Angelo Asking

45. Angelo Asking

One of the difficulties in living in Southern Sudan is being confronted with so many very obvious needs. The circumstances in which many people live in simple tukuls, presently surrounded by mud and pools of murky water, is appalling – to my eyes. Many of the people, however, have never been elsewhere and thus do not make comparative judgements as readily as I do. One hopes that they are not as conscious as we ‘kawadjas’ (white people) of how far there is to go in attaining better living conditions and that they take encouragement from seeing some of the obvious improvements that are occurring. Perhaps the increasing prosperity of some who have employment provides the strongest motivation for a lasting peace.

For the ‘kawadjas’, however, there is another related problem. Those in need see the resources of the expatriates and, specifically, what we are doing as part of Solidarity with Southern Sudan, and think we should be able to respond to their needs. Although we try to explain that we have to fund-raise ourselves for the high priority needs of better health services and delivering teacher education, the perception persists that we have a capacity to respond to other needs.

One becomes accustomed, even if it remains a little unsettling, to meeting children in rags who plead ‘Kawadja, one pound, one pound.’ I am referring here, however, to more than this. As well as the obvious need for better home, the Church is trying to address the need for better schools and churches and even the simple need for transport for priests to visit their remote congregations and chapels in this vast diocese. This must be one of the few places in the world where the size of the congregations far exceeds the capacity of the churches and chapels.

Last week, the Vicar General of the Malakal Diocese, Father Angelo, who is the parish priest of the Cathedral parish, asked to meet with me, along with Sr Elena, a Comboni Sister, who directs the local Catholic radio station. Fr Angelo showed me, on a map, the extent of his parish and pointed out more than fifteen parish centres, most of which have very run-down bush chapels. They have catechists and a strong adherence to their faith but the road conditions, and the lack of a suitable vehicle, prevent priests from visiting some of them even once each year.

We visited three sites within Malakal: one where there is a small church, with dried mud walls, on government land; one where the church has its own land to build a new parish church; and one where a new Comboni Church (named after St Daniel Comboni) is almost completed. Sr Elena has been instrumental in raising finance from Italy for the construction of this Church. Although the people live in poverty, the building of this new Church brings pride and confidence to the local community and a sense of hope which is at least as important as the bigger space which the Church will be providing for liturgical celebrations.

Fr Angelo and Sr Elena commented on the rapid expansion of Malakal. It is the same in Juba, Yambio and Wau, where we also have communities, with so many internally displaced persons returning to begin anew since the war ended in 2005. Providing community infrastructure is a massive problem for the Government, which does have resources, and even more so for the Church as the people themselves are unable to contribute much financially.

Another notable issue is the presence of squatters on land where the Church is planning to build. It is not easy for Church authorities to move people off Church land even when the people have built their homes there illegally. The Church aspires to bring hope to people, not homelessness. So it is a delicate problem. SSS also aspires to bring hope but we have clearly defined, targeted areas in which to apply the resources we generate. So while I would like to respond to Fr Angelo with some real hope, it is a problem. Fr Angelo is legitimately seeking assistance for the good and faithful people of Malakal, and for those in isolated places that we simply could not visit by road or river. ‘Harden not your hearts’ is one gospel injunction I regret I simply often have to ignore in Southern Sudan. Bill Gates, where are you?

- Br Bill