Reflection 2
Reflections by Linda Bales, United Methodist Church, General Board of
Church & Society, Washington, DC
Currently around the globe there are 20.8 million refugees who, for
varied reasons, have had to leave their homeland in search of peace and
security. While on our pilgrimage to the Middle East, we had the
privilege of meeting several persons who have experienced this kind of
upheaval in their life.
We talked to
a 22 year old woman who is a Palestinian refugee working in a
Jordanian health clinic operated by the Middle East Council of Churches
(MECC) in Amman. The young woman says she has a 12th grade education and hopes
to become a nurse. Ten days ago, she had eye surgery to relieve
intense pain. “I still feel pain”, she says, “but it’s better”.
She
is one of the fortunate Palestinian refugees in Jordan who has found
work and health care at the MECC clinic located in one of the refugee
camps in the region. She has lived her entire life in the camp – this
is her home. Her work in the clinic with women and children brings her
a sense of fulfillment and purpose as evidenced by her beautiful
smile.
Not
too far from the clinic is a program called the Jordanian Interfaith
Coexistence Research Center, directed by a dynamic,
jovial man strongly dedicated to peace. “What is our calling as
Christians?” the priest asks. “American Christians take their
religion for granted. Here it takes courage.” The priest serves in
a country where Christians are a minority whose numbers are shrinking
daily. Christians comprise only 3.5 percent of the population.
The
Coexistence Program serves women and children who are refugees from Iraq
due to the ongoing war with the U.S. The program is, ironically,
supported, in part, through a grant from the U.S. State Department.
Many of the children since leaving Iraq have not had access to education
since coming to the Center, The eighty plus children served by the
program are regaining a level of stability in their lives due to the
love and care of the program’s staff.
The
NCC delegation went to the basement level of the project’s office to
witness this transformation taking place. “When the children first
arrived at the center, they were drawing pictures of tanks and guns.
Now, they draw flowers, houses, men and women shaking hands in peace,”
says the priest. “When I feel depressed or anxious, I leave my
office and come to this room to see the children, and my sadness
disappears.”
“The
Iraq war is destabilizing Jordan,” he said. “There is an urgent
call for forgiveness and repentance.” Each of us were given a drawing
by the children – drawings that, perhaps, will bring a smile to our
faces when we, too, become discouraged and sad.
One of
the most profound meetings on our pilgrimage was meeting with Iraqi
women who were living as guests in Jordan. We met them at the
Syrian Orthodox Church in Amman. Rev. Sue Turley, an NCC delegate from the
Swedenborgian Church, opened the meeting by saying that she was a “Gold
Star Mom” – a mother who had lost a son in the Iraq war. Sue said we,
as mothers, can help each other through our losses and work for peace.
Sue’s son, Keith, was “born into privilege and felt a need to serve his
country. Keith was idealistic, perhaps not wise. He came to Iraq to
help the women and children; began to learn the language and treated the
Iraqi people with dignity and gentleness.” Sue said there are many
soldiers who felt similar to her son. Speaking directly to the Iraqi
women, Sue quietly said, “I join you in your loss and send our
apologies. We want to build a world of peace with justice together with
you.”
With
great emotion, the women sitting around the room extended their
sympathies to Sue, hugged her, and then began sharing their own
experiences as refugees in a foreign land. Many of the women can’t
afford to pay for health care now since their permits have expired.
Several reported serious health conditions that weren’t being treated.
One couple reported having had a relative kidnapped for ransom in Iraq.
They felt threatened which resulted in their fleeing their homeland to
Jordan in fear of their own lives.
A
young woman reported being stigmatized by others upon her
arrival to Jordan. She has two children and has enrolled them in school
operated by the Anglican Church; however, she has no money for support
and must deal with ongoing issues of health care and permits. For her,
being a refugee is not an easy task, but she is now safe and out from
under the present threat of war.
Hearing the voices of Palestinian women who had, in their history, an
experience of homelessness was extremely moving. The plight of the
Palestinian people since 1948 when the state of Israel was created has
been characterized by oppression and victimization.
This
situation was clearly articulated by three Palestinian Christian women
living in the West Bank. We met an officer of the YWCA and lecturer at Bethlehem University.
She
said she faces discrimination not only because she’s a woman but also
because she is a Christian. She believes it is critical for women to
not only care and nurture their families, but also women need to work
for peace and justice. Doing so in a land where ongoing oppression
exists, is not easy. She spoke of an incident recently experienced by
her mother one Christmas. Her mother wanted to go to Bethlehem to
celebrate the birth of Christ, but because her mom is Palestinian and
does not have a permit to enter Bethlehem, she was no longer able to
visit this holy site.
A member of the staff
of the YWCA in Jerusalem spoke frankly about the
difficulty of accepting a concept of “peace with occupation”. She was born in the West Bank when it was
part of Jordan. Following the 1967 war, when Israel occupied the West
Bank, her rights as a citizen were greatly diminished. Although she had
a Jordanian passport, it was no longer valid in Israeli occupied
territory. She could have migrated to what remained as Jordan, or she
could apply for an Israeli passport which meant becoming an Israeli
citizen. She refused to take that step.
She
lives in East Jerusalem which, prior to the 1967 war, was a part of
Jordan but West Jerusalem belonged to Israel. During the 1967 war,
Israel, in its occupation of the West Bank, also occupied East
Jerusalem. Most Palestinians living in Jerusalem live in the eastern
part of the city. She and her family pay higher taxes than the Jewish
residents in West Jerusalem and yet, have fewer public services.
A
staff women from the Sabeel
Center discussed how her organization is building peace and
understanding among Palestinian and Jewish women through dialogue. This
woman is a non-governmental program where spirituality intersects with
social justice. “We need to keep women connected and work on breaking
down the walls at all levels including within the church. God is a God
who loves all equally,” she said. “Pray for us if you want, but what we
really want is action!”
Meeting with women and children who have been so impacted, and in some
cases devastated, by the trauma caused by homelessness in the Middle
East, provoked many emotions within the hearts and souls of delegation
members. Rev. Sue Turley, a pastoral care counselor, offers a poetic
reflection on her experiences as a pilgrim in this holy land:
A
Litany of Haiku: Images of Jordan
The
air smells thin and dusty
Earth tones all around
Green
pines, olive trees
Tan and brown ground.
The
hillsides merge up
From the brown earth
Covered in desert sand,
Like a blanket of fog.
The
sun, a flat disk
Hanging over the Dead Sea
Hides
behind the sand filled sky.
Mt.
Nebo borders the view
In mounds of beiges, browns and tans.
A
cluster of young men gather under the pine trees
That line the side of the road,
While
camels, with their spiny legs
Barely seem to move.
Jesus
walked these desert lands,
Baptized, lived and healed here
Do you
feel him?
Do you
see him?
Can
you hear him?
Crying for his people
Wailing over spilt blood.
Children’s blood, mother’s blood,
Fathers, sisters and brother’s blood
Seep
into the desert floor.
The
sand flows red, purple, rose then pink.
Only
for the winds to blow this life
Back
into the air as if it was never there.
Our
nostrils breathe in the dried, split blood
As the
war drones on. One bomb here,
One
bullet there, one blast here,
One
life there.
The
sands of Jordan absorb the split blood of our sons and daughters
while
mothers tears flow
And
the olive tree bears fruit.
