Why Bangkok?

Why do ones come from such far away places as Somalia or Congo to seek asylum in Bangkok? It seems hard to fathom but when you hear their stories, you understand why.

They live in desperate situations where they know war, fear, threat of death or maybe worse. They are then offered a way out. Someone locally says they know someone who will take them to Europe for a price. So they desperately or innocently pay the money and go their way for Europe.

What happens? They are taken to Bangkok, being told that it is on the way to Europe. They might not even understand Bangkok or where it is and so may think they are nearly there. Why Bangkok? It is a hub and is very easy to enter on a tourist visa.

Their companion says that they will stay in Bangkok for a few days before moving on. Then at a suitable moment, the companion goes and takes the other's passport and money. They are then left stranded in Bangkok and go from there. It is downhill all the way in a treacherous and harsh Bangkok. They just seem to go from one sort of hell to another. It just is in Bangkok they don't have to face what they faced back home - death, torure, rape. A typical story!

Bangkok??

Today, I am in Madrid. I came here yesterday from Rome. It is another opportunity and experience that came my way. I took it graciously as part of my time to reconnect and regroup after a rather intense period of work and life back in Bangkok.

I went to a theological Congress this afternoon and at it I briefly met two Spanish women. I was introduced as Padre John from Australia who lives and works in Bangkok. They just said "Bangkok" and smiled. It made me think - Yes, why would a Catholic priest got to Bangkok. After all, isn't Bangkok for tourists, for shopping or for 'yobbos' who want to drink beer and pick up women. Let's be honest. That is the image most would have of Bangkok if they were looking at it as a destination from the west. Why would a Catholic priest go there and stay?

I guess that is one of the paradoxes I live with. Eight years ago when I first went to Thailand to visit the Burmese refugee camps with JRS as part of my then sabbatical, I just knew that this is where I belonged. That was my deep sense. I needed to return to work with refugees. It was one of the few times in my life that I felt such a deep, inner call.

Back then, I did not know anything about urban refugees. I thought I was returning to work with the Burmese refugees in the camps. Well, my journey took me to Thailand but then I discovered urban refugees and a real passion for their cause. So this is where I now happily find myself. Yes, it might seem strange to have an Australian catholic priest in Bangkok. Yet, for me, it makes sense. I have a great sense of belonging and tranquility in being there while acknowledging the many questions and anomolies surrounding life in Bangkok. I suppose that speaks of a Gospel that does not always make sense to us in our acceptable reality. What is acceptable is not always of the Gospel.

I thank those two women for their smiles as they have made me stand back and reflect a little about my stance in life. It may seem strange to them. To me, it is quite natural and understandable as I venture to follow the Gospel.

Defender of the Rights of the Poor

Today at the meeting of the Order's Justice and Peace Secretariat, I learnt something new. It was that Augustine stood as the Defender of the Rights of the Poor before the Roman Emperor of the day. He did this despite all opposition, even from his own fellow bishops.

As this Defender, he went to the Emperor to tell him what he was not doing to fulfill his role as Emperor for all. This call falls to us as well - to not only respond to the needs of the poor and marginalised but to also stand up for their rights before government and society.

There is an Augustinian group in Philadelphia called Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor - A DROP. It says it all about our role in mission in responding to the gospel call to care for the poor.

Ciao della Bella Roma

It seems that I have not done a blog since Christmas Day. I am reminded of this yet again by my niece Carmel who remains my most avid follower. Well, Carmel, what is my excuse? Despite the call of Pope Benedict XVI to all priests to take up blogging, I call upon the oldest of excuses - I have been too busy.

Now I am in Rome for a meeting of my Order's Justice and Peace Secretariat of which I am a member. I come for a two day meeting and I see it as a good opportunity to escape the intensity and the pace of a Bangkok. It is not just that I am busy these days but that life is very intense living in a city where you are continually confronted by so many different and extreme realities of life. It is an experience of living life in the extreme with reality smack in your face all the time. So I saw my trip to Rome as a time to re-ground and reconnect myself.

What has the busy-ness of my life been about? From the beginning of the year, I began my new role atb the Bangkok Refugee Centre (BRC) as Coordinator of Asylum Seeker Services and as Volunteer Coordinator. That alone provides for an intense week. The BRC is a UNHCR facility in the centre of Bangkok for what are termed urban refugees. These are the ones who come to Bangkok having fled the Sri Lankas, the Congos, the Somalias of the world. They end up in Bnagkok as it is a hub city and has a UNHCR office. Thailand also has very easy tourist entry regulations as they want tourism and its money. They are left here by people smugglers or come on their own accord. They then seek refugee status and a new life from Bangkok. However that is not the end of the story but the beginning of another one.

Thailand is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees. So here in Bangkok, while struggling with UN bureaucracy and trying to get refugee status, they also have to deal with a most hostile environment where they have no rights and no security as they are pure and simple illegal aliens in an alien land. They find themselves with no support while waiting interminably for UNHCR recognition, if it comes. So how do these asylum seekers survive? They depend on the goodwill and charity of a very few NGOs working on their behalf. Their needs are huge, they become desperate people and the available help that they deserve is minimal. They deserve better. So you can see my role.

Maybe I have not just been busy but exhausted by it all. Still I do this because I choose and because in a funny way I love the work as it enlivens me and gives me a real sense of purpose and meaning in facing the challenges of my day. In another way, it is about living my faith. So I don't complain. I continue my other roles with Caritas Thailand where I still work on the agriculture project and with the National Catholic Commission on Migration. I continue to love Thailand and its many fascinations while continually questioning what I see and experience in what is called 'Amazing Thailand'.

Carmel also asked me about Ahmed, the Somali fellow I have befriended and help in Bangkok. Ahmed continues to survive. Even much more, he has thrived in his own way as I have noticed lately that he is looking much healthier and that his smile is growing. His English is also improving as he studies English each day at a school. All this despite his remaining in a 'No Man's Land' as he just stays in Bangkok with no great hope of being able to go anywhere else, while not able to return home to Somalia. His one hope is that he gets to Australia. I hope he does but who knows. Still he has become a bit of a hero for me as I just sit and wonder how he keeps going so strongly. Maybe he listens to me as I advise him along the way to do just that. Maybe I should listen more to my own advice. Well, Carmel, that is Ahmed and me for now.

Ciao!