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From 16 - 19 October, the JRS Asia Pacific region held its annual general
meeting in Hua Hin, three hours from the Thai capital Bangkok, to discuss
and develop strategic plans for the next three years.
The participants, 52 lay-coworkers and several Jesuit staff came to Hua
Hin from countries where JRS Asia Pacific is active. Participants from
Indonesia, where the Tsunami two years ago and the most recent Java earthquake
produced so much damage and countless victims, were numerous at the meeting.
The gathering this year concentrated on strategic planning, following strict
social analysis methods with plenary sessions and group discussions. The
specific objective was to finalize a strategic Planning Document to be
implemented during the following years and the focus was to remain faithful
to the mission of JRS: to serve, accompany and advocate for the refugees.
Due to the political complexities of the region and the diversity of the
programs, JRS staff was asked to consider what position JRS Asia Pacific
should take to deal with the situation. The need to stay close to forcibly
displaced persons and ensure that programs adopted by JRS Asia Pacific
are always developed from the bottom up was often emphasized. Listening
to and accompanying refugees in exile is a key quality of JRS.
In Thailand, the JRS Asia-Pacific regional office, located in Bangkok, is the headquarters
for all activities with refugees and displaced persons that connects and
coordinates all JRS offices in the region. At the same time, Jesuit Refugee
Service Thailand runs a special unit that focuses on serving stateless
persons and irregular migrants, like large numbers of hill tribe people,
many of whom belong to Burma. JRS staff is also deeply involved in the
Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok.
In Indonesia, JRS staff is fully dedicated to people in conflict situations, where
violence becomes the greatest obstacle to human development. JRS keeps
a high profile in the Moluccas and Ache. As a result of the Tsunami in
the year 2004 there is about 65 JRS staff only in Ache helping with the
reconstruction of vital roads and housing in devastated areas and with
programs of counseling and reconciliation. In Jogjakarta a group of 25
JRS personnel works in programs to reconstruct the regions destroyed by
the late big earthquake of about a year ago.
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In Malaysia, there are almost 50,000 refugees registered with UNHCR. About 20,000
came from Ache (Indonesia) and the rest from various ethnic minorities
of Myanmar. JRS has a small office in Malaysia and its staff struggles
to help the refugees to find safe shelters in Malaysia. In fact, the options
available to refugees are voluntary repatriation, local integration and
resettlement to third countries. Also here, JRS staff is fully dedicated
to assist irregular migrants and visit them in immigration jails, providing
medical assistance.
In Cambodia, the refugee caseload is divided into urban (refugees from various countries)
and montagnard (indigenous minorities from Vietnam). The government maintains
different policies for the two groups. Cambodia does not have national
laws protecting the rights of the refugees and asylum seekers. JRS staff
works for the protection of refugees there and assists them in resettlement
and repatriation, and it is very active in national and international campaigns
to Ban Land mines.
In Australia, with a history of giving asylum to refugees, JRS has a special office
for the caring and advocacy of refugees living in the country. It also
performs active lobbying and makes valuable financial contributions to
JRS Asia Pacific programs.
In Singapore and Japan, JRS profile is low. A Jesuit parish in Singapore has organized a group
of lay-women that, under the name of JRS Volunteers, do publicity and funding
activities around other parishes and schools to assist various programs
implemented by JRS Asia Pacific. As for Japan, the Jesuit Social Center
(Tokyo) is the contact JRS office that provides information in Japan on
JRS and cooperates on projects, like national campaigns to Ban Land Mines
and supports programs in Bangkok’s immigration detention jail or reconstruction
projects in post-Tsunami Ache. This center also works for the rights of
irregular migrants in Japan.
Ando Isamu, sj, (Jesuit Social Center, Tokyo)
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 North South Asian Peoples' Initiatives (SAPI) in India Social Forum (ISF)
DelhiSAPI participation in the ISF Delhi was opened officially on 9 November
2006 under the slogan 'Another world is possible'. The 1,150 SAPI delegates
were reminded that this social forum was to move people into Afro-Asian
understanding and collaboration in seeking social justice for their own
people.
Argentina: Developing New Management ProcessesA project named 'Institutional strengthening of Jesuit Works in Argentina'
sponsored by MAGIS Venezuela, was started this year. Its aim is to strengthen
social works by developing and transferring to leaders the management capacities
and tools needed to construct new organizational networking policies. The
overall aim is to visualize the reinforcement of seven different works
in the Social Sector in their management processes - preferably internal
- and create a Social Sector Network for the Society in Argentina.
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Cambodia Jesuit Services Development work in war-torn Cambodia has been taken up by Jesuit Services,
a Jesuit-sponsored NGO under the able leadership of Sister Denise Coughlan,
which provides direct assistance to the victims of anti-personnel landmines.
Beyond Scarcity: Water for the PoorA recent UNDP report reveals that 2.4 billion people worldwide do not have
access to safe sanitation, and that water-borne diseases such as diarrhea
kill far more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. In many areas
very poor people pay more per liter for private water supplies than in
New York or London. In addition to the loss of life and health costs, the
time spent collecting water has huge economic effects. A project begun
in Tanzania could be a small step forward towards a safe and inexpensive
method of sterilizing water. Villagers fill plastic bottles with contaminated
water and place them on black-painted roofs. After eight hours in the sun,
the water is safe to drink.
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