Those left behind:
Stories of ministry in refugee camps

The Home Mission Advocate often carries stories of refugees who have been resettled through Church World Service with the help of Disciples congregations. But what happens to those left behind in refugee camps around the world? How are Disciples helping those persons who will be spending many more years in desperate conditions in refugee camps, without the prospect of starting their life over in a land of opportunity?

Through funds raised by CROP Walks and through Week of Compassion's support of the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program (CWS/IRP), refugees left behind are receiving services to help alleviate the harsh conditions of life in a refugee camp. Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and some who have returned to Afghanistan, are receiving basic medical care. Burmese refugees along the Thai/Burma border are receiving blankets and other assistance. Burundi refugees in Tanzania who have been "long-stayers" in the camps are receiving post-primary education. Colombian refugees who have escaped to Ecuador, Peru, and Chile are receiving shelter and food from local churches, with support from CWS/IRP.

In Tanzania and Kenya, CWS/IRP is partnering with FilmAid International (FAI) to provide a very unique system of information services to refugees in the camps there. FAI sets up huge screens and shows films to persons in the camps. At some evening screenings, over 30,000 refugees have gathered to see the films. Camp leaders report that acts of violence and thievery in the camps decrease during screenings. Refugees report that the morale of people in the camp has greatly improved.

Many of the entertainment films assist in the alleviation of trauma and the restoration of a sense of hope. The showing of "Ghandi" has provoked conversations about the peaceful resolution of conflict among the refugees who have gathered to see it. Other films provide important information on sanitation and basic health care, the prevention of AIDS and other infectious diseases, domestic violence, human rights, and political conditions in the country from which the refugees have fled.

CWS/IRP is planning new ways for congregations to become involved in assisting refugees left behind in refugee camps overseas. To receive further details regarding how your congregation can become more directly involved, please contact Jennifer Riggs, Director of Refugee and Immigration Ministries at (888) 346-2631. Many Disciples congregations are not able to resettle refugees coming to the United States, because they are located in parts of the country where CWS/IRP does not have one of its resettlement affiliates required for refugee placement in the area. A ministry to refugees left behind would be an especially good refugee ministry for these congregations.

Daytime screenings for small, targeted groups (using televisions) have been successful in improving the health of babies whose nursing mothers come to see the films or cartoons and who receive supplemental milk to strengthen their ability to feed their babies. Without the films, fewer mothers were showing up for the supplemental milk program.

Many refugee youth attending the evening screenings have grown up in the refugee camps without much exposure to the outside world. Through the screenings they are being better prepared for the future, if they are ever able to return to their home countries. Refugees left behind are not receiving as much as those who have been resettled into the United States, but they are not forgotten.

The Rev. Jennifer Riggs, director of Refugee and Immigration Ministries, is a native of Winamac, Ind., and a member of Central Christian Church, Indianapolis.