in a gamble for safety, for a life better than the conflict, poverty and repression they were born into. They risk harsh detention and death. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees from Iraq (February 1, 2011) More than 1.5 million Iraqi refugees have sought refuge in neighboring countries, particularly in Syria and Jordan, and Jesuit Refugee Service has opened projects in these countries to accompany and serve this population and their many needs. Read more >> |
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Sudan: Caught in Between Praying with Refugees, January 2011. When Jesuit Refugee Service went to Southern Sudan in the late 1990s, the staff shared the terror of internally displaced people caught up in the prolonged civil war. As 2011 dawns, JRS is still in Southern Sudan, accompanying the people in peacetime as we did during the war. Read more >> |
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Les Bonnes Nouvelles: the Good News Praying with Refugees, December 2010. As we make our journey during this Advent season let us hope and pray that we can respond in haste in our travel toward God and in our interior travel and examination of our own soul. Let us also hope and pray that we can respond in haste along very concrete paths of service of our neighbor. Read more >> |
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Fleeing From Home: Trapped in Detention Praying with Refugees, October 2010. Human suffering, especially inflicted by people, saps our faith and our belief in a merciful and compassionate God and maybe even in the ultimate goodness of humanity. Confronted by human suffering, it is quite easy to ask: where is God in all this? It can also kindle within us a profound and powerful sense of empathy. Read more >> |
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Who Am I to be Considered Your Friend Praying with Refugees, September 2010. For refugees the experience of leaving home is sometimes surpassed by the experience of returning. For many refugees returning home can be traumatic. Nowhere is this experience more profoundly felt than in Afghanistan, where JRS began to work in 2005 by supporting refugees returning from Iran in a township outside Herat. The area is stony barren desert. When the returnees arrived, there were no facilities and nobody wanted to live there. An electrical transformer financed by JRS started to transform life in the township, and JRS became responsible for the returning refugees’ education and health services. Read more >> |
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Accompanying Refugees: Work Not without a Struggle Praying with Refugees, August 2010. Advocating the rights and needs of refugees is not a one-day job. Sometimes our contribution seems to accomplish nothing. Yet every step counts, however, small it may be. Read more >> |
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Educating Refugees: Proclaiming a Gospel of Hope Praying with Refugees, July 2010. Life is a struggle for survival for many of our world’s poor. More than one million Iraqis have sought refuge in Syria during the past seven years. Many of these refugees are poor, living anonymously in large cities with little hope for a brighter future. In Syria, these urban refugees can be reasonably sure that they are safe from bombs. But they are also painfully aware that their deprived and uncertain existence in exile presents other risks, especially for their children, many of who are growing up without an education. JRS is working to see that education is available. Read more >> |
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Urban Refugees: Making Visible Refugees Hidden in Plain Sight This brief couplet of unknown origin captures in a few words the distinct charisms of four saints and founders of religious communities in the Church—the Cistercians, the Benedictines, the Franciscans and the Jesuits. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), placed much focus on the plight of the poor in the great cities of his time. Read more >> |
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Ambassadors of Reconciliation (May 2010) Last November a group of JRS directors met in Sri Lanka, a country that has suffered from a long and bloody civil war, to reflect on how reconciliation is part of the ministry of Jesuit Refugee Service. We began by recounting personal experiences of the need and longing for reconciliation from our ministry with refugees or forced migrants. Read more >> |
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The Lord is Risen! Their eyes were opened and they recognized him! A number of years ago Fr. Gildo Dominici was working with Jesuit Refugee Service in Galang, Indonesia. His reflection on living with refugees reminds us of the call to know the Risen Christ that refugees and those who work with and for them are invited to experience. Read more >> |
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Listen (March 2010) The recent tragedy in Haiti has called the entire international community to listen to the needs of the many thousands of displaced earthquake victims. As we ask ourselves how we might best respond to needs of the Haitian people, let’s listen . . . listen prayerfully to their needs and hopes. Read more >> |
