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Editorial:
Trust enough? From
the director: Icons of Culture and Political Identity: A Decade
of Opportunity Comment:
Shaking hands with soldiers At
the end of the day: Trust Remember
1916 Shattered
pieces - a journey in recovering trust Interview
with Rev John Dunlop & Danny Morrison: Truth & Trust Faith
matters lyo
nta kindi dufite uretse UKWIZERA A
Reader's Response to Lion&Lamb #40 Bible
Study: Trust Review:
Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland: Boundaries
of Belonging and Belief Review:
1916: Lest We Forget Difficult
Conversations |
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SHORTLY BEFORE I left Africa to come to Ireland, while doing last minute shopping with a friend, I met a Christian who helped me in dealing with anxieties related to my re-location to Ireland. I was going to leave the society I was used to and relocate to a society I knew very little about, apart from the media’s portrayal of the conflict between the ‘Protestants’ and the ‘Catholics’. This sister in Christ gave me a timely reminder of my membership of God’s family. She stressed that we all belong to the family of Christ that transcends the human boundaries. This was a strong and welcome message for me. This encounter reminded me of a discussion I had with my grandmother, Sarah Kandinga, when I was 12 years of age. As I was preparing to go to boarding school, 45 kilometres away from home, she was the one in the family who seemed least concerned about the young lad (me) who was about to leave the village and move to a completely ‘alien’ institution. The day before I left, I visited her and say my farewells. What she said to me has inspired me since. She said, “In case you are wondering why I am not anxious about your departure tomorrow, I would like to say to you that I have faith and trust in humanity, which transcends the boundary of our village. Always remember that you are a member of the human family.” This was the beginning of my journey to becoming a global citizen. My granny was illiterate. Though she could not read or write, her Christianity was nourished and sustained by her church attendance. She had faith and trust in Christ and in his humanity. My granny never went beyond a 20 kilometre radius of the place where she was born, brought up, had her family and eventually ended her days. But her words of wisdom have resonance for me even today, although I live far away from her milieu. Through faith and trust I have so far managed to find space and friends wherever I have found myself living. Has my trust and faith been tested? How does one sustain trust when things go wrong? These are difficult questions. I have experienced many moments of truth or rather what theologians, and lately sociologists, call ‘epiphanies’ in my life. As it happens, the day before I received the invitation to contribute to Lion&Lamb I read a passage from Jeremiah 16:1-18, a passage I read sometime during the 100 days of the Rwandan mayhem. The expression “seeing death” depicts very well many moments of truth I had in 1994. Many have seen the movies Hotel Rwanda and Shooting Dogs, which give just a small insight into what happened, over a decade ago, in Rwanda. I often wonder why the Lord decided to spare my life in a period when so many lives were lost. Shortly after my arrival in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1994, there was a big exodus of Rwandan refugees into Goma and once more disaster struck, this time through water-borne diseases. Thousands were killed by the cholera epidemic. The troubles articulated in Jeremiah 16 still loom large in the Great Lakes Region of East and Central Africa. Having lost everything including family, friends, workmates, job, house, etc. in 1994, I had only two assets – trust and faith – and, since then, these two assets have not let me down. They helped me to recompose myself, to have a sense of purpose, to realise that God has a plan for all those who believe and trust in him; however terrible the situation they find themselves in may be. I relied on my granny’s wisdom and managed, within a relatively short period of time, to make friends in the Congo until such time as I left to come to Ireland in 1995. In Goma, I was welcomed by my Congolese extended family, particularly by the family of Bishop Masimango Katanda (current Anglican Bishop of Kindu Diocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo). Faith helps people in dealing with the traumatic experiences they have been through. This explains, for example, the increasing numbers of African Pentecostal Churches in the Republic of Ireland. Many other Rwandans I know in the Diaspora have, by and large, joined the Pentecostal movement. I remained loyal to the church my parents grew up in and I suppose this will remain so. Having said that, the Irish churches have to respond to migration and help in building a diverse society where all have a sense of belonging. Failure to do this will divide the Christian family that I am proudly a member of. ‘Discovery’, an initiative of the Dublin and Glendalough united dioceses of the Church of Ireland, came about in response to the needs of the new migrants as well as to help the church in responding to needs stemming from immigration and its consequences. The church that emerged after Easter and Pentecost was an inclusive church – a church where the Gentiles and the Jews were welcomed. The church like any other societal institution is challenged to respond to the needs of 21st century Ireland. Ireland, North and South, is experiencing many changes at the moment and migration is but one of the main ones. Social cohesion in the future is going to be a challenge especially if there is an economic slow-down. In such an eventuality, based on the literature from countries with a history of migration, migrants and their descendants will become scapegoats. Today, things are not rosy. Often we get reports of racism, exploitation of migrants by unscrupulous employers and the list goes on. How do we as Christians rise to the challenge of diversity? Should we just close our eyes when we see somebody being physically or verbally abused because of the colour of their skin? Going back to where we started, remembering how faith and trust helps Christians in times of ‘trouble’, we have a duty to be witnesses to Christ day-in, day-out. We might be few, but one person can make a difference. Racism, xenophobia and intolerance have no place in the Christian family. Trusting one another will see us through the troubles of multiculturalism. I have mixed emotions in terms of my own perception of developing a sense of belonging in Ireland. At one level, because of the circles I am involved in, I have a sense of belonging because my friends, workmates, my many acquaintances accept me as I am. But very often I am reminded through other people’s experiences that there are still some people in Ireland who do not believe in cultural diversity. In fact, it is very common, both in the North and in the Republic, to hear reports of racism and intolerance. I have been a victim of racial abuse on a number of occasions, however, for everyone who calls me names, there are dozens who make me feel welcome. We are, thanks to globalisation, part of the ‘global village’ and we need to build up trust between and among each other. Giving one another a chance will help us in solving our differences through dialogue rather than resorting to other means, which in any case perpetuate conflicts. My granny’s narrative is a reminder for parents of the need to ensure that their children grow up with an open mind. One of the stories that crosses my mind when I think about racism, is about someone I know in Dublin who was rushing to catch the bus on his way to work. He met a neighbour’s child who had just started saying his first words. This African-Irish person was shocked when the young boy had the audacity to call him ‘nigger’. When we discussed his experience a couple of days later, it was clear that the child had acquired the word from his parents. It is a pity that the parents chose to teach him a derogatory word rather than good morning, thank you, please, excuse me…and the list goes on. Racial abuse affects the victim and the abuser in different ways and everything should be done to protect children. This will enable them to have positive attitudes as adults. Institutional racism is, from my own perspective, more worrying because it feeds the individual manifestations of racism. Political leaders, the education system, the media, religious leaders, etc. have a role to play in dealing decisively with institutionalised racism. There is no contradiction between my various forms of identity. I am of Rwandan descent, an Irish citizen, albeit a naturalised citizen, a male, an African, an Episcopalian or rather, Anglican, a parent, a civic activist, a PhD sociology student. I am sure we all have multiple identities and beneath the surface we all have something in common. We need to move beyond our differences based on our physiology. Does it work all the time? No. I have to say that what I saw in Rwanda clearly demonstrated to me why we should trust each other. As is widely known, the Hutu and Tutsi divide and the conflict between ‘Protestants’ and ‘Catholics’ – and many other conflicts – have one thing in common: lack of trust. Conflict arises when we are unable to deal with difference and resort to other means including physical fighting rather than what the German thinker Jürgen Habermas calls ‘communicative action.’ Let us look at what the Bible has to say about diversity. In Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” This reading gives a clear image of what Jesus expects from us when it comes to dealing with difference, racial justice and diversity. We should, in the same vein, reflect on Colossians 3:11 “In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all, and is in all.” Paul, in Acts 17:26, reminds the Athenians that, “From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth.” In a renewed society there is no place for divisions between Irish, blacks, Protestants, Catholics, Hutus, Tutsis, etc. It is clear from these three passages that we are all part of the family of God and through faith we should move beyond our physical differences and indeed join each other in our journey to heaven. I would like to finish with a prayer for diversity composed by Rev. Stephen Fields (1995): “God of the nations, you call us to share in the life and ministry of your Church. Enable us, though different in colour, customs and heritage, to celebrate our oneness in you and the shared inheritance of your Kingdom. Prosper our work as we endeavour to build bridges of love, understanding and cooperation, that, transformed and renewed by your Holy Spirit, we will be no longer strangers to one another, but together, as members of your household, always give you glory, through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen”. FIDÈLE MUTWARASIBO works with the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) as Research and Integration Officer. He is currently researching "Social Capital and the Emergence of Migrant/Ethnic Minority Leaders in Ireland" for a doctoral thesis at University College Dublin. |
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