Categories: uncategorized
Date: 12 October 2004 11:32:05
Not something i am particularly expecting jesus to say when i finally get to meet him, but you never know, do you? Last night we went to the local hostel for asylum seekers, which is always one of those things I really don't want to do, but like my mother always used to tell me about children's parties, I "enjoy it when I get there".
It's a massive place, with 200 men from all over the world living in tiny little rooms with a communal eating area. Many of them will get deported - it is like a last-ditch holding place - and most of them don't want to talk too much about what they experienced at home. Some of them have said something, and it is quite clear that if (when?) they are sent back, the threat to their lives could be quite real.
Meanwhile, some of them are here for a year or a year and a half, and they can do NOTHING. They engage very little with the local community, and an awful lot of residents in the area have no idea they are there. We go in (as a church group) really just to try and be friends and say that we value them as people. And they are shockingly kind to us. Because, after all, there isn't an awful lot we can do for them. We can bring cake and juice (when they'd probably prefer beer) and last night we took Jenga, Uno, miniature billiards and a stereo. Some of the boys also played cricket in the gym (the hostel is in an old police barracks).
They put up very well with this "quiche and cherryade" level of Christianity - even though it feels oddly artificial to spend an evening playing games I would never usually play with seriously traumatised people who could be deported any day. It's actually great fun. The atmosphere last night was one of great tolerance, as those who spoke English translated for those who didn't, and most of our communication was done through laughter.
Of course, we do have serious conversations as well - and several of them have come along to church as a result, and there are always bibles available for people who want them. But it's always the harmless fun that I remember after those evenings, and their sweetness in putting up with what must seem a very bizarre culture. Journalists are not usually "harmless fun" kind of people, and I've always thought of Christian service as something a little bit edgier than Uno and Jenga. But we can't all be Jackie Pullinger and I guess for a lot of us it is rather naff and mundane sometimes, and I always seem to get more out of it than I am trying to give. So thanks guys - you taught me a lot again last night - and it wasn't just how to play dominos