Statement by Bishop Paul Verryn and an update on the 1500 Zimbabwean refugees affected by the Police Raid on Central Methodist Mission

Wessel posted the following statement, and update, on the arrested refugees last night.

It comes from the Central Methodist Mission's website. The Bishop's statement offers valuable insights into the challenges that displaced persons face in South Africa. It also gives some clear facts about how the Church has stepped in to help refugees, and what systems are in place to manage their care and safety. Lastly, it gives some critique of the Police, and local government's handling of this matter.

The following is what Bishop Paul Verryn had to say:

There is abundant precedent in the history of two millennia of the Christian Church's existence of the Church being used as a shelter for the destitute and vulnerable in society. For instance, during the second world war, about 450 000 people stayed for a night or five years at Central Hall in downtown London . Throughout Africa the Church has stood as a symbol of hope to those devastated by war, disease, poverty and any number of natural disasters. Ultimately the Church expresses a preferential option for the poor and marginalized of society.

For the past twenty years, Central Methodist Mission has quite specifically been engaged in a ministry to the homeless on the streets. This ministry has included a feeding scheme, primary health attention, a support group, counseling, advocacy and searching for appropriate job opportunities. The prevailing value is that we show compassion, but do not create dependency; we engage the fundamental humanity in all people and refuse to stigmatise people because they are poor. These are not heroic principles, they are fundamental to an understanding of our faith. In fact, it would be ludicrous to imagine that you call yourself Christian and sustain an immovable prejudice against another human being for whatever reason, whether it be that they come from another country or are of a different age or gender. This was the foundation of the Church's critique of apartheid. This does not mean that as Christians we have succeeded in winning the struggle against these evils. They can domicile themselves subtly in all of us.

When the tragedy of displacement for people from all Africa became more evident in South Africa it was a natural and obvious imperative for the members of Central Methodist Mission to engage the challenge as part of its ongoing ministry to the inner city. To say ‘no' to those asking for shelter when there is no alternative available would be to deny our reason for being. It would present a Christian community with a contradiction which would belie the essence of the gospel. This does not mean that all who call themselves members of Central Methodist Mission applaud the approach and enjoy the “invasion” of their posh church premises. Despite the fact that they may never have lifted a finger to dust a pew, their unhappiness has been vitriolic and intolerant.

A recent anonymous letter to our Presiding Bishop captures well the fact that xenophobia and racism belong to the same stable.

The letter was a shameful exposure of violence, prejudice and deceit and all in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. Let us not pretend that some of the instruments for massacre and unrelenting hatred are not evident in our rainbow South Africa .

What should the Christian response be to the marginalized?

I would be the first to recognize that the building is overcrowded. I am also concerned about the cleanliness and hygiene of the building. I am deeply worried about whether a building that was never designed for this present condition will survive. Health, nutrition, warmth and safety are constantly on the agenda of committees that have been meeting every week to ten days. The murder that took place earlier this year has deeply traumatized us all. We have always tried to ensure careful conflict resolution strategies, insisting that to talk will lead to better resolution of differences. Every person that stays in the building is registered on a database which captures next of kin, educational qualifications and skills. Each person is told the following is not permitted in the building:

* No drinking of alcohol
* No smoking of anything
* No fighting
* No stealing
* No illegitimate sex ( married persons are accommodated in a separate area).

All persons staying in the building, are required to keep the place clean and worship every day.

If a resident chooses not to observe these valued principles they are evicted. These rules have emerged from our experience of what creates problems in community. In some respects they are not unlike the commandments. We have more than 25 people who constantly monitor the sustaining of these disciplines. They themselves are subject to the rules even though they may not always succeed in keeping them. Furthermore, it would be an absurdity to imagine there is no conflict. It would be even more bizarre to think that more than 500 people can co-exist without stealing taking place. But considering the strain of the circumstances the results are remarkable.

Not to put too finer a point on the fact, it is important to note that as soon as one crosses the threshold of a church, nationality ceases to matter. Any reader of the New Testament will quickly discover that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, bond nor free. Therefore, what politically is called an asylum seeker, in the church is a member of the family. We are reminded that the first refugees in Central were in fact South Africans. They may not be running from an exploitative dictator, but they are refugees from poverty and hopelessness in the country of their birth.

Is there a building out there?

This is a unique moment in the Church's history in the inner city, this is a unique moment for South Africa in its relation to its mother, Africa . We cannot underestimate the honour of needing to care for those seeking refuge at our hands. Amongst the people that we host are school principals and teachers, accountants, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, financiers, people with careers in marketing, journalists, politicians, people from the medical professions to name a few. This is a chance for us to provide hope for families who have been completely dispossessed in their homelands. If recent figures released are accurate then one in four of the Zimbabwean population is now in South Africa and the impact of our caring responsibly could produce no less than a small miracle for our context. It is not a matter of skilled labour stealing the jobs of South Africans. It is an opportunity for South Africans to be skilled by people who have an experience of building a nation free of colonialism and oppression. In fact, the skills that have been driven into this country miraculously match exactly what is needed in our present economy.

Some of the most amazing giftedness has emerged in the building. We have a ballroom and Latin American dancing class. We have supported a group of journalists in establishing a website and office in Braamfontein. We have a fly fishing project in the building. We would like to establish a firm of accountants; sewing and cooking projects are underway and several of the group are engaged in a farming project near Randfontein for the District Women's Manyano Organisation. We have established a registered clinic in the building and hope to launch a computer ABET centre.

Many dreams are in the pipeline. Obviously the intention is for individuals to gain independence and economic sustainability as soon as possible so that measurable contributions can be realized in an inner city that is exploding with potential and vitality.

Although people who enter our building think that they are simply seeking a shelter or needing a blanket or wanting a plate of food or requesting start up finance, in fact they are engaged in a profound confrontation of the status quo which says that the poor are irrelevant and the dispossessed have nothing of value to offer. In fact the Mission stands in sharp contrast to capitalist mindset and seeks to overthrow a precarious economic paradigm.

Ultimately a nation can be judged on what realistic hope it offers to its poorest people.

How can we be more effective?

What is the Christian response to the marginalized?
Is there a building out there?
How can we be more effective?

Comments

[Herman G]

I support the effort at Central MC wholeheartedly. Sadly in our conversations with others there is often so much critcism levelled without proper insight. I say get all the facts before you speak and the do not judge. A very insightful document. Maybe the "Church" should market its work and make it more well known.

[lordloy]

Dear Bishop Paul Verryn in your interview no mention is made concerning the poor indigenous victims and descendants of the South African apartheid racist system. No mention is made of how the church and government financially compensated or educated the victims of SA apartheid who are now rebelling with the education they where provided.

You praise how educated and skilled foreigners contributed to the South African economy; but no mention that the former criminal apartheid government owes every victimized South African reparations, restitution, and productive land.

Did the church provide a decent technical education in the trades to the victims of forced labor in the mines that broke up millions of families? No.

The apartheid government paid for their crimes against humanity with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission verbal apology; I am sorry and they were set loose with their loot gathered by illegal means (i.e. forced labor profits).

Or is the SA xenophobic debacle a sinister plan to return “one in four Zimbabweans who populate South Africa” to return to Zimbabwe for the June 27 electoral run-off?