Theology of Refugees

Theology of the Refugees DAHLIA KHAY AZEEZ 1. Introduction My focus in this paper will be on Iraq, especially in the 20th century, and the displacement of Christians in 2014. I will relate the faith of Christians of Iraq with some biblical verses that are always like a candle that we carry during the darkness of the persecutions. I will also clarify how a persecuted Christian reacts towards God raising the questions of doubts and the feeling of bitterness. Then I will try to read the situation as a reality that we must face, and the role of all churches in order to overcome the situation. I will look at the situation with a glimpse of hope. Finally I will conclude my paper with a request which I hope will have good fruits in the future. 2. Theology of the field This type of theology is not new since we can find it in the field among the people from a very long time ago and, as Peter C. Phan puts it, relating it with God as a migrant1. It is a theology that appears during the time of persecution when Christians are facing an examination of their faith and when they have to choose between sacrificing their life for Christ and their earthly life. This kind of theology cannot be taught scientifically without experiencing it because it goes beyond technical terms, philosophical and logical analysis. This theology sometimes puts us in front of illogical questions and unreasonable facts that cannot be carried out by our minds. If these doubts and questions cannot be clarified and if the faith cannot be encouraged, it might be lost. It is a theology that 1 P.C. PHAN, Deus Migrator-God the Migrant: Migration of Theology and Theology of Migration, Theological Studies, 77 (2016), 845-868. 57 Liturgy from below comes from the base of the community, from those who sit in the church silently and listen to the priest and, most of the time are absent from those who face, in everyday life, difficulties in answering others about who they are and what their faith can do when all the possibilities of being safe disappeared. It is a theology of those who were attacked in the church during the mass and their screams were not heard2. It is a theology that comes from the heart of those who lost their members with injustice and violence without mercy. It is the scream of Jesus Christ on the cross when he said "God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46), and the silent tears of Mary when she saw her beloved son on the cross. It is a question of “WHY?” which no one can answer, and prefer to stay silent, speechless while listening and accepting that there are some realities that cannot be grasped by our poor and imperfect knowledge. What kind of teaching can scholars and theologians give, and which verse from the bible is proper to utter for these people? I will cite what Peter C. Phan mentions about the Theology of Migration, which I find, relates much to my claim: "In this way, theologians, especially if they themselves are not migrants or do not share their day-to-day lives with migrants, will acquire a deep appreciation of and empathy with migrants' fears and hopes, courage and daring, pains and suffering, displacement and marginalization, loss and nostalgia, and the daily struggle to dwell betwixt-and-between two or more worlds. Migrants' experiences are narrated not only in word, private conversation, or public witness, in novel or short story, in prose or poetry, but also in song, drama, ritual, symbolization, visual art, and folklore".3 3. Biblical references The first story that comes to mind to clarify this theology and to relate it to the situation of refugees today is the story of Job. It is the story of a man who lost everything while his faith was examined. It might be possible that some scholars look at this story as a poetical work which 2 On the 31 October 2010 the church of "The Lady of Salvation" or "Sayidat al Najat", was attacked by terrorists in Baghdad and many people were killed among them two priests. 3 PHAN, Deus Migrator-God the Migrant, 855. 58 Dahlia Khay Azeez does not carry any reality in it or that it is just a fictional story. But this story for us, especially when facing displacement and banishment, turns up differently. Job for us is always an example of patience, the one who did not lose his faith, although facing all these difficulties. For us (Orientals) his name is always significant in so far as Job lost everything and start wondering if he did a sin so he deserved what happened to him. The same idea we can find among these Christian refugees who look at God as someone who is punishing them, but actually in the story of Job it is not God who was the reason behind the catastrophe, but the devil. The question here is: why does God accept this evil to happen? It is a question that till now is asked by many people. This story has many levels, the acceptance of God for Job to be harmed, the interference of the devil in the life of Job, the role of Job's wife, the role of his friends. The interference of the devil is normal because the aim of the devil is always to make the believers deny God. The strange thing is acceptance of God. This acceptance is not as many understand it as God making a deal with the devil to harm Job, but the other way round, it is God who is proud of Job that he is a faithful, good, and pious man, but the problem is that the devil likes to challenge God by harming Job in order to deny God. When God is accepting what the devil is saying, it means that God trusts Job, and that Job will not deny him. God's condition for the devil not to touch Job’s life, declares to the devil that no matter what he does, he still has limits that God sets for him. The interesting thing in this story is the role of the people close to Job, who gave the wrong advice to him. His wife asked him to curse God and die and his friends told him that God was punishing him, a part of one of the friends who held different positive opinion. Mentioning this story here is to compare how Job started asking God, and how, many times, we blame God for the evil, as if he is the one behind it, yet we do not accuse ourselves that we also have a responsibility for the evil that is happening in the world. There are times when we give the wrong advice to a person who is passing through difficult time (the examination of their faith) and, while this person needs good advice and encouragement, we give them the wrong impression about God and make him/her feel even more lost. If 59 Liturgy from below we do not have an answer to his/her question or if we are not able to understand this person, it is better to stay silent. In the New Testament, we find Jesus lifting up the challenges to a higher level when he said that: "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" (Luke 23:31), and by saying this Jesus is telling us to be prepared for the worse. If he who did not sin and was the Word incarnate accepted to be persecuted and crucified for the salvation of all, then what about us? If we do not accept to be the sacrifice, how can the message of salvation be delivered for others? Also, when Jesus said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). When Christians of Mosul and the villages around it accepted to leave everything and follow Christ they actualized what Jesus said. They had left everything, carrying their cross without hesitation and accepted to sacrifice and leave everything behind. Another important verse in our daily life is that which Saint Paul said: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword..." (Rom. 8:35-39). Another important verse is: "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have, cannot be my disciples" (Luke 14:33). 4. The displacement causing a historical gap For Christians who live in Iraq it is not new thing to be refugees, they were always witnesses of their faith, and ready to leave everything to keep their faith. The history of Christians in Iraq was never settled and through history, each generation faced a threat and was obliged to leave its district. Often times Christians had to move from south to north or from north to south or most of the times, they had to migrate to another country in order to find peace and to start their life from the beginning. This displacement or distraction affects not only humans but also culture, books, manuscripts, and everything that concerns education. In this case when a new generation grows with the lack of knowledge of its identity, it can be very problematic, especially when facing the lack of educated people who can help to guide the new generation through their present and future life. Each time when Christians are persecuted or 60 Dahlia Khay Azeez displaced a part of their history is lost because of the instability. Each time they have to start from the basics of their past and this might be the reason why many people are stuck in the past and are not able to move and be directed towards the future since they carry with them only some scattered memories and live only according to these memories. In this situation of unceasing persecution and displacement, one can think that it is a miracle that some traditions or literatures have survived. 5. Problems after the displacement 1. The problem of settlement: The huge numbers of refugees that need a new place to settle. 2. The lack of food and health care 3. The growing of bad memories and bitterness towards the situation and the long process of healing. 4. The dream of returning to their districts which sometimes vanishes without becoming true, then the district becomes only a memory that carries sweet and bitter feelings. 5. The Church that has to face this situation and has to survive, not only as a building but in the hearts of these refugees as well. 6. The huge number of youth who will need a good education and schools. 7. The relationship with God that becomes fragile in either trusting him or denying him. Also, the misinterpretation of the actual situation that comes from oppression. 8. Writing history: when these problems are solved we will have the problem of filling the historical gaps by writing the history that is told by the refugees themselves, so as to have an idea of what really happened, but in this case we need qualified people who are able to write this history objectively and not subjectively. 6. Recent situation Currently in Iraq, we have thousands of refugees from different sects. Some of them have doubts to return to their lands again, because of the lack of security and the fake promises that they hear every day. If 61 Liturgy from below these Christians return they will need a lot of help to be able to restore their homes again. If they will be given true promises that they will be safe they can return and start again, but these Christians had experienced in the past that when they leave a land they cannot return to it again. Even though there are some Christians now who returned to their villages to check if there is something left of their houses, it is not an easy moment to look at your own house destroyed, and to look for any memory among the rubble. How can we as theologians help these people to restore their memories and their relationship with God and with others? What is it our role in this case? How can theology become the remedy to heal their pain? 7. The place of God in the heart of refugees For refugees when facing distraction and persecutions, the thing that can be noticed among them is the steadiness of faith. Even though some of them have doubts and they show bitterness and pain by asking the following questions: why did God allow this? If he can intervene, then why he is not doing anything? Can the Church protect us anymore? Is it possible that we will see our churches and houses restored again? Do we have to walk on the way of the cross and to be crucified? What kind of message do we carry for the world if we are always persecuted? Why are we not able to achieve peace while we always preach about it? Beside these contradictions, they have stability in their faith and asking these questions does not mean that they do not believe anymore but it seems they need to hear new words. It is an admonition for the person that they love. When Job started questioning God, it does not mean that he lost his faith, but on the contrary, it is that he wanted to be sure that the one whom he believed in is real, is still there and is still supporting him. When we face dramatic events in our life instead of getting away from God and denying him, we should do the opposite which is to run towards him and stay under his protection. These Christians, who decided to be refugees, gave us is a historical testimony of their faith, actualized in a time when many people need courage for their faith. So what I want to say is this: God is still in the hearts of the refugees, and what they need is the remedy to recover and to restore the 62 Dahlia Khay Azeez relationship with God. This remedy might be our words to them, or the analysis that we make for the situation and present it to them. Therefore, we have to give the right remedy for them in order not to lose their faith because of what we say. 8. The role of all churches In this time of persecution no one is an exception, that is to say all Christian denominations have to face it, and when facing this major problem the last important thing will be the historical or liturgical or theological differences between Churches. The collaboration of the Churches together in this case must be seen as a sign of unity, the unity that comes from daily life, from the actual situation and the real field. It is the true time when Churches show the good example for their believers. All the churches in this case can make a huge change while collaborating together in order to help these people. It would be a major tragedy if, during this crucial time when members of a Church suffer, that other Churches do nothing to help simply because they are not from the same ecclesiastical denomination. The collaboration here does not mean challenging each other or making a contest among each other but rather to draw the attention of the suffering people to God. These believers are not so naive that they cannot notice the problems and the conflicts among the different Churches, so the idea here is to show that even though there are problems these are meaningless if members of other Church are suffering. It is a matter of making the right decision at the right time so that these Christians will not feel that they sacrificed for nothing. 9. Refugees as active members Refugees are not a number that we can only count just to distribute food and staff to them. They are not passive or unable to work or do something because, before becoming refugees, they were active people and they had their own life and dignity. This does not mean they lost their dignity but it is us who make them feel like that by not showing them respect and treating them as if they are unable to be active in society or making them feel that they chose to be refugees so they have to carry the 63 Liturgy from below results of being a refugee. None of them wanted to leave his/her country if there were good conditions to live as humans with complete dignity and the freedom at least in practicing their religion and traditions. 10. The glimpse of hope In the middle of this chaos we can find the glimpse of hope in the heart of refugees. This hope does not come from us because we help them or because we promise them a good future, but rather it is the hope that we see in their hearts, in their eyes, and therefore "we" have to work for that hope. It is a sign for us, a sign challenging us to do the best, to work more, to think more, to work on this hope and encourage it so it will not vanish. If we are not able to see this hope among the refugees that means we are not able to realize the splendid sacrifice that they offer and the example of steady faith that they present to us. This hope, for example, we can find in the answer of a child when he/she wants to become an active person in the future. It is this hope that encourages us to carry on in our work and our faith, that there are people who are still ready to sacrifice their life and everything for the name of Christ. 11. Conclusion In this paper I tried to sketch the Theology of the Refugees; this is not a novelty in terms of the actual situation, because it exists among the people who are persecuted and displaced. I tried in this paper to give a simple definition of this theology and to trace some biblical verses that are always in our mind as fixed realities that we experience every day. Then, I came across some facts after displacement and the problem of the historical gap. I tried to look at the recent situation and to search for the place of God in the hearts of refugees. I then focused on the important role of all Churches in this situation and how can they collaborate in order to encourage these communities. Finally I focused on the role of refugees as active members in society, and the glimpse of hope that springs from the refugees themselves. What do we need as people who live in this situation, and as a voice that wants our voice to reach your ears? The answer will be education. 64 Dahlia Khay Azeez There are many other problems on which we can collaborate together to solve, but one of them is education which I want to focus on. When facing a corrupted society, one of the crucial problems is education. We need to find new ways to help those who do not have the chance to be educated or those whose studies were interrupted by the situation. I have the hope that we all can collaborate internationally together on this case. All Churches and universities should encourage and work on this. First, the refugees as the main field to focus on, and then the whole of society. In this case, all universities and institutes that are concerned about theology should collaborate in order to bring these questions and doubts onto a new level to make the Christian refugees continue their life as active members in the church, knowing that starting each time from the beginning can make us lose many things, but it can also give new opportunities. 65 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay Equality and brotherhood in suffering for the name of God 338 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay Resurrection, life and renewal 339 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay New Golgotha, new hope 340 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay The spirits of the martyrs 341 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay Raped girl honored by the Virgin Mary 342 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay Jesus among refugees 343 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay The day of my kidnapping 2006 344 Paintings by Dahlia Azeez Khay Trinity 345