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Jesuit
Refugee Service (JRS)
was set up in 1980 in response to the plight of millions
of refugees all over the world. The refugee crisis,
largely a man-made terror, spared no region or part
of the world. The lives of millions were destroyed
and paralysed, and the end to this crisis is still
not in sight. |
Here in Singapore, Fr. Colin
Tan, SJ heads the JRS to respond to the call
of the Gospel to serve the poor. Fr. Colin joined the
Jesuits in 1988, and was ordained a priest in 1999. Prior
to being commissioned to head JRS Singapore, he worked
with street children in the Philippines, the St. Vincent
de Paul Society in Ireland, and villagers in Micronesia.
JRS Singapore has played an active role in serving the
people of East Timor in terms of providing them with their
material needs and preparing volunteers to work directly
with the refugees.
| Jesuits
and lay volunteers work in refugee camps, with asylum
seekers in urban areas, during repatriation, in
immigration detention camps, with internally displaced
people and victims of international and civil wars.
How does one serve these people? In
what way can one draw nearer to something akin to
a solution?
One way
is to ask if you are able to help in one or more
of the following areas: education and training,
pastoral care, humanitarian aid, legal counseling,
psycho-social counseling and support, research and
networking.
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Fr Colin Tan, SJ with a Shan refugee
leader in Thailand
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The challenge of our faith in the
face of the crisis that dehumanizes our refugee brothers
and sisters calls for a “creative fidelity”
according to Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, Superior General
of the Jesuits. We need to search in faith for new
ways to love and serve our Lord who suffers with our refugee
brethren.
As Jesuits, serving
our refugee brethren actualizes our identity as Servants
of Christ’s mission. We participate in the transforming
work of Jesus in the world. For JRS, the refugee is no
longer a stranger, but a friend.
Links
·
Interview with Fr. Colin, SJ
· JRS
website
· Who are the
Jesuits?
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