schogujsj09

Dear Fr. Keith and Fathers responsible for the various Commissions in our
Province,

Greetings!

During our last JESA Commission Meeting, we devoted a considerable amount of time to the current situation in India and in particular to what is
happening in Orissa and even here in Gujarat.  The forthcoming National
Elections will definitely be an occasion for fundamental and fascist forces
to whip up passions and to deepen the communal divide.

We also expressed our unanimous concern when some of OURS wittingly or
unwittingly play into the hands of these forces.

In view of this, we felt that it was important for us, as a group, to
express our concerns in the form of a Statement, very sincerely hoping that
all of us may find, both, a meaning and ownership of it.  We request that
you share the contents of this Statement with the members of your Commission.  

Thank you!

Please get back to us if you need any clarifications or if you have any suggestions.

Yours sincerely,
Fr. Paul D'Souza sj (Coordinator - JESA)

FROM THE JESUIT CONFERENCE OF SOUTH ASIA (JCSA)

TO ALL OUR FELLOW JESUITS IN SOUTH ASIA

 

 

We, the members of the JCSA gathered at Atmadarshan, Patna from 20-26 October 2008, are gripped by the need for a serious reflection on the recent violence against Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and elsewhere in the country. As we strongly condemn this ethnic and communal violence, we express our sense of pain and anguish for the innocent people who became the victims of that violence and carnage. Furthermore, we are touched and inspired by the deep commitment of the simple people to their Christian faith in the face of death and destruction.

 

Our own reflection together with scholars, social activists and those closely connected with relief work among the victims points out to the political and economic factors prevalent on the ground. With approaching local as well as national elections, political parties are vying with one another to woo the electorate. Extreme religious ideology serves as a convenient emotive instrument for the politics of “identity threat”. In this scenario, a perceived threat to the religious identity of the majority community is cleverly used to trample on the human rights as well as constitutional rights of fellow-citizens, particularly the minorities. 

 

Since many Jesuits and their collaborators were directly involved in responding to the violence and the pleas of the victims, we also wish to express our strong support for and feelings of solidarity with them. We are deeply edified by the first hand reports of eye witnesses who praised the commitment of many women and men of goodwill who risked their lives to help the victims. In addition, we express our gratitude to the leaders of civil society who not only condemned and protested against the violence but stood for the secular, pluralistic and democratic values of our country and its constitution. We also wholeheartedly endorse the statement  on the violence against Christians in Orissa and Karnataka, by the National Executive of the Conference of the Religious of India (CRI) which met on October 9, 2008 in Patna.

 

 Now, we would like to recommend the following short-term and long-term measures for implementation by the Jesuits in South Asia.

 

Short Term Measures: We endorse fully the recommendations made by the Jesuits for Social Action (JESA) to the Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JCSA) in its gathering at Guwahati from October 14 -16, 2008. JESA urges competent Jesuits to assist the Provincial of Jamshedpur in the following areas:

 

1. To provide Legal Assistance
2. To train trauma counsellors for mental health of the victims
3. To offer management expertise in planning and carrying out relief work
4. To assist in the area of communication and media
5. To carry out documentation work
6. To do advocacy work, nationally and internationally
7. To raise financial resources for relief and rehabilitation work.

 

Long-TermMeasures:

 

1. To counter the hate propaganda that is being put out by the fundamentalist groups. For this we need to educate men and women of goodwill (parents of our school children, alumni, beneficiaries of our social services etc) about the true nature of our commitment and service.
2. To raise our voice and not stand as mute spectators when human rights of any citizens are violated.
3.  To maintain regular contacts with the national and regional Press in order to disseminate our viewpoints, especially in times of crisis. For this a professional PRO office needs to be maintained especially in times of crisis.
4. To train lay collaborators as lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, community leaders. Tribals and Dalits should be encouraged and helped to enter into the judicial and civil service.
5. To network with the local CRI wing, civil society groups, local Bishop and other Christian Groups in order to ensure a carefully coordinated response to acts of threat or violence.
6. To explore ways of entering into dialogue with a representative group of the CBCI to embark on a process of analysis, reflection and action so that the Christian community knows how to respond to communal violence.
7. To urge all our communities in the Province to devote some time to an in-depth reflection on the recent anti-Christian violence in the country. Also, a systematic study of Hindutva, its history and ideology would be of value in understanding the functioning of the Bajrang Dal, the VHP and other organizations of the Sangh Parivar.   

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