Bangkok is a Hub!

This has been quite a week. It started with mygoing to Ratchaburi Province along the border with Myanmar. Then it continued from there with the Caritas Asia gathering and my meeting there Bishop Giorgio, the Catholic Bishop of Djibouti and Somalia. Even just to hear him tell me that he was the Bishop for Somalia literally blew my mind apart. On getting to know him, I discovered a man who was kind, easy going and so friendly. I could only imagine where he came from but his whole demanour spoke of a whole different reality - kindness and gentleness. Giorgio is an Italian Franciscan. The previous Bishop of Somalia had been murdered and so giogio has been the Bihop for the past eight years. He lives in Djibouti and has not been able to get to Mogadishu for the past 18 months as it is just too dangerous.

There was a cathedral there but part of it has long been blown up. When he was able to visit Mogadishu, he described how he was not met by Customs and Immigration but by the armed convoy sent by the then local Catholic Sisters. the convoy was made up of men armed with armalites. They were his passport to the then Catholic compound. This compound no longer exists as one of the Sisters was murdered and the others then withdrawn. Such is Somalia.

I took Giorgio to meet some Somalis I try to help here in Bangkok. He met with Ahmed whom my Province is trying to get to Australia. Their conversation was interesting and a joy for me to share. One conclusion was clear - the present situation in Somalia is not one where Muslim extremists are fighting for their version of Islam. Rather this is a new strategy being presented by the thugs, crooks and hungry power seekers that have been fighting in Somalia since 1990 in their greedy bid to grab power. That is the reality.

Like Thailand - all is never what it seems. We can be simplistic as we approach our world but we need to be wise as serpents. Thank God for the Bishop Giorgios of our world.