AFRICA/CHAD - “We have no choice: it is our precise duty as Christians to intervene to save the lives of our Muslim brothers and sisters” says Catholic Archbishop of N’Djamena with regard to the presence of 200,000 refugees in Darfur in Chad

Wednesday, 27 September 2006

Rome (Agenzia Fides)- “The situation is difficult but we still hope the future will be better” Fides was told by Archbishop Matthias N’Gartéri Mayadi, Catholic archbishop of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. The Archbishop is in Rome with other Chadian bishops for their five yearly ad limina visit.
“Chad has been in a situation of war since the first rebellion in 1965 and recently a recrudescence of guerrilla violence in the east of the country. On 13 April this year we experienced a dramatic time when rebels penetrated into the capital but were then driven back” the Archbishop said. “As Church we feel called to work for national reconciliation: we want to help bring peace to all Chadians at home and abroad, government members, rebels and members of the political opposition. And this was the significance of our statement issued just before the last elections in which we asked political and military leaders to show moderation in order to safeguard lives, peace and national harmony” (see Fides 3 May 2006).
Archbishop Mayadi says “war has accentuated ethnic differences. In fact if the rebels are divided among themselves, and cannot form one front it is precisely because of ethnic and regional divisions. So we are also committed to helping to heal divisions in the country and to promoting unity and lasting peace. Because there can be no national unity without lasting peace”.
Another serious emergency for Chad is the presence of about 200,000 refugees from the western Sudan region of Darfur now living in refugee camps. The local Catholic community is in front line to assist these people said Archbishop N’Djamena: “Since the beginning of the emergency, Caritas Chad, SECADEV, has been the only organisation able to deal with it and we put it in charge of two refugee camps. SECADEV is flanked by a local office of the Jesuit Refugee Service, especially with regard to schooling for children in the two camps and soon there will be three. We have been asked to do more because refugees keep on arriving. We are discussing how to meet calls for assistance in the east of the country”.
“Despite our limited resources we know we must give concrete help because there are human lives in danger. You might think these refugees are Christians. But they are not, the refugees from Darfur are all Muslims. And this is an opportunity to show once again that the Catholic Church does not take a position against a religion or an ethnic group. We help because human lives are in danger. When someone suffers we see this as a call from Christ to help them. It is our duty as Christians to save our Muslim brothers and sisters”.
“Our relations with Muslims are neither good nor bad. But we would like to have a relationship of brotherhood as in West African countries, Niger or Burkina Faso” said Archbishop Mayadi.
The Archbishop of N’Djamena said there is still work for missionaries in Chad: “Since the ordination of the first local priest in 1957 at least another 150 local men have been ordained to the priesthood, about 100 of them are still active. The missionaries helped to plant the Church in Chad. Their presence is still important as a sign of the universality of the Church. The presence of a missionary from Europe, or today from Asia or Latin America, helps our people realise and feel they are members of the great family of the universal Church”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2006 righe 52 parole 690)


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