Just one example of a Lebanese church and the Syrian refugee community

 

Yesterday I visited three projects in the Beqaa valley of Lebanon, all of which have grown out of Lebanese Christian churches in the area. For security reasons I’m not going to post the name of the churches here, but I do have permission from one of the churches to share information about what they are doing, as it was just so inspiring. NB the other church was also incredible, but is working in a more sensitive area, hence no sharing at all – you’ll have to take me out for a coffee if you want to hear about that one!!

AJ church was started in 2002, and is based in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood. In 2011 following the Syrian revolution that led to the start of the Syrian civil war, refugees started arriving in the area, and by 2012 the church had begun outreach work to them. Although there was initial resistance to the idea from some, the pastor and his wife challenged the members about the reality of putting the Biblical teachings into practice, and gradually the resistance lessened. Point of note, from a historical perspective there are long-standing tensions and mistrust between Syrians and Lebanese, particularly from some of the older members and this fuelled the resistance, but over time the ministry has been accepted by the community and now there is good support for it.

The programmes that the church now runs include the following:

An educational day-care facility for Syrian refugee children from Kindergarten through grade 6 (ie about 12 – 13yrs). They are not allowed to support children of higher grades, and they are not allowed to call it a school. But they follow the Lebanese curriculum, and include daily Bible teaching which all the children enjoy and willingly participate in, even though they are from Muslim families. The church runs this programme on two sites: one in the church building, and the other in a compound of converted containers in the middle of the refugee tented community.

Women’s literacy programs, for mothers of the children who attend, and also for women who aren’t mothers. They learn Arabic and English, and there is also psychosocial support offered each week. The women enrol for a 10-week programme, so get 10 weeks of PSS, and then the programme is offered to another group for 10 weeks, as there is so much demand. This programme is also offered at both sites

Feeding programme: due to the economic collapse of the Lebanese economy, there are many Lebanese who are in great financial hardship. As a result, there was a lot of disquiet about the church only giving to Syrian refugee families. To overcome this, the church now splits the number of food boxes and gives half to Syrian families and half to Lebanese families.

Agricultural programme – teaching agricultural skills to young adults

Medical programme – making health care accessible to all, both Syrian families and Lebanese families who are enduring financial hardship.

At the container compound, there is also a clothing store where women can come and choose clothes from a vast array of quality second hand clothes available. In this way they have the dignity of having a shopping experience and choosing clothes themselves, but as the costs are very low, it remains accessible to all.

There is also a laundrette for washing the clothes, to compensate for lack of access to clean water. In the laundrette there is also a TV and sofas, so that the women can sit and have a sociable time together whilst the washing is doing.

The Participants of these programmes are predominantly Syrian refugees. Most of them are in some form of transit, either waiting to go back to Syrian once they get a better idea of how the new regime will work, or waiting in hope to go onwards to another country eg in Europe or north America. Many don’t know if that dream of a new land will ever come true, but they wait hopefully, and in the meantime the church helps them get by.

During the war with Israel last year, the area received many Lebanese refugees, and at that point the programmes also supported them. In most cases the programmes were done in two shifts, as it just didn’t work for Syrian and Lebanese refugees to be in programmes together. But now the Lebanese have returned to their homes, and the refugees are just Syrian again. As mentioned earlier, some of the programmes also help impoverished Lebanese, but they are from within the community.

During my visit we were discussing the challenges that the church faces in continuing its programmes. One of these is the attitude of the Lebanese government regarding teaching Syrian refugees. Apparently the government is very resistant to it, as they feel that it is encouraging the refugees to remain and not return home. The church’s perspective is that whilst the refugees do remain, they have the right to an education, and so this is what is being provided. However, it is this attitude of the government that means that the church cannot go beyond grade 6, and also that it cannot become an official school. Many NGO’s in the area have been closed down by thegovernment, again to reduce services available to the refugees – the church has been able to stay open because it is a church with its main focus being the teaching and sharing of the faith to Lebanese Christian community. One day the church would like to offer vocational training as well, but at this stage that seems unlikely. So for now, they keep doing what they can, and doing it as a church rather than an NGO.

Another challenge that they’ve had has been from the local Lebanese community regarding the apparent preference for services to refugees compared to Lebanese who are in need. It is a recognised issue that many Lebanese have poorer access to health care than refugees, and this has caused bad feeling. I’ve also referred to the food programme issues. As a result, the church makes the food and medical programmes available to anyone who needs them, and again this has helped to reduce tensions and increase good will.

When we were chatting, the pastor’s wife summed up for me why they do what they do, and what inspires them to keep going. She said: “we are only on this earth for a short time, and in that time it is important to do what we can to serve God wherever we are, with whatever we have. There’s no point in holding on to things for ourselves if we can use them to help someone else have a better life. Instead, we should live for others and give to others as the gospel says. In doing that, we have a better life as well.”

 

First impressions of Lebanon:

 

On arrival at the airport, the first thing I saw as we came into the terminal was a group of about 25 African girls, in very simple clothes, sitting quietly together, waiting for their plane. I’m guessing that they have been working as migrant domestic workers. My initial impression was how quiet and subservient they seemed. No looking at phones, or scrolling, or chatting with friends. No smart clothes, or handbags. Just very simply dressed, eyes lowered, holding their hands in their laps. I wonder what sort of experience they’ve had here in Lebanon. And what sort of the situation they are returning to. How long have they been away? How many of them have young families to return to, and children who won’t recognise them as they have been raised by grandparents in the mother’s absence? How many of them had an experience roughly what they were expecting, how many had a better experience, how many had a worse experience? So many questions – how to get the answers? 

Driving through the city of Beirut, the first area was a Hezbollah stronghold, and there were several places where big piles of rubble could be seen at the side of the road - evidence of recent bombings that have taken place. As this was a Muslim majority area there were lots of mosques, big and not so big, and in this period of Eid al-Fittarh, it was an area where much celebration and feasting could be seen to be taking place. After that we drove through a Christian majority area which has churches of many flavours and sizes in it. Another thing that changes between the different religious areas is the posters of politicians. Although all are in Arabic re the writing, the religious representations of the politicians definitely changes between the areas.  

The roads themselves seem to be in a relatively good state, but there is a distinct absence of traffic lights, speed limits, or roundabouts. Apparently, there aren’t many traffic lights anyway, and those that do exist are often not working. There are some roundabouts, but the rules re right of way definitely seem to be different to the UK way of approaching them. And lanes sort of do exist, but again the lines are often missing. So, it’s all about being courteous to each other, and driving sensibly it seems. From my limited experience so far – it works!

The drive from Beirut to Zahle today was good – really lovely to see the surrounding countryside and get a sense of life outside the city. It’s pretty hilly, with some very good views. Not sure if I saw Syria, but might have done, given how close we are to the border. No big swathes of cedars of Lebanon left sadly, but instead most of the hillsides were rocky, scrubby land, that looked like it is best suited to sheep farming (and yes, I did see some sheep!).

Finally, the food – am in the home of the falafel, and za’atar, and delicious salads. Last night I had a simple takeout of falafel and pickles – very delicious. This morning I had an oatflour flatbread with za’atar, tomatoes, cucumber and olives – one version of the standard Lebanese breakfast. I had to skip the cheese due to being dairy intolerant, but what I did have was fab. Lunch was a small smorgasbord of Lebanese delights: tabbouleh (without the bulgar wheat), fatoush, babaganoush, stuffed vine leaves, spiced potatoes, pickled vegetables, and there were also a couple of meat and pastry dishes which I skipped due to being vegetarian and gluten intolerant. If my first 24 hours are anything to go by, this is going to be a week of gastronomic delights!

 

 

Final day in Ghana - time to be a tourist.

 

Tonight we fly home from a fascinating and successful trip to Nigeria and Ghana. It’s certainly been a bit of a whistlestop, and I’m very aware that most of my time has been spent in church halls delivering training, rather than getting out and seeing the two countries. But, that was the reason for coming, so it’s been good to be able to squeeze in some small bits of time along the way, getting a glimpse into life beyond the training venues. NB, I should point out that Rozzie has done much better on the tourist front than me, and had 2 days being shown around Uyo area whilst we were there, and then 1 day out and about here in Ghana (including to a cocoa plantation, botanical gardens and some waterfalls.

Anyway, today was one of the days when we were both able to be tourists, and we had a very hot, but very interesting time visiting a few key sites of special interest within Accra.

First stop was Jamestown, which is one of Accra’s oldest neighborhoods. Situated on the coast, it has the significance of being a key historical site, especially in relation to the transatlantic slave trade. We were shown round by a local guy called Nice One (what a fab name!), who took us to the lighthouse (which still works, and was built to guide slave ships out to sea), the Jamestown ‘Palace’ (previously the local courts), and prison (now closed, but was the place where the enslaved people boarded the slave ships from), and the underground tunnel that those same would walk along, chained up and shackled in irons, to enter into the prison and then on to the boats. Established by the British in the early 17th century, the area was named after King James, and I was interested to note that, unlike so many places that have moved away from names with colonial ties, this community retains the name and hasn’t reverted to its previous indigenous name. We did ask about this, but Nice One said that people have moved on, aren’t living in the past, and anyway, the indigenous name is really hard to say!!!! Definitely undercurrents of spadefuls of forgiveness and not holding a grudge going on there.

Going into the tunnel was a very poignant moment – just being down there in the dark, and the heat, and trying to imagine what it must have been like for all those chained, frightened, bewildered, hurting and innocent people. A shameful part of our history but I’m glad I was able to have a moment to confront it in a place where it actually took place, and to send up prayers as I tried to process my emotions. Another point of note is that opposite the fort / prison where the enslaved would be sent off on the ships is the old slave masters office. It has now been redeveloped and sells Bibles – as Nice One: ‘good coming out of bad’.

The community is now very much focussed on fishing, although also very low in resources, and the tour also included a visit to a small school that is run on donations and supported by international volunteers to give some education to the children who can’t afford the school expenses of mainstream school. It’s a colourful and vibrant place, and people are trying to move forwards whilst also recognising that they have history which can be used to bring in useful finances.

The next place that we went was the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mauseleum. This was another incredible place to visit. Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, leading the country to independence from British colonial rule in 1957. The amuseleum included a museum dedicated to his life, and achievements, and he was clearly quite the leader. As well as leading Ghana in its early days, he worked to unify Africa and helped found the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which aimed to promote unity and cooperation across the continent. He also carried out lots of development projects in Ghana, including health care, transport, and education. And worked to unify the nation so that the people are now Ghanaians first, and members of their own ethnic group (43 of them in Ghana) second. As we went round the site, there were various quotes from his speeches, and two that I particularly liked were ‘Those who would judge us merely by the heights we have achieved would do well to remember the depths from which we started’, and ‘We face neither East nor West, we face forward’. Sadly Kwame died at the age of 63 from prostate cancer, and spent the last 6 years in exile in Guinea following a coup to oust him from his post in Ghana, but he was clearly an incredibly visionary leader across the continent.

Within the memorial park there were statues, fountains, and the big monument with the tomb inside, There was also a statue of him that had been rescued during the coup by one of his supporters – the head had been broken off from the body, but both pieces still exist to remind of the different stages of his political career. Another really nice touch was that the memorial park is on land that, prior to independence, was a polo field for the British. No people of colour were allowed on it at all during this time. So it was wonderful to hear that Ghana totally upended that by digging it up, and turning it into a place where Ghanaians can go to celebrate their independence and commemorate those who were so significant in helping the nation achieve that status.

The rest of our tourist day included Independence Square, an art and craft market, driving past the seat of government (Jubilee House), and a look round the national museum. A busy day, but a very good way to end our visit to this country. Now, for home!