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: healing the wounds of division 1 June 2013, Nijmegen – When there is a war or mass displacement, international relief organisations often rush in, help and after a while disappear again. The Church operates differently: it was there before the conflict, may have been part of the problem, hopefully is part of the solution and remains after the other organisations have left. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Masisi, 1 May 2013 – On his job contract it says he is a driver for the Jesuit Refugee Service team in the eastern Congolese town of Masisi. In reality Eradi Salumu is much more. The 39-year-old father of three has been forced to flee conflict in Congo on several occasions. Although he has never been formally recognised as a refugee, he has lived in exile in a number of African and European countries. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees: Palm Sunday in Beirut Beirut, Palm Sunday, 1 April 2013 – It must have been a spring day like this, bright and sunny, when long ago Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we as Christians now call Palm Sunday. Last week in Lebanon, during the procession around St Joseph's Church in Beirut, worshippers – mostly domestic workers from the Philippines, South Sudan and Sri Lanka – waved their olive tree branches. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India Dindigul, 1 March 2013 – The three decades of conflict in Sri Lanka not only displaced a sizeable number of Tamils locally but also drove them to seek refuge in India. Today, more than 70,000 still live in 112 government camps in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees for hope Rome, 1 February 2013 – As we travelled toward Morobi, I was informed that Flabius, the head catechist in the village, had lost a daughter, and she had been buried only the day before. "He probably will not be at the seminar, Father, because there is much grief. This was his last child." Read more >> |
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Praying with refugees: the real face of peace Caracas, 1 January 2013 – Recently, the Colombian government has opened peace talks with the with the largest left-wing guerrilla group, the FARC. Surely real peace building in Latin America needs participation of the victims of armed conflict in Colombia. Read more >> |
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Praying with refugees in Nairobi (Nairobi) December 1, 2012 — Urban refugees in Nairobi live on the margins of society, not legally allowed to work, and struggling in an already over-crowded city. Fleeing violence, political instability and drought, refugees end up living in economically-deprived areas, desperate to find a place to call home, searching for hospitality in an unfamiliar country. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Australia (Sydney) November 1, 2012 — The Jesuit Refugee Service office in Sydney is located in an inner city Jesuit parish. For many refugees a visa is the beginning of a new struggle, not the end. Psychological trauma and loss can be completely debilitating to even the strongest of personalities. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in the Philippines (Guindulungan, Philippines) October 1, 2012 — The southern Philippines has been ravaged by political violence since 2008. Jesuit Refugee Service supports internally displaced persons in their journey to become self-sufficient, and manages programs to strengthen peace building between communities in Guindulungan and Datu Piang municipalities. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Jordan (Amman, Jordan) September 1, 2012 – Iraqis have been seeking refuge in Jordan for decades, coming here to escape years of repeated wars, internal strife and economic hardship. Despite a slightly more stable situation in their home country, Iraqis from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds continue to arrive, seeking safety and the chance to build a more dignified life for themselves and their families. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Uganda (Boston) August 1, 2012 — As we traveled toward Morobi in northern Uganda, Lodu informed me that Flabius, the head catechist in the village, had lost a daughter. But it was a much deeper tragedy. This good man had lost not only his daughter—and his wife a few years ago—but seven children to war and disease over time. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in the United Kingdom (London) July 1, 2012 — Visiting the detention centres near Heathrow airport outside of London, Jesuit Refugee Service staff and volunteers accompany failed asylum seekers, in a pastoral capacity, striving to enhance their dignity and strengthen their resolve to remain strong in the face of much uncertainty. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in the Dominican Republic (Tierra Nueva, Dominican Republic) June 1, 2012 — The Haitian immigrants in Tierra Nueva are among the most economically marginalized people in the Dominican Republic. Their resources are limited even further by authorities who abuse their power in demanding bribes. More recently, the security of their neighborhoods has been threatened by an unsettling wave of violence. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Sri Lanka (Vavuniya) May 1, 2012 — Sri Lanka concluded its war on May 18, 2009. It is estimated that more than 300,000 were forcibly displaced, having lost almost everything during the conflict, and between 40,000 –140,000 were killed in the final phase of the war alone. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in India (Washington, D.C.) April 1, 2012 — The Chin people in Mizoram State, India, live in a protracted, urban refugee situation and face daunting problems related to protection, livelihood, health, and education. While many have been there for years, new arrivals continue, including many youth who are fleeing forced conscription by the Burmese military. Read more >> |
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Praying with Refugees in Cambodia (Phnom Penh) March 1, 2012 — Before Mohammed fled Burma, he was often stopped by the authorities on his way to school and sent to work in military camps. There he was made to cook, clean and carry heavy building materials, and he was punished when his captors were unhappy with his work. Read more >> |
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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) 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) 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 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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Thoughts of peace and a future of hope (November 2009) A refugee from Southern Sudan reflects on the path that led him to his awareness of God. 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! (Washington, D.C.) April 1, 2010 - 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 >> |
