A Plea for Orissa

The situation in Orissa, India is getting from bad to worse. The violence by groups linked to prominent Indian political parties, against the minorities especially Christians, have escalated since my earlier post on September 1, 2008. According to testimonials from someone I know in India, the appeals by church officials have so far gone unheeded. It's most commonly thought that the state and federal governments are both reluctant to act fearing voter backlash in the next elections.

The following You Tube videos shed some more light on the urgency of the situation in Orissa.

You Tube 1
You Tube 2
You Tube 3
You Tube 4
You Tube 5
You Tube 6
You Tube 7
You Tube 8
You Tube 9
You Tube 10
You Tube 11

Read here for more news and peace initiatives that have been attempted so far:

• ASSIST (ANS) news service report
• Behind the anti-Christian violence
  

What you can do:

Please write letters expressing your concern and request the authorities to:

• ensure protection of the lives and properties of the Christians in Orissa;
• provide immediate relief and adequate compensation to the victims;
• create a congenial atmosphere for peaceful civil coexistence; and
• bring perpetrators to justice in order to stop impunity.

Send letters to:

Madam Pratibha Patel, President of India

Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi , India ,

Fax: (91) 11-2301 7290 & (91) 11-2301 7824

E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

Send Copies to:

1. Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minster of India

Prime Minster's Office, South Block

Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 011, INDIA

Fax: (91) 11-2301 9545 / (91) 11-2301 6857

E-mail: manmohan@alpha.nic.in; pmosb@pmo.nic.in

2. Mr Naveen Patnaik

Chief Minister of Orissa

Bhubaneswar – 751001, Orissa , INDIA

Fax: (91) 674 253 5100

Email: cmo@ori.nic.in

3. Diplomatic representatives of India in your country.

4. Say a prayer for Orissa. Something like this: "We pray to you, Almighty God, that this senseless violence against all of your children, for whatever the reasons may be, cease. Give us, together with all people of goodwill both far and near, the grace to work to bring about peace to this disturbed land in whatever ways you are calling us to do. May we stop hurting one another in Your name. May we not continue to cause great harm to You by hurting Your own subjects. Help us to once again be one. Amen."

A Gentle Reminder from God Tube!

I have been checking out God Tube - a sort of a Christian version of You Tube on and off over the past few weeks. And, I find that they have some pretty good stuff worth watching like this one on the Figtree Video Choice bar on the right entitled "Mommy's Wisdom". It reflects what most mums are trying to say!

The one below brings back memories of the time when we used to act out this particular scene during Youth Camps a long time ago! Titled "Satan's Meeting" - it is an extended, modern take on the classic C.S.Lewis book "The Screwtape Letters" - which is a good read in itself.

Watching this brought home some powerful reminders for me. How careless I can become. How everyday "busyness" can lead me away from God. And what is really important in my life.

For more information on God Tube, go to their website here. The FAQ page is here.

Plea for End to Orissa India Religious Violence

I received this plea today from my grand-uncle, a Francisan O.F.M. Capuchin monk in India, on the current violence on Christian minorities in the state of Orissa. The message includes:

• the statement of the CBC of India,
  
• statistics of violence and damages,
  
• an appeal for justice and peace in Orissa,
  
• a sample protest letter addressed to Mdm. Pratibha Patel, the President of India which you can copy and edit before sending,
  
• background information on the violence in Orissa, and
• a list of sources and reliable websites with information to the ongoing tragedy.

The full story here:

COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT

CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF INDIA

Chairman: Bishop Yvon Ambroise, Episcopal members: 1. Bishop Mathew Arackal, 2. Bishop Gerald Almeida,

Exec. Secretary: Fr. Nithiya ofm.cap, Tel: +91-11-23366127 , Mob: +91-9868511018 , email: jpdcommission@gmail.com, nithiyas@gmail.com

From

Fr. Nithiya ofm.cap

Executive Secretary,JPD Commission
CBCI Centre, 1, Ashok Place ,
New Delhi - 110001

Dear and Respected Brothers and Sisters,

SUB: CBCI Commission for Justice, Peace and Development takes up the Orissa situation at the UNHRC - United Nations Human RIghts Council, Geneva through the help of Franciscans International

Greetings of Peace from Delhi .

In the past days, you must have received the details about the Anti Christian Violance in Orissa. On behalf of the JPD Commission, I sincerely thank you for the immediate response by sending emails, fax and signatures to the concerned authorities.

The Commission has circulated similar documents to all our international collaborators like Justice and Peace Commissions of other Episcopal Conferences, Pax Christi International, Franciscans International and Hotline Asia .

I am glad to inform you that the Franciscans International, which has Special ECOSOC status at the United Nationa Human RIghts Council(UNHRC), is taking up this issue in the UNHRC office in Geneva . The updated materials (attached) were circulated this evening (29th) to the Diplomatic authorities. Tomorrow (30th), this issue will be presented to the UN Human RIghts COuncil.

May I request yuou to continue to pray for the success of our mission of Justice and Peace. Kindly forward these information to all the your email contacts. In case you have not sent email or fax messages to the concerned authorities, please kindly use the attachment and do the needful.

Ever grateful to you for your kindness in this moment of crisis, I remain yours

Fr. Nithiya ofm.cap

Attachments:

A.. The updated statistics of destruction in Khandmal District. ( attached)

B. Appeal for Justice and Peace - material for sending fax,email etc. - Please continue to send them to the concerned authorities.

STATISTICAL DATA OF VIOLENCE AND DAMAGES

IN KHANDMAL DISTRICT, ORISSA , INDIA

24-28 AUG, 2008

1. Houses Destroyed – 4014
2. Killings - 26
3. Shops Destroyed in Raikia - 10
4. Convents - 4
5. Hostels -5
6. Institutions damaged -6
7. Priests, Rel. Attacked -6

Note:

1. These data are not full. The following data are only from one district of this state. Violence and destruction is still continuing in the place as well as in the nearby districts.

2. Most of the people, including priests, and nuns and laity have fled into the remote forests and are unable to come back to their villages for fear of their life.

3. All the people affected are poor villagers. All of them are tribals and Dalit people, oppressed and the most neglected people of the country.

Caution:

(Please keep the names of the individual persons confidential. Since some attacked persons names were given during the December violence, they and their relatives were targeted again in this violence)

B. AN APPEAL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN ORISSA , INDIA

Protect Christian Minorities in Orissa - INDIA

A. SUMMARY OF THE INCIDENTS IN ORISSA , INDIA

Since 24 August 2008, at least nine people have been killed in unabated violence, four of them in police firing, in Orissa's Kandhamal district, as a backlash to the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. Another three persons were killed when their houses were torched in Raikia area. Two others, including a woman, were killed when a missionary-run orphanage was set on fire on 25 August. Another source, the Global Council of Indian Christians, has revealed a staggering number of 18 deaths.

The on-going carnage apparently targets the Christian community, mostly Dalits and tribals, in the Kandhamal district of Orissa and in several other districts including the state capital of Bhubaneswar since 23 August 2008. A large number of churches, houses, and vehicles have been torched by mobs in areas including Nuagaon, Udaygiri, Raikia, Phiringia and Baliguda since 24 August. A nun from the diocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar has been gang-raped in a separate incident before the building of a social service centre was destroyed.

As the carnage continues unchecked and death toll rising every day, innocent Christians in Orissa find themselves in a very precarious situation. Hundreds of Christians, priests, nuns and children have fled to the jungle in order to escape further attacks.

The state government was widely criticized of failing to uphold law and order in order to ensure the safety of Christian minorities in Orissa. At the end of his weekly general audience on 27 August, the Pope appealed to "religious leaders and civil authorities to work together to re-establish among members of the different communities the peaceful coexistence and harmony which always have been a distinctive sign of Indian society."

*** Please respond immediately ***

B. ACTION REQUESTED

Please write letters expressing your concern and request the authorities to:

• ensure protection of the lives and properties of the Christians in Orissa;
• provide immediate relief and adequate compensation to the victims;
• create a congenial atmosphere for peaceful civil coexistence; and
• bring perpetrators to justice in order to stop impunity.

Send letters to:

Madam Pratibha Patel, President of India

Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi , India ,

Fax: (91) 11-2301 7290 & (91) 11-2301 7824

E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

Send Copies to:

1. Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minster of India

Prime Minster's Office, South Block

Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 011, INDIA

Fax: (91) 11-2301 9545 / (91) 11-2301 6857

E-mail: manmohan@alpha.nic.in; pmosb@pmo.nic.in

2. Mr Naveen Patnaik

Chief Minister of Orissa

Bhubaneswar – 751001, Orissa , INDIA

Fax: (91) 674 253 5100

Email: cmo@ori.nic.in

1. Hon'ble Justice Shri S. Rajendra Babu, Chairperson

National Human Rights Commission,

Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi , PIN 110001, INDIA

Fax: (91) 11 2338 4863

E-Mail: chairnhrc@nic.in; covdnhrc@nic.in; ionhrc@nic.in

4 Diplomatic representatives of India in your country.

C. SAMPLE LETTER

Madam President,

We write with deep concern over the communal violence that has engulfed many districts in Orissa since 24 August 2008. The target of the violence has been the Christian minorities, most of whom are tribals and Dalits. The ongoing carnage has resulted in the death of nine persons. A nun has been gang-raped. Many people, including priests and nuns have been injured. Their properties and places of worship have been vandalized. Hundreds, including Catholic school children, were forced to escape into the forests and live in fear and insecurity.

The uncontained violence in many districts of Orissa, which we understand to be a state notorious for a culture of communal violence in recent years, points out that the state government has failed in its duty to protect the lives of Christians. This violates their right to life and personal liberty – the very right enshrined in the Constitution of India (Article 21) and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR Article 6) to which the Government of India is a party.

It is time that your Nation State, which is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, honoured the commitment it has made to the United Nations on 19 April 2006, when a pledge was made for its candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council: India's commitment to "promoting and protecting human rights flows from the realization that in a truly pluralistic society, the growth and well-being of citizens can only be guaranteed through a culture of protection and promotion of human rights."

In this context, and with great urgency, we appeal to you, Madam President, to initiate suitable measures that:

• protect the rights, lives and properties of Christians in Orissa;
• provide immediate relief and adequate compensation to the victims as per ICCPR Article 2.3.1;
• ensure a climate of peace and harmony in Orissa state so that people may live without fear; and
• bring perpetrators to justice in order to stop impunity.

D. Background information about Orissa violence

In Orissa's Kandhamal District, the worst-hit region by violence between Hindus and Christians, the Christians are still nursing their wounds from the Christmas 2007 violence, with hundreds of them still live in a refugee camp in Barakhama. Majority of the destroyed churches, which exceeds 100, remain in ruins; burnt houses are still to be fully rebuilt. Kandhamal is a primarily tribal area, where Christian missionaries have worked for decades. Almost 20 percent of the district's people are Christians.

Fresh violence broke out following the killing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples in an ashram at Jalespeta in Kandhmal district on 23 August 2008. Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was killed by unidentified armed assailants despite the fact that he had supposedly reported threat to his life to the police 12 hours before his assassination. His killing has been widely condemned by various church leaders in India . While the government held Maoists responsible for the killings, the Hindu fundamentalist groups blamed Christians for the incident.

Tension ran high as the bodies of the slain were taken from Jalespeta to Chakapada, sparking violence when unruly mobs torched vehicles at Baliguda, G-Udayagiri and Nuagaon and damaged a police outpost and NGO offices at Nuagaon. Churches and prayer halls were attacked at various places.

According to local groups, the police have not given adequate protection. It is possibly due to the political climate in the state, where the ruling political party – Biju Janatha Dal – is being supported by Hindu fundamentalist groups. Hard-line Hindus accuse Christian missionaries of trying to convert illiterate tribal or Hindu villagers by alluring them with promises of free education and medical care, a charge denied by the missionaries.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the continuing violence, the administration has extended the curfew for an indefinite period from the Kandhamal district to sensitive areas, such as Phulabani, the district headquarters, Tumudibandha and Baliguda. Authorities have issued shoot-at-sight orders and police staged marches on 27 August in Kandhamal.

E. SOURCES FROM JOURNALS AND RELIABLE WEBSITES

- The Statesman

- The New Indian Express

- Asian Human Rights Commission

(http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/528/)

- Business Standard

(http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=332643)

- Voice of America (http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-08-27-voa14.cfm)

- Catholic News (http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804378.htm)

- Compass Direct News (http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5545)

- www.cbcisite.com

- http://orissaburning.blogspot.com/

You can also check out: The Indian Catholic for updates.

The Priest: A Prayer on Sunday Night

As it is Saturday evening now, with the Sabbath drawing near, this Michel Quoist prayer from his book "Prayers of Life" should help us understand our priests and emphatise with them a little better, especially when we have such great expectations from the "Men in Black"!

Tonight, Lord, I am alone.
Little by little the sounds died down in the church,
The people went away,
And I came home,
Alone.

I passed people who were returning from a walk.
I went by the cinema that was disgorging its crowd.
I skirted cafe entrances where tired strollers were trying to prolong the pleasure of a Sunday holiday.
I bumped into youngsters playing on the footpath,
Youngsters, Lord,
Other people's youngsters who will never be my own.

Here I am Lord, Alone.
The silence troubles me. The solitude oppresses me.

Lord, I am 35 years old, a body made like others, ready for work,
A heart meant for love, But I've given you all.
It's true of course that you needed it.
I've given you all, but it's hard Lord.

It's hard to give one's body; it would like to give itself to others.
It's hard to love everyone and to claim no one.
It's hard to shake a hand and not want to retain it.
It's hard to inspire affection, to give it to you.
It's hard to be nothing to oneself in order to be everything to others.
It's hard to be like others, among others, and to be one of them.
It's hard always to give without trying to receive.
It's hard to seek out others and to be unsought oneself.
It's hard to suffer from the sins of others, and yet be obliged to hear and bear them.
It's hard to be told secrets and be unable to share them.
It's hard to carry others and never, even for a moment, be carried.
It's hard to sustain the feeble and never be able to lean on the one who is strong.
It's hard to be alone,
Alone before everyone,
Alone before the world,
Alone before suffering, death, sin.

Son, you are not alone,
I am with you,
I am you.
For I needed another human vehicle to continue my Incarnation and my Redemption.
Out of all eternity, I chose you.
I need you.

I need your hands to continue to bless,
I need your lips to continue to speak,
I need your body to continue to suffer,
I need your heart to continue to love,
I need you to continue to save,
Stay with me, son.

Here I am Lord;
Here is my body,
Here is my heart,
Here is my soul.
Grant that I may be big enough to reach the world,
Strong enough to carry it,
Pure enough to embrace it without wanting to keep it.

Grant that I may be a meeting-place, but a temporary one,
A road that does not end in itself, because everything to be gathered there, everything human,
leads toward you.

Lord, tonight, while all is still and I feel sharply the sting of solitude,
While men devour my soul and I feel incapable of satisfying their hunger,
While the whole world presses on my shoulders with all its weight of misery and sin,
I repeat to you my "yes" - not in a burst of laughter, but slowly, clearly, humbly,
Alone, Lord, before you,
In the peace of the evening.

WYD Sydney 2008

Pictures courtesy of the BBC website here. I like the one on the right. Only youth and the sheer exuberance of being young could come up with slogans like this!

I remember when in Manila in 1995 for the WYD celebrations there, where the local organisers had come up with the chant for the then Pope: "John Paul II - We Love You" was heard everywhere. Not to be outdone, the pontiff was quick to quip back, "John Paul II - He loves you too!". Sweet!

May the memories of these World Youth Days move us to "become the change that we wish to see in the world".

"You'll receive power" indeed.

WYD Sydney 2008 & Michel Quoist

Today July 15th. marks the beginning of the 23rd. World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia.

A week long affair, it's expected to draw a few hundred thousand youth in what has become the biggest mobilization of youth in the world. The WYD culminates on July 20th (the actual World Youth Day) with a Mass by Pope Benedict XIV. Began in 1986 by John Paul II, previous WYD celebrations have attracted millions of young people from all corners of the world.

The official world youth day website is a good place to check up on the events as they unfold. EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), launched 26 years ago amidst much scepticism for the need of a Catholic media network is in Sydney too. In addition, the new Catholic social networking website, Xt3, is up and running. In its own words - "Whether you're coming to Sydney or not, this will connect you with everyone and everything you need. Xt3 – Bringing the Gospel of Christ into the Third Millennium and building a better world".

John Paul II's words continue to echo: "You young people have in a special way the task of witnessing today to the faith; the commitment to bring the Gospel of Christ into the third Christian Millennium, to build a new civilization"

Which leads me to a prayer by Michel Quoist, of a young person caught between his/her hopes, dreams, abilities and fears and the sheer responsibility that comes with this momentous task of witnessing to the world:

Help me to say "Yes"

I am afraid of saying 'yes' Lord. Will you take me? I am afraid of drawing the longer straw. I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement. I am afraid of the 'yes' that entails other 'yeses'. And yet, I am not at peace.

You pursue me, Lord, you besiege me.
I run after noise for fear of hearing you, but in a moment of silence, you slip through.
I turn from the road, for I have caught sight of you, but at the end of the path, you are there awaiting me. Where shall I hide? I meet you everywhere. Is it then impossible to escape you?

But I am afraid to say 'yes', Lord. I am afraid of putting my hand in yours, for you hold on to it. I am afraid of meeting your eyes, for you can win me. I am afraid of your demands for you are a jealous God. I am hemmed in, yet I hide. I am captured, yet I struggle, and I fight knowing that I am defeated.

For you are the stronger, Lord, you own the world and you take it from me. When I stretch out my hand to catch hold of people and things, they vanish before me. It's no fun, Lord, I can't keep anything for myself.

The flower I pick fades in my hands. My laugh freezes on my lips. The waltz I dance leaves me restless and uneasy. Everything seems empty. Everything seems hollow. You have made a desert around me. I am hungry and thirsty. And the whole world cannot satisfy me.

And yet, I loved you, Lord; what have I done to you? I worked for you; I gave myself for you. O great and terrible God, what more do you want?

Son, I want more for you and for the whole world.
Until now, you have planned your actions, but I have no need for them.
You have asked for my approval. you have asked for my support, you have wanted to interest me in your work. But don't you see, son, that you were reversing the roles? I have watched you, I have seen your goodwill, and I want more than you, now. You will no longer do your own works, but the will of your Father in Heaven.

Say 'yes', son.
I need your 'yes' as much as I needed Mary's 'yes' to come to earth.
For it is I who must do your work,
It is I who must live in your family,
It is I who must be in your neighbourhood, and not you.

For it is my look that penetrates, and not yours,
My words that carry weight, and not yours,
My life that transforms, and not yours.

Give all to me, abandon all to me.
I need your 'yes' to be united with you and to come down to earth,
I need your 'yes' to continue saving the world!

O Lord, I am afraid of your demands, but who can resist you?
That your Kingdom may come and not mine,
That your will be done and not mine,
Help me to say 'yes'.

My prayer: That out of the hundreds of thousands of young people who will throng to Sydney this year, a handful brave ones say 'yes', then the WYD has accomplished its mission. Amen.

Introducing Michel Quoist

My 7 year old son is responsible for this post! We had just got back from Mass around noon and had just settled in when my Ann, my wife, let out an anguished cry from Jonathan's (the brat!) room. Somehow, he and his cohorts had during their playtime, managed to break the non-reflective glass frame on one of her favourite pictures which had been tucked away in a carboard box away from preying fingers. This would not have been such a big issue had it not been for the fact that we had repeatedly reminded or rather "threatened!" him time and again not to meddle with such fragile stuff. How naive can we parents be! Well, to cut the story short, he was punished (no abuse took place, that's a statutory declaration) and Ann went back to her chores, and naturally I ended up at the computer. Usual, unexciting, Sunday. Until for some reason, I happened to pick up Michel Quoist's "Prayers of Life" masterpiece.

I can't remember who it was who introduced this particular book to me, but I suspect it was a young seminarian almost to become priest in South Perak, some 15-20 years ago. I remember though, being thoroughly captivated by it. Maybe it resonated so much with the way I was thinking, feeling, hoping, etc. So much so, it has become my favourite prayer book of all time. So, I thought, maybe I should put excerpts of it here so others too may discover its sheer beauty and poignancy. And so, here's the 1st installment - appropriately enough, on children! - brats, in other words. I'm sure you'll enjoy this:

I like youngsters

They brought children for him to touch; and the disciples scolded them for it. But when Jesus saw this he was indignant, and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. (Mark 10, 13-15)

God says: I like youngsters. I want people to be like them. I don't like old people unless they are still children. I want only children in my kingdom; this has been decreed from the beginning of time.

Youngsters - twisted, humped, wrinkled, white-bearded - all kinds of youngsters, but youngsters.

There is no changing it, it has been decided, there is room for no one else. I like little children because my likeness has not yet been dulled in them. They have not botched my likeness, they are new, pure, without a blot, without a smear.

So, when I gently lean over them, I recognise myself in them. I like them because they are still growing, they are still improving. They are on the road. They are on their way.

But with grown ups, there is nothing to expect anymore. They will no longer grow up. They will no longer improve. They have come to a full stop.

It is disastrous. Grown ups think they have arrived.

I like youngsters because they are still struggling, because they are still sinning. Not because they sin - if you understand me - but because they know that they sin, and they say so, and they try not to sin anymore.

But I don't like grown-ups, they never harm anyone, they have nothing to reproach themselves for. I can't forgive them, I have nothing to forgive. It is a pity, because it's not true.

But above all, I like youngsters because of the look in their eyes. In their eyes I can read their age.

In my heaven, there will only be 5 year old eyes, for I know of nothing more beautiful than the pure eyes of a child. It is not surprising, for I live in children, and it is I who look out through their eyes.

When pure eyes meet yours, it is I who smile at you through the flesh. But, on the other hand, I know of nothing sadder than the lifeless eyes in the face of a child.

The windows are open but the house is empty. Two eyes are there but no light. And, saddened, I stand at the door, and wait in the cold and knock. I am eager to get in. And he, the child is alone. He fattens, he hardens, he dries up, he gets old. Poor old fellow!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Open, all of you, little old men!
It is I, your God, the Eternal, risen from the dead, coming to bring back to life the child in you.
Hurry! Now is the time. I am ready to give you again the beautiful face of a child....

For I love youngsters, and I want everyone to be like them.