We are connected

I harken back to a story that may seem old by now but it is from World Refugee Day. I only shared then the story through pictures but maybe now I can do it through use of word.


One of the key people in my life here is Ahmed from Somalia. His story is full of disaster and despair. Yet he so often appears as the one with hope still alive. My Province in Australia has been working for sometime to sponsor him to Australia. Then something happened in Australia that deomonstrated how we are all connected and how that connectedness can act against our interests, as much as for them.

Recently in Australia, four young men were arrested on terrorist charges. Three were Somali and one was Lebanese. They had been in Somalia where they had had experience with the al-Shabab terrorist group. They came back with some plan to attack an army base in Sydney. What does this have to do with Ahmed?

He is Somali and wants to go to Australia. Well? Because of the arrest and charging of these four men, all Somalis are looked upon with suspicion within various quarters of Australian society. This means it is politcal suicide at present to push a Somali cause within Australia. As I gave this news to Ahmed here in Bangkok, he just had this increduloud look upon his face as if to say, "How could this be? I am not one of those four!" For better or worse, we are all connected.

'Connection'

Now, my story of yesterday about visitng Ms N. at the Women's Prison featured a key symbol - waving 'Goodbye'. You may not realise it but it also featured for me a key word - 'connection'. I realised that only later on myself as I was grappling with how to name what that symbol meant for me. Earlier in the day, I had named it to myself as being 'physical contact'. I had said that this was the closest physical contact we had had but that did not really capture it for me as I was not yearning for physical contact and I can see that physical contact is not at the essence of what I was trying to capture. Connection was it. We all need and yearn for basic connections in life. To be disconnected is a real loss and sadness for anyone that can lead to all sorts of personal strife and discomfort. Hence yesterday's symbol was so powerful.

My Boss, the Bishop

Fr Pibul is my boss here at Caritas Thailand. As you know, he has been named as the new Bishop for Nakhon Sawan which is the diocese to the north of Bangkok. Since I first announced this news, I have found out some fascinating statistics of this diocese which are so typical of a Thai diocese outside of Bangkok or Tharae over in Isan.

Nakhon Sawan Diocese covers a wide geographical area that has a population of eight and a half million people. Within the diocese, there are only 16,000 (according to the Vatican) Catholics. My calculator tells me that the Catholic population is then .0018% of the total population. Most of these Catholic are ethnic hilltribe people. Those not counted are any Catholics that may be among the many Burmese who have fled Myanmar and live along the border in this diocese among the many camps or towns but then interestingly they are not included in Church statistics, let alone national statistics.

I think this is enough for an introduction. It speaks for itself. I am sure more will follow on Bishop Pibul and Nakhon Sawan Diocese.

jaam-nong

If my Thai is any good, 'jaam-nong' is the anglicised version for the Thai word meaning 'to aim'. This would be my new word for the day and the word that would keep me determined to face my chosen challenge for the day. What was my challenge? To go to the big prison in Bangkok to visit Ms N., a South African woman. Why was such a task so daunting for me? Because I was to go alone for the first time and not wait for some Thai companion to come with me. In doing so, I knew I would have to stand on my own two Thai feet in dangerous and unknown territory for what if I did not know a word or could not say it properly? Whatever, I was not going to be stopped from doing what I needed to do.

My first great hurdle came when I got on the bus and told the conductor where I was going in Thai. She just looked at me as I was stupid. I knew it was not her but me. She told me I was on the wrong bus but I kept at it with the help of the Thai woman in front of me and my map, and eventually I got the ticket I needed. When I got to the Ngam Wong Wan Road intersection, I got off the bus. I then had to check my direction before heading off and finally I got to known territory as I have been to the prison many times but always with a driver.

The next hurdle was filling out the prison form for making a visit. It was all in Thai. I can read Thai but so slowly and not easy. So I had a crack at it and did my best. Guess what? The prison Officer accepted the form as I gave it but I think it was because all there know the woman I was visiting as she has been there over 15 years and from South Africa. So how many would fit that bill?

So far, so good, but then they took my passport. My question then is - when do I get it back and from where? I have to have faith here as the officers all know what they are doing and, I must say, they seem so helpful and friendly.

So, yes, with some help from another westerner who was waiting also to see someone, I did get to see N. On elast hurdle was that I may have missed my call. So I did have to go and check with one of the officers if N.'s name was called out in the last round of announcements for calling visitors. The friendly officer told me to go and see her now! So success!!! (but with some help from friendly others)

I got to visit N. and complete my mission for the day. Yeah!! Did it!!! Good on me!!

This is my second time ever to visit N. The connection is my American friends who are trying to help her. They are both away and so I go in their place. I know that she has been inside a long time. She has done over 15 years of a 26 year sentence. She is there for a drug trafficking offence and the sentence was death commuted to life. Her story is a typical one for women here on this offence. Her boyfriend asked her to carry a bag for him and she did and she got caught. I realise how few people help her and how little her government is doing, if anything for her. So she lingers on in a Thai prison. How sad! Yes, she was involved in something wrong but to get such a punishment and be left so alone for so long??

As I left I felt so sad. Why? It was not her story but seeing her hand. As she walked away, N. had raised her hand up above the barrier that is between prisoners and visitors. The barrier is not only distance but also the wire and the glass in between. It makes it hard to both hear and see each other during the visit. She was waving 'Goodbye' and I waved back. It hit me that this is the closest physical connnection we have ever had over the two visits. It was just such a powerful symbol for me of connecting with another human being within difficult circumstances that I just felt overwhelmed. There are no photos for this story but just a powerful symbol - two hands waving 'Goodbye'.

I'm back

It has been a long time since I put something on this blog site. I guess I just got lazy or into a daily routine (or rut) where I became comfortable and that just does not include bothering about this site - even in Bangkok where life is never dull. Then today I got an email from a niece and she inspired me to get back into this site. So here I am. Where have I been?

Bangkok, doing my normal work. Most days, I come to the office at Caritas Thailand. I work on project reports and proposals that aim to help poor Thai farmers through applying sustainable agriculture and also help Burmese and other migrants (as they call them in Thailand). Then I also go to the Bangkok Refugee Centre where I meet people who have feld some of the most desperate hotspots in the world, like Somalia and Congo. They end up here but find no solution just more problems. My heart goes out to them. It is like what can one do but they give you the message - do what you can and that is enough. So I continue on.

Then Sunday my day was a little bit different. I went to Bangkok Cathedral for the Installation of the new Archbishop of Bangkok. This was a grand occasion for the Thai Church. To put it in persepctive, Cardinal Michael Michai has been the Archbishop here for 36 years and so this is the end of an era for the local Church. Cardinal Michai is a gentleman and has been a good leader for his people. So now we see a 'new day' here in the local Church with Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak. He begins a new chapter for the Church in Bangkok. I was present for this bit of history and felt quite honoured to witness this great moment, this handing on of the baton. What I noticed or felt being there was the immense pride of Thai Catholics as they gathered for the occasion.

As result of this change in Church personnel. My thai priest boss at Caritas, Fr Pibul, is to be the new Bishop of Nakhon Sawan where Archbishop Kriengsak had been the Bishop. To give you some perspective, Nakhon Sawan Diocese covers a huge area in Thailand with a population of eight and a half million people but with only 10, 000 Catholics. That gives a typical look into the Thai Church. It is small and has never really tapped into Thailand as to be Thai is to be Buddhist. That is part of their culture. Still the Thai Church does its bit and makes its mark. In Nakhon Sawan Diocese, two vulnerable groups are the ethnic hilltribe people and the Burmese. The latter have fled an oppressive situation in Myanmar and live in refugee camps or on the edge in Thai communities. To the Thai Church's credit, they are there making their contribution to these people as best they can and will continue to build up their good efforts. Fr Pibul will be there leading this push to do good. Such is part of the story of the Thai Church.

So Carmel, thanks for inspiring me. Hope you enjoy this little contribution to the world.