By Fr Alvin Ng, SJ
KUCHING — Kuching played host to 21 members of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Persons (ECMI) for their 16th annual commission gathering from 18–22 June 2023 at the Gethsemane Pilgrimage Centre (GPC), Bunan.
The Ministry to the Migrants, headed by Fr Alvin Ng, SJ and his team welcomed representatives, all of whom work directly with migrants and refugees from the nine Malaysian archdioceses/dioceses as well as the archdiocese of Singapore and the apostolic vicariate of Brunei Darussalam.
This was the first physical gathering since the onset of the pandemic replacing the online conferences of the past three years. Amidst familiar faces were also new ones giving a jovial vibe to the gathering from the moment all participants met at Kuching International Airport to be bussed to GPC, an hour and a half drive away.
Unlike previous gatherings which tended to focus on the physical work and challenges of ministering to migrants, refugees and itinerant persons, this meeting in Kuching shifted the focus to the spiritual well-being of ministry members themselves. Accordingly, Fr Paul Dass, SJ, a Jesuit with years of experience tending to migrants in Malaysia and overseas, was invited to be the resource person and spiritual guide.
Over the course of two days, Fr Dass invited participants to take a contemplative biblical journey featuring the ancient Israelites as migrants, their ancestor being “a wandering Aramean”.
From slavery in Egypt, through the Exodus event and the Babylonian exile, the Israelites were never far from the reality of migration and being forced to live amongst strangers. Thus, the divine refrain was for them to be kind to the foreigner and sojourner in their midst because they were once foreigners and sojourners themselves.
On to the earthly incarnation of Jesus Christ, who himself became an infant refugee with his parents as they fled Herod’s slaughter of the Holy Innocents, participants were led to recognise that in the big scheme of things, every human-person is a migrant on earth.
Individually and collectively, all are migrating souls on a lifelong journey in search of home. And home is finally arrived at not as a destination but as a state of being in union with the Body of Christ, the personal identification of being one with the marginalised and dis-enfranchised and the suffering each bear in union with the cross and the crucifixion of the Lord.
Using the structure of an Ignatian contemplation, Fr Dass presented the following prayer exercise which is worth reproducing here:
Point 1: Using my imagination, I will join the Holy Family who, fleeing Herod’s persecution, make their escape to Egypt. I will listen to what they say to each other as they hurriedly prepare to leave, feel their panic and anxiety, and be with them all the way. I will accompany them on their journey. I will be present to them like I am present to my own soul.
Point 2: In my imagination, I will seek to serve them in all their needs. I will do everything I can to help Joseph care for his family in this hour of need; carry things, look out for shelter on their way, secure food, etc. I will assist Mary in caring for her baby. I will look out for ways and means to make their journey and stay in a foreign land easy and safe. I will serve them in their day-to-day practical needs.
Point 3: I will reflect more broadly on the circumstances that arose around this situation for the Holy Family. All male children two years and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding districts had been killed. I will think about the families of these children, their mothers refusing to be consoled. I will think about how a king and his system of rule can enforce this and make this happen. In modern terms, would this be a crime? A crime against humanity? A genocide or policy of infanticide of sorts? In modern terms, what international law, particularly those protecting children, have been contravened? Who will raise their voices against it? Who will speak up and make it known that such a thing has happened or will no one speak up and the whole thing be left to be forgotten? Who will speak up for the rights of those so seriously affected. Who will work to make those necessary changes to such a system of rule and government to make sure that such a thing never happens again? In other words, who will advocate for this? And, what would that advocacy look like? What other dimensions of the situation arise in my mind as I pray over this?
After praying over the three points, I will summarise them in my mind. 1. Accompany/be with the Holy Family; 2. Serve them in their needs through this entire ordeal; 3. Speak up or advocate for them and those affected like them. Then, I will ask the question of myself: can I use these three points to help me in my ministry to migrants, refugees, and stateless persons? Collectively speaking, can these three points—accompaniment, service, and advocacy—serve as a frame of reference for the work of ECMI? I will meditate on this matter for a while.
I will conclude my prayer by looking at the Holy Family. What are they saying to me? What is the baby Jesus saying to me? What is Mary his mother saying to me? What is St Joseph saying to me? I will ponder over this and ask of them grace and strength for me and my ECMI companions.
Participants also had a chance to update each other on what has taken place in their own respective diocese and ministry in the past two years. Clearly the pandemic has challenged pre-pandemic ways of doing things, surfacing new needs among ministry members themselves if they are to remain relevant and effective.
These needs include skills and capacity-building for all involved, no less spiritual rejuvenation as this gathering testifies to. Collaboration, networking, and resource-sharing remain key ingredients for facing the post-pandemic present and future that is unpredictable and fluid.
A synthesis session featuring spiritual conversations among the participants elicited feedback for the way forward for ECMI. Based on “3 Ds”, the conversations included a discernment on where participants felt God was moving the commission. They also decided on the key graces received after praying with the pointers of Fr Dass. Finally, participants designed some suggestions for the Executive committee of ECMI to follow up post-gathering.
A full day of the programme was set aside for bonding and camaraderie-building. Participants spent a day out in the city and dropped by the Migrant Children Learning Centre run by the Ministry to Migrants of the Archdiocese of Kuching for children aged 5 to 12 years old. All were treated to a welcome dance by the children as they shared in newly acquired English – their names and what they learn at the centre.
Funded by generous benefaction, the centre provides half-day classes from Monday to Thursday offering an Indonesian syllabus covering English, Bahasa, science, mathematics, and craft work. Both paid and volunteer teachers help at the centre.
The rest of the day was spent on foot exploring the sights, sounds and of course, Kuching’s culinary delights. A visit to the Borneo Cultures Museum was arranged before all gathered for Holy Eucharist at St Joseph’s Cathedral. A farewell dinner concluded the programme.
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