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Yamada Keizo SJ |
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| Yamada Keizo SJ |
When I was planning to go to East Timor as a staff member of the Social
Justice Institute of Sophia University to do a survey of the situation
of refugees there, in September 2000, the Jesuit Provincial sounded me
out: " Would you make yourself available to work there from now on,
if the Province sends you there?" I answered on the spot that I was
getting retired from university work in March 2003 and was ready to go
after that.
That gave me an opportunity to reflect somehow on my past and present commitments.
In reality, I had never thought to be a missionary in a foreign land. I
thought that my vocation was to be in Japan and to send young people to
other countries. I was expected, after retirement, to be responsible for
the Japanese Society of Management Ethics and the World Cinference on Religion
and Peace (WCRP) and other organizations. Since I was a seminarian I felt,
usually, gratitude for so many missionaries that came to work in Japan
from abroad and I thought that, in return, we Japanese should go to work
as missionaries in other countries.
Reflecting back, in the 1960s during my seminary studies I was a member
of the social apostolate committee and had the opportunity of participating
in meetings all over Asia where I could learn a lot from many fellow Jesuits.
In several surveys of African refugees and other Asian countries I, often,
stayed for about a month, but never longer than that.
I didn't feel a doubt neither question in anxiety why, at my age, I could
do this now, most probably because of my life up to now in Japan and my
work and relationships of solidarity with people of other countries. So
that, when I was given this mission by the Provincial it was nothing abrupt
and I accepted as natural, as a continuation of the orientation and accumulation
of all my experiences.
Excuse me for expressing here some of my inner sentiments. In September
2000 I was staying in East Timor for a month and went to Dare, a place
located far in the mountains about 20-minute car ride from Dili. It was
late at night and while I was praying under the stars with a full moon
sky I could hear the voice of God telling me, "I call you here".
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The fact that my obedience to the Provincial was blessed in such a way
strengthened me in my consecutive visits to East Timor, in March and August
2001 and during the 10 months that I have stayed as missionary there, since
May 2002. The same call was confirmed again during the month of September
when I visited Aileu, Suai and Ainaro. It is amazing that, as I will mention
it later, they were the places where I lived and worked during those 10
months.
When I received the call I could reconfirm inside myself the urge, "since
you finished your years of formation you offered yourself to me. Come to
this place with the same heart".
In reality this was the first time that all the mysteries of my former
45 years, since novitiate, were solved. As regarding the offering of myself
to God, the following three points were suddenly shown to me without any
causal connection.
The first one was after finishing novitiate, from the time I was about starting my studies
of philosophy and theology. I was often supported by the urge: "You
should study economics and make it important to establish solidarity links
with Asian peoples". As a result, I was able to dedicate my time to
the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, to the social apostolate
committee and others, as well as to management ethics.
The second point was that I came to understand well that, in my tasks as director of the
Komaba students hostel during the difficult stormy days of students' revolts,
the final solution could not possibly be the result of human strength.
The third point was that, in answer to the requests of many people from Cagayan de Oro,
in the island of Mindanao (Philippines), I was involved, for 23 years,
in the movement against Japanese pollution companies, but looking now at
it from the call I have received, I feel full of gratitude, because it
was a work from above.
These three points were the result of the work of the Holy Spirit and while
I was in Dare I could suddenly confirm that it was my offering to the call
I had received from God. In other words, I was made understood that, all
my work for evangelization in East Timor, no matter what could happen in
the future, will be the prolongation of my former activities and all the
offering of myself to God up to now in Japan.
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If I may express this in other ways, this was the same message I gave before
departing for East Timor on Easter Eve 2002, at the Audience Hall of Sophia
University, quoting Jesus, after his Resurrection, when He spoke to his
disciples: " Do not be afraid. Rejoice. I give you peace".
I was able to spend 10 months in East Timor in that same spirit. I will
report briefly my life.
From May to August 2002, I concentrated on the study of the local Tetun
language, living in the Jesuit residence of Dili. I was basically happy
there, without tools of communication and in spite of many inconveniences
due to lack of water, electricity, and many other difficulties. The call
from God, I have mentioned before, has become the basis of my life and
has supported me so deeply that, when Jesuits in East Timor told me: "You
are always smiling, as if there are no worries to you", I answered
back: "This is my 5th probation, you know". In other words, I
spent my first and third probation in Nagatsuka (Hiroshima) and as I mentioned
above my fourth one happened at Xavier's students' hostel and during my
activities for 30 years against pollution. We are amazing human creatures
and, once we accept everything as a trial, no matter what happens the suffering
disappears.
From September to November, last year, I went through my sixth probation
serving pastoral needs in Aileu parish. Fr. Jovito, the parish priest there,
had been nominated Deputy Chairperson of the Commission for Reception,
Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) and since he is very busy working in Dili
I say the daily masses and preach the homilies at the church. I do all
my pastoral activities in Tetun, the local language.
Let me explain two episodes. During the first days of October, at the beginning
of the school year, about 1,000 students and teachers gathered at the church
for mass, that was supposed to be said by Fr. Jovito but, since he was
not around I had, in a hurry, to say mass and preach. I prayed with all
my heart to the Holy Spirit and was able to preach fluently for 20 minutes.
Right after mass some Maryknoll Sisters who speak Tetun without difficulty
asked me who had helped me to prepare the homily. I answered them that
with the help of the Holy Spirit I could overcome the difficulties of the
Tower of Babel. Some high school students run towards me and praised me:
"We understood you very well".
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The other episode is a visit to a village I went sent by Fr. Jovito to
say a funeral mass for a person who had died. He was a village leader,
35 years old, and a father of 2 children. During the massacre by the Indonesian
army, in September 1999, he was left half-dead and finally died. The whole
village gathered at the house and cried, crushed with grief together with
his family. I prayed before the coffin, "Lord, give these people strength
to survive". At the homily I was urged by an inner power to preach
in Tetun. After the burial, the father and all the relatives, together
with the head of the village came to thank me and told me that my words
had strengthened them to face the future.
From last December on I went to a Jesuit Social Mission center, about 7
hour car-ride from Dili, to work with Fr. Horie Setsuro, SJ. During my
stay there we had guests like Fr. Koyama Hideyuki, SJ, from Manila and
two Australian Jesuit priests who stayed with us for three weeks .
I will introduce here the work we are doing from the point of view of "participatory
organization", my expertise. 1. Raising pigs, goats and other domestic
animals 2. Building about 44 toilets for a hamlet of 90 families. We organize
groups of 5-10 families to a group and by doing work together we can make
community building. We call it "community based feeding and housing".
While the men work, women cook the rice we had distributed, and all eat
together after work.
Finally, we are involved in a big project. It consists on a water irrigation
system for 650 ha of land. This is a long-term program where the whole
village is committed to work. The same as I mentioned above we provide
rice and the materials as a contribution to the self-sufficient efforts
of the villagers.
We help, at the same time, the 2 diocesan priests of Suai parish in the
Sunday masses and preaching. Similar to Aileu, Suai parish is very big
and we travel by car till faraway to say mass and to help to build Christian
communities. We spend Saturdays and Sundays doing such pastoral activities.
The author with Fr. Horie at Suai's Jesuit Social Mission Center
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Since my arrival in East Timor I kept at a distance from the Japanese PKF.
The reasons are that, in accordance with Japan's peaceful Constitution,
I am also in agreement with the Japanese Catholic Bishops' attitude of
opposition to the sending of Japan's Self Defense Troops abroad.
Besides the basic issues involved, there is a different social dimension
to be considered there: even recognizing that the Japanese military personnel
could be sent abroad, do they serve the welfare needs of the local populations?
In other words, are there possibilities for them to act as real Peace Forces?
On 5 January 2003, 2 Jesuits and 6 Christians going by car to one of the
Chapels of Lailaco Church in the mountains, about 1 hour and 20 minutes
from Dili, saw a big truck that had fallen down 7 meters from the road.
The Timorese Jesuits in Dili, convinced that only Japan's PKF could rescue
the truck, asked me to request their help. I went alone to their headquarters
and they pleasantly agreed to help. 13 of them went to the site of the
accident with 3 large-sized crane trucks and rescued the truck, bringing
it to the Jesuit residence. The whole rescue operation took them a full
day.
In Suai, where we are building the irrigation system, the farmers asked
me also to look for their assistance and when I approached them they pleasantly
helped us. This is just an example of their contribution to the people
of Timor in repairing roads, hospitals and schools. At this moment they
are about to leave Suai and already finished training the local people
to handle the bulldozers and other heavy machinery, they left there for
their use. They have asked us to distribute to the most poor abundant food
they left behind and, at present, our small house is full of food supplies.
The reason why we can perform our social mission in Suai effectively is
because a team of three local people had been working for 3 years with
JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) in the past. The family of the owner of our
house is also kind to us.
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Needless to say, from now on with the cooperation of these three locals
who are trusted by the people and by getting acquainted with the needs
of the people we hope to develop our work. The two experienced priests
I mentioned above have highly evaluated the three projects we are undertaking.
The increase in vocations is a matter of consolation for us in East Timor.
Since September 99, the Jesuit Residence of Dili is the training center
for the candidates that gather daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM to study.
At present, there are 12 novices in Singapore and 11 more are getting ready
to go next year. Some of them will soon go to Suai with us and that will
open more possibilities to our work. In Suai we usually have some free
rooms for guests. Please, feel free to come to see us. We are happy to
welcome you. (March 6, 2003)
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