Messages

 

POULOSE MAR POULOSE

BISHOP, CHURCH OF THE EAST

CHAIRPERSON,

WORLD STUDENT CHRISTIAN FEDERATION

 

 

Residence:

Metropolitan's House

Trichur 680 001

Kerala, India

Tel 20978

WSCF Inter-Regional Office

Ecumenical Centre

5 route des Moreillons

1218 Grand Saconnex

Geneva. Switzerland

Tel (022) 98 89 53

 

 

MESSAGE

 

On the auspicious occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Student Christian Movements of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka I have great pleasure in conveying to you my best wishes and warm regards. Jubilee celebrations should not only be an occasion to be jubilant, but also for serious reflection and stocktaking on the life and witness of the movements.

The World Student Christian Federation, to which the national SCMs are affiliated, came into being as an extension of the missionary movement of the 19th century. The Federation still understands itself as an instrument for mission in the providence of God. But as much as the instruments need to be repaired, they also have to be refashioned from time to time according to changes in the nature and scope of work for which they are used. The mission for which the Federation is God's chosen instrument may be basically the same as it was in the latter part of the 19th century, but it has grown in complexity during the last 75 years. The decline of Western political control, the rise of nationalism and political revolt, the discovery of underdevelopment both among and within nations and the expression of political struggle and social change this has engendered, the awakening of the downtrodden for the realization of their selfhood, especially the struggle of women for their dignity and fullest right of participation in the life of society where power is exercised and decisions are made, and the rise of student protest and various forms of educational reforms are some of the key factors that determined the changing reality around us and which called forth a renewed missionary strategy.

 

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75 years ago when John R. Mott, the founding father of WSCF, did pioneer work for the formation of a 'national student Christian union" in the Indian sub-continent, he considered the establishment of it to be "of more far-reaching importance." It is now time to ask ourselves what important role the SCMs of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka played in the bygone years to respond to the changing reality around us. If the SCMs are to be true to their mission, they will have to seek new ways of reaching out, and even be ready to change their structure and worship, to express their nature as God's people in the life of the Asian society. It is not enough that we send some token representatives to peace demonstrations and protest march, but we must also see that our forms of life and worship as Student Christian Movement show people clearly that we exist not to keep ourselves spiritually and intellectually cozy, but to witness and minister to the people, particularly to the students, and to give them a new vision.

I hope that when the SCMs meet in the Jubilee year, either locally or in bigger meetings, these and similar issues would occupy their time and thoughts. You have my best wishes.

 

POULOSE MAR POULOSE

 

 

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World Student Christian. Federation

Ecumenical Centre

5, route des Morillons

1218 Grand-Saconnex

Geneva, Switzerland

WSCF

 

 

MESSAGE TO THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS OF

INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH AND SRI LANKA

 

The World Student Christian Federation sends its warmest greetings to the Student Christian Movements of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka on the occasion of your Platinum Jubilee. The WSCF has been shaped and enriched by the active contribution of the SCMs of South Asia for the past seventy-five years. Indeed, the ecumenical movement worldwide has benefited from your theologians, social scientists and church leaders.

Your SCMs have developed in a very special context - in one of the most populous, vast and diverse regions of the world where the world's great religions meet. The SCMs are confronted with the challenges of inter-faith dialogue and in this respect you have much to offer to the thinking and activities of the WSCF today.

The 'International community of WSCF will continue to look to you for. inspiration and for solidarity. May God's sustaining Spirit strengthen you as you continue to work for peace and justice in the way of Jesus Christ.

 

 

Christine Ledger

Co-Secretary General

Manuel Quintero

Co-Secretary General

 

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1987 q3n45.jpgPRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.)

General Assembly Mission Board

341 Ponce de Leon Avenue, N.E.

Atlanta, Georgia 30365

(404) 873-1531

 

 

PERSONAL LOOKING BACK ON

THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS OF

INDIA, PAKISTAN & CEYLON

 

I.    Student Days in Madras Christian College, Tambaram, India

I was asked recently to share some reflections on what the Student Christian Movement (SCM) meant to me during my student days. Here are some reflections I shared.

 

Resistance

I came to Madras Christian College, Tambaram to do my Intermediate after completing my High School in Burma. During my time doing my Intermediate 1941-43 I was warned that:

SCM stood for Society for Courtship and Marriage

SCM stood for Society for Collecting Money.

Having come a long way from Burma to do my studies, I had to be careful about Women and Money!! I resisted attempts by my Sub-warden in Bishop Heber Hall, Dr. Malcolm Adiseshiah, trying to persuade me to join the SCM and to attend a Provincial SCM Camp. Dr. Adiseshiah never gave up on me, and in my senior Intermediate year I did attend a College SCM Camp and found my faith and obedience being challenged and strengthened.

 

Study Conference

During our long summer holidays after my Intermediate, I attended the two-week Provincial Study Conference and would say that I learned more about Faith and Society at that study Conference and subsequent Study Conferences I attended than u h a t I learned in the pews of the Church. It was during that first study conference and in contact with so many Christian leaders like Dr. M.M. Thomas, I decided not to do Medical Studies following my father's profession or Engineering which was also popular, but to do an Honours Degree in Economics with a possibility of doing Theology and entering the Ordained Ministry of the Church.

 

SCM Programmes

From 1943 to 1944 I was General Secretary of the

 

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Student Christian Movement in Madras Christian College. At this time the Provincial Secretary was Rev. M.A. Thomas. He believed strongly in student leadership, and I can remember through his initiative from 1944-45 I was the first student who was chairman of the Provisional SCM of the Madras-Vellore Area.

The SCM had then a five-point program:

a)   Membership of the Church: Members of the SCM were expected to take membership in their respective churches seriously and through the churches to pray and work for the unity of the Church which was in accordance with the will of God.

b)   Prayer: Members mere urged to keep the daily "Morning Watch." we were also encouraged in building prayer cells and arranging corporate worship for special occasions, like the Universal Day of Prayer for Students .

c)   Study: Members were encouraged to join study groups where me studied the Bible, Doctrine and Issues of Society.

d)   Evangelism: As members we were encouraged to bear witness to Jesus Christ to those of other faiths. Not only was this done person to person on an individual basis but also during the week of Witness when we did this witnessing in group meetings.

e)   Social Action: Members were also urged to be involved in service to the poor in rural areas and also to be involved in political issues during the struggle for Indian independence.

The SCM was to many of us a "university within a university which is not a university." Also to us it was a chance for theological reflection and a place for commitment to Christian vocation and action.

After completing my Honours Degree in 1946 I taught Economics at the same college. After 2 years I was selected to represent the SCM as a part of the world Student Christian Federation (WSCF) at the Second world Conference of Christian Youth in '1947 in Oslo, Norway. with over a thousand delegates soon after world War II, it gave to many of us a glimpse of a global ecumenical movement. Delegates were sponsored by the WSCF, YMCA, YWCA and Church Youth Movements through the World Council of Churches (in process of formation). After Oslo, WSCF delegates met separately in Lundsberg, Sweden.

 

II.    1948

In 1946 some of the Asian SCM delegates at Oslo

 

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were asked to reflect an issue of The Student World. This is what I wrote on "India Today and the Gospel."

 

Dawn of a new era

The new world situation following the victory of the United Nations over the fascist powers brought the question of Indian independence to the forefront of world politics. All over the world the military defeat and utter collapse of the fascist powers represented the heaviest blow against reaction. The popular movements surged forward in all countries. Imperialism was considerably weakened. In Europe, new democratic governments replaced the old conservative regimes which had surrendered to, or allied themselves with, fascism, while at the same time all over Asia the colonial liberation movements pressed forward.

Within India, the universal demand for independence and the movement for national revolt rose to new heights in the winter of 1945-46 and found expression in mass demonstrations and in the extension of the national revolt to the armed forces. This situation compelled a speedy turn in British policy under the direction of the Labour Government. After a series of discussions and conferences between the British Government on the one hand, and the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League on the other, August 15th, 1947 was the day fixed when one fifth of the human race was to become free. Much as the Congress, the leading party in India, showed charging at the idea of partition, the settlement by partition represents an accepted solution by both the Congress and the Muslim League. Pandit Nehru recently said, "Use accepted partition so that India my be free." Thus on August 15th there came into existence to independent dominions of Pakistan and the Union of India. Most of the Indian states have acceded to one or other of the dominions. Since August 15th the sight of the national flag has given the common man a thrill of independence he has never known before. On that day we saluted with reverence the memory of those whose blood and sweat had watered the harvest we gathered. we honoured the brave and selfless patriots who were happily still with us, not only the great leaders whom the nation knows and already honours, but those innumerable heroes who have laboured and suffered in obscurity, without count of sacrifice and without hope of personal reward. The youth of the country played its own part in this great struggle, many giving up their studies and labouring full time.

India with her newly won freedom and all her potential power knows the important part she will yet play in Asia and the smaller countries in Asia are looking up to India in their own fight for independence. A free India did not hesitate to make her protest against Dutch aggression in Indonesia.

 

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Pains of travail

The resolution which ushered in the birth of freedom was unique in the history of the world. Never before was so great an event transforming the destiny of so many millions of men and women consummated with such little bloodshed and violence as between Britain and India. This has to a large extent been due to the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who led us in the nonviolent battle of freedom. Lie sought to achieve freedom for an India that was one and to us indivisible. And yet millions of our brothers and sisters who mere our countrymen on August 14th, 1947 are today subjects of a separate state, wile accepted this separation, however painful, because freedom from foreign rule was the imperative necessity of our national existence and unity without freedom was meaningless. But we believed that, once freedom was achieved, unity built on the common man of each state facing a common task would be a unity 'truer than we had before. The freedom won without bloodshed and violence as between Britain and India resulted in cordial relations between the countries; but a similar relationship was not to exist between the two newly born independent states. The tragedy of the last few months which has set brother against brother has caused untold suffering and misery. With this massacre between brothers started a mass exodus of Muslims to Pakistan from India, and of non-Muslims to India from Pakistan. This has raised a problem beyond the power of the newborn states to cope with. At this time too there were floods in Punjab, and the result was misery and starvation never witnessed before. This has disfigured the fair face of our nation and has cast a deep gloom in our hearts. Even at this time there is trouble in Kashmir and pitched battle between brothers.

Whither?

Whither then are we bound? Though political freedom was achieved, internal strife had made progress impossible. Hoping that peace will soon reign within the land, what will be our future plans? Swaraj cannot be real to the masses unless it makes possible the achievement of a society in which democracy extends from the political to the social and economic sphere, and in which there would be no opportunity for privileged classes to exploit the bulk of the people, nor for gross inequalities such as exist at present. There will be content to our freedom only if on the social plane ignorance, prejudice and folly are removed; economic evils like landlordism, primitive agriculture, rural indebtedness wiped out, and an agricultural revolution achieved. Besides the industrialisation of the country must be controlled by the State where the increased national income would not be for the few only, but for all. These are the internal problems we must yet face and in the solving of these will the true meaning of freedom be

 

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revealed.

 

Other Gods

How far has nationalism in India become a religion that claims sovereignty over all areas of life, and arrogates to itself the right at the total loyalty of man? There is a type of romantic nationalism by which India is personified as Mother -- Bharathamatha -- and is the object of worship. At Benares there is a new type of temple open to all creeds where a huge map of India stands in the holy of holies. There are besides Ashrams and Mutts for Bharathamatha; and it does seem that this cult of nationalism is a new addition to an overcrowded Hindu pantheon. But if the new goddess is just one more deity in an overcrowded pantheon, she does not have the character of a "jealous" God, demanding the total loyalty of man. But this lack of "jealousy" on the part of Bharathamatha must be understood in the light of the fact that all the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon have come to be recognized by the Indian nation, so that Bal Gangadhar Tilak said "And what are Kali and Ganesh and all the divine figures which ii) e worship but this India, gathering its memories into certain symbols through which she lives on, and her will prevails; I am Hindoo, and I worship her gods and goddesses, but in all that I worship I am still bowed at the feet of my mother -- India."

The rational nationalism of Nehru and others of the younger generation who "have no faith in, or use for, the ways of magic and religion" is nonetheless religious because "rational"; for to them also nationalism is the one principle "unifying their lives" and to which they give absolute devotion. With our newly won national independence what forms nationalism will take is yet to be seen. The Christians -- and among them the young people, especially full of ideals -- face nationalism and Christianity. It is not an either-or, nor can it be spoken in terms of both-and. There seems to be a tension for the Christian -- he cannot run away from national politics because the nation has a meaning which needs affirmation, and he cannot give himself totally to national politics because the nation has only a derived meaning.

 

The Gospel

In this state of tension in which it has to live, Christian youth sees the need "to preach the Gospel to every creature." This seems a huge task in India where Christians form a very small proportion of the vast millions. The Constituent Assembly declared that each religious group has the right "to preach, practise and propagate their own faith." In this context it had to be remembered that Islam and the Hindu faith through the Arya Samaj are also evangelical -- as well as Christ-

 

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ianity. And, to add to this, people felt that proselytism would disrupt the nation. For have not the converts to Islam become separatist? Therefore there is a place for caution, and the Christian in his patriotism and nationalism must appreciate it. In this whole discussion the interest of the nation is the ultimate criterion of what is right and wrong in religious matters; the whole question is entirely dissociated from the problem of truth and destiny.

There has, in the past, been a suspicion on the part of Indian nationalists as to the ulterior motives of foreign missionaries -- and many of them may feel that now India is independent she can look after herself. But is must be remembered that the Indian Church needs them to come and work, appreciating the new conditions in India. And besides, they need all the more to come now, when their motives cannot be misunderstood. We also feel the great need for our young people to discover a sense of Christian vocation in the things that they do, and the need for full-time Christian workers. It is desperately important to get our young people to this decision in the prime of their youth with all their vigour and idealism. The challenge must certainly be presented during their college days, so that full-time Christian work may be their first choice, rather than that they should come to it after having failed to make good elsewhere. The SCM in India is founding a Student Voluntary Missionary Union in December 1948 during the national conference; on its development will depend, to a large extent, the feeding of the Church with workers.

 

Church

All of this has to be seen in the context of our own Church and the wider vision of the world Church, which the conferences at Oslo and Lundsberg gave us. On September 27th, 1947, in South India, a million Christians from the Anglican, Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches united to form the Church of South India. For this we are thankful to God. We believe that our Christian Witness will be more effective from One Church, rather than from a divided Church. This union mill be a great strength to all our work of reconciliation and evangelisation. The task is great but, believing in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who can give us strength equal to our task, and with the prayer, help and fellowship of Christians all over the world, we have conviction that God's plan for India will be fulfilled.

 

III.   WSCF

After theological studies at the Queen's College, Birmingham in England in 1949, I was ordained in the Anglican Church and served as SCM Secretary for the North East of England with the SCM of Great Britain

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and Ireland. It was my first SCM staff appointment and the British SCM had among its staff persons from other countries. A fellow staff member at the national headquarters was Dr.Phi lip Potter. This was an opportunity of having responsibility to build local SCM groups in various campuses.

In 1951 on completing this assignment I was invited to join the staff of the WSCF in Geneva, Switzerland. During this period with the WSCF I had staff responsibilities with

a)  arranging a WSCF conference in Agape, Italy;

b)  The Third world Conference of Christian Youth in Kottayam, India in 1952;

c)  following the world Conference there was a WSCF conference in Tambaran, India in January 1953;

d)  then the WSCF General Committee in Nasrapur, India, also in January 1953.

During the WSCF Conference in Tambaram, the General Committee of the SCM of India, Pakistan and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) invited me to become its General Secretary from 1954. This provided me an opportunity during 1953 to visit various SCMs in Asia as a WSCF Secretary.

 

IV.  1954-19S1

This was a period of change for the SCM's in India, Pakistan and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Our financial resources were limited and there was need to expand the number of staff persons to serve this large area. Since political independence, there were more new colleges and universities. Graduates were in demand for new jobs in Government, in Industry and also in the Churches. It was also the time that Evangelical Unions were splitting the SCM. The Roman Catholic students were now organized. Secular, Service and Political Students' groups were also growing. There were ideas and visions but would we have the resources of persons and money to become a reality? The opportunities were there. The first annual report during this period was called "The Open Door." Apart from young colleagues from the area who came to serve as staff persons, we also had staff from other countries. One person from England who made a unique contribution was Rev. Harry Morton who came as Study Secretary. Harry Morton was married to Pat McGrath who served on the staff of the Australian SCM. Harry later became secretary for scholarship of the world Council of Churches and then General Secretary of the British Council of Churches.

At the end of 1954 we had the last of the Triennial Conferences of the united SCM of India, Pakistan, and Ceylon in Peredeniya, Ceylon. At this meeting we formed three separate SCM's of these three countries and wanted though separate to be together. So we formed the Federal Council of the SCM's of India, Pakistan and Ceylon.

 

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So from 1955 I was both General Secretary of the SCM of India and the Federal Secretary of the SCM's of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. we did mutual visitations and joint planning, and during this time we had two more Triennial Conferences of three independent SCM's linked together in the Federal Council.

In 1957 we had a Triennial Conference in Guntur, India and in 1960 a Triennial Conference in Lahore, Pakistan.

All this was not easy as travel between these countries was difficult -- but not insurmountable.

One major lesson I have tried to learn to live with was to trust younger people to assume leadership. I have tried when I started to work to look for a successor and when this had been possible I believe we leave with the knowledge that there will be change and often for the best.

 

V.   1961-1979 and 1979-87

During this time I worked in a local congregation and then with the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC) later called Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). The World Council of Churches (UCC) and the CCA. During my time with the EACC and UCC I worked for what is now called Urban Rural Mission (URM) . I feel fortunate to have worked for the SCM and URM.

Then from 1979-83, I worked in Hong Kong with the great opportunities of contacts with the Peoples' Republic of China and contacts with Bishop K.H. Ting, a former colleague in the WSCF.

From 1983, I have been with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in its ecumenical office particularly looking at what contribution Asia can make to Mission in USA, and including what USA can learn from the SCM and churches of Asia.

During the period in Hong Kong, I had the privilege of moderating a WSCF-CCA Joint Consultation on the Ecumenical Task of Asian SCM in 1982.

This is what I said as my closing remarks:

More than anything in my life, the SCM and the WSCF is something without which I think even faith and commitment would never have been fully realized. There are many cases when our understanding of faith was not acquired in theological colleges but very much within the context of the SCM. For me and for many others it is a debt that we can never repay in terms of what the SCM has meant for us, in our perception both of understanding of the faith and understanding

 

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of the world in which we live, and of much greater value to me was that, this is not just a matter of the head, but also meant a commitment. So often one feels that one has not lived up to all that the SCM has given us in our own student days and also u h e n one had the privilege of working at the staff level. That is a gratitude that would go with me all my life. And though I am scared sitting here and speaking from the chair, I accept this assignment out of gratitude, even though I have been out of contact with the SCM for some time.

Secondly, I would like to say that our regional fellowships, be it the EGA or WSCF regional office. is again something very precious to me. I know many weaknesses that exist in the regional church fellowship of the CCA. But yet it is the only vehicle by which we are able to meet with each other within the setting of Asia, where in some ways our historical destinies are very much tied up with one another. Time there was when we went to international meetings, and Filipinos probably felt more at home with their friends from the United States, Indians and others felt more at home with their friends in Britain, etc., and we never really knew each other, though we lived in the same continent. And to me again, the regional structures are something very precious. There are difficulties, there are tensions, but this is something which I would fight for and even die. I remember the time where we even pleaded as general secretaries of Asian national SCMs to the WSCF to get some kind of regional meeting. There was tremendous opposition to that. During the 195D's as general secretary of SCM of India without any money, seeing the need to meet together before we went to the WSCF General Committee, we went as workers in a work camp in Bangkok, doing manual labour in building a basketball field in the heat of the sun, and every night we met, just to have the opportunity as general secretaries of Asian SCMs to share our experiences and concerns, and not to go to town to find other adventures!

The third thing which I think I have learnt and cherished more, both in the SCM, the CCA, and especially in the URM network, is that the priority is not the resolutions, the beauty of documents, but what happens at the local level. That is the place in which commitment is made, and there is a price that is paid. I sense, in this meeting, as one who had been in the two structures but being away from it, we are at the beginning of a new opportunity, of greater collaboration, not just at the consultation level, but also at the local and national level.

 

VI.  1968

What the future holds for me I do not know. But

 

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it is with gratitude for what I have received from the SCM, WSCF, CCA and WCC and the faith the Lord who has led us will continue to lead us into the future with the tasks that still lie ahead of us.

 

Rev. Harry F. J. Daniel

Associate for Ecumenical Mission

 

 


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Christian Conference of Asia

10 New Industrial Road *05-00 Singapore 1953. Tel: 286-1511

Cable: Chrisconas, Singapore. Telex: RS 33733 CCASIN

 

 

MEMORIES

 

My memories go back to the period 195D-1961 when I was closely associated with SCM. Alleppey is a coastal town in Kerala, India. In those days there were 2 colleges, one run by Catholic nuns and the other by a Hindu Trust. Non-Catholic Christian students were not very many but most of them were members of SCM which used to meet at the "Christian Institute* a sort of Student Centre with many facilities. I had finished college in 1955 after having served the local SCM as Secretary and National SCM as a member of the Executive Committee. Several of us continued in the SCM as senior friends and I was one of them. I was also Secretary in-charge of the 'Christian Institute' which gave me added responsibility for SCM.

It was 1957. The local SCM used to meet almost every Saturday or Sunday for study, fellowship, etc. I was a regular attendant. There were 2 student secretaries mainly responsible for the work of the SCM. We were planning a major fund raising effort - I vividly remember that during one of our planning meetings I became very frustrated because I felt that the student leadership was not really doing their best and I feared that the effort would prove a failure. In my usual way, I did not realise that other persons have their own way of doing things and that as a senior friend, I should not force my views over others. Hence I came out strongly criticising the student leadership. No body dared to challenge me. But after a while, one of the student secretaries. a woman, stood up and challenged me. She explained to the group all that they were doing and told me in no uncertain terms that I should not force my ideas on others but should support them in their task. It was not a pleasant experience at that time - 3D years ago in Kerala to be challenged in public by a woman who was only a student! This incident could not be forgotten for two reasons First, I married that woman secretary after

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4 years – Rachel my wife. Second, the suggestion to allow and help others to grow in their own way rather than expecting them to follow my own ideas served me well during all these years of working with others.

Message:

This is more in the nature of a general comment and a sincere prayer than a message when I say that I would like to see SCM especially in my own country recapture its movement nature. I am afraid, too much emphasis on buildings and endowments will not serve the movement character of SCM. If fact WSCF and SCMs as a whole should seriously consider a different pattern of operation. It seems that UJSCF and SCM follow the old pattern of 'ministring to the university community' by the church where as Catholic student organizations are run by students themselves and are more grass root based. I am not suggesting any particular pattern but we live at a time when we have to constantly re-examine our structures and take bold steps to pull down and rebuild. My wife and I owe a lot to the SCM and we pray for the success of the movement in all fronts. Shalom!

 

A. George Ninan

Associate General Secretary

 

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COMMISSION OF THE CHURCHES ON INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

of the World Council of Churches

Central Office

P.O. Box No. 66

150, route de Ferney

1211 Geneva 20 - Switzerland

Tel. (022) 916111

Telex 23 423 OIK CH

Cable: OIKOUMENE GENEVA

 

 

Moderator: Theo van Boven

Director:     Ninan Koshy

 

SOME RECOLLECTIONS

 

At this time when the Student Christian Movement of India celebrates its platinum jubilee, I recall with thanks to God the privilege I had to serve the movement for five years.

It was in the year 1968 that I began my service. That was the year of the youth revolt in many parts of the world, especially in the west . I was present at the World Student Christian Conference in August 1968 at Turku, in Finland, which at various stages became chaotic, but reflected the mood as well as the concerns of the students of the period. In India, the generation born before the independence had almost moved out of universities. The post-independent generation already formed the vast majority of students. There was wide-spread disillusionment among the students about the general situation in the country. Among large sections of students, there was a new determination to work for social and political transformation. The tremors of the "youth quake" were felt in India, too.

That was why we chose for the Triennial Assembly of the SCMs of India and Sri Lanka (Madurai, December 1969) the theme "Students in the Asian Revolution". The world Student Christian Federation's theme for the period was "Christian Presence" The theme of the Triennial very much reflected current Asian ecumenical social thought, in the shaping of which Indian Christian leaders like Dr. M.M. Thomas played an important part.

 

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The 1968 EACC Bangkok Assembly had spoken of the "need for dynamic Christian presence in Asia, especially in resisting the dehumanising forms of traditionalism which are a set of mutually strengthening social, political and economic factors still holding the bulk of the people in bondage. The SCMs of India and Sri Lanka echoed the call to "initiate a revolution in thinking as well as action among the inarticulate masses in the- rural sector – the peasants, the artisans and the landless labourer". The Madurai Triennial was the last in which there was participation by the Sri Lanka SCM.

Beginning with the Bihar famine of 1965, the SCM of India organized every year a Summer Service Team (SST) for students to work in relief and rehabilitation in the rural areas. This programme exposed hundreds of students to the realities of Indian rural life. I recall one instance. It was in 1970. There were heavy floods in Orissa. Lie organized an SST to assist in the programme to rebuild a village which had been almost entirely destroyed. There was a meeting at the end of the programme. The village chief said after expressing his gratitude "Floods will come again and the village will again be destroyed." There was still not a solid building in that village, only the thatched huts. That was a good learning experience for me and many others.

I saw the task of the SCM in those days mainly as that of enabling students to relate Christian faith to what was happening around them in the university, and in the society. It begins with one's commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. While the gospel does not give a blue-print for society, its values equip one to look at society with some criteria. Its dynamics helps to look at politics in a new way.

 

NINAN KOSHY

 

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      OIKOUMENE

      Ecumenical Institute for Study & Dialogue

      Telephone: 586998

      Address:                      490/5, Havelock Road,

                                          Colombo 6,

                                          Sri Lanka

      Director:                       Rev. Kenneth Fernando

      Associate Directors:     Jill F. Newsham

                                          Marshal Fernando

 

My First Federation Event: Some Thoughts

 

I was a silent participant at the WSSCF Leadership and Study Conference held in December 1965 at. Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka. That was. my first experience in Federation programmes, which was also the beginning of a long journey of faith.

It was a significant meeting for a number of reasons :

1.       Personally for the first time I experienced the international dimension of the SCM. This very fact created an interest within me to read materials emerging from the Federation and to engage in an exploration about the work of the Federation.

2.       There were a number of persons from the Frontline Leadership of the SCM's in the Indian sub-continent and the Federation who participated at the Conference, including:

Late Rev. Valdo Galland - General Secretary of the WSCF

Mr. Kang Moon-Kyu - WSCF Secretary for Asia

Mr. Kenataro Shiozuki - WSCF Secretary in Asia for Work among University Teachers

Fr. Paul Verghese (now Metropolitan Paul Gregorious) - WCC, Associate General Secretary

Late Rev. Dr. D.T. Miles - EACC (now CCA) General Secretary.

Mr. G. R Karat - SCM of India, General Secre.tary

Mr. M. E. Prabhakar - Subsequently General Secretary of SCM of India

There were many other Ecumenical leaders present. It was a rare opportunity to meet so many important Ecumenical leaders within a week, particularly for a 1st year University student like myself in Sri Lanka.

My personal acquaintance with some of these leaders had a profound impact on my thought processes and interests. Their inspiration and

 

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influence paved the way for my involvement with the work of the federation. Some of them continue to be part and parcel of the Ecumenical movement and even today continue to inspire the younger generation.

The Study Conference also exposed me to the need of engaging in an exploration of the nature of the link between Theology and Politics as a faith imperative.

 

VENUE       The venue of the Conference was also significant. It is well known amongst those who have a good sense of Federation history, that, Jaffna College, Vadukkoddai, Sri Lanka, was a land mark in the history of the SCM's in the Indian Sub-continent. Jaffna College played a crucial role as a meeting place in the early days of the mission amongst students in the subcontinent and continued to do so in later years. It is good to remind ourselves of two such events in this year of the 75th Anniversary of the SCM's in the area.

1.       Luther D. Wishard, the first full-time Secretary of Student YMCA utilized Jaffna College as the venue for the first Asian Student Conference in 1B89.

2.       This college was also utilized as the venue by John R. Mott in December 1695 to hold the first of the many series of Student Conferences for which John and Leila Mott had come to the East, after the formation of the WSCF. According to the recorded history 40D delegates participated in that Conference including 3D Missionaries, 2D local Pastors, Teachers, Principals and Students in the schools in the Peninsular.

These two events are connected not only because of the common venue but also due to the connection between Wishard and Matt. They were friends and Wishard helped John to learn about Student activities in many countries. Both of them were participants at the meeting in Vadesna in August 1895. when the WSCF was founded. while John was the first Secretary of the Federation, Wishard served as its first Treasurer.

 

Contents of the Conference

One of the major concerns of the younger participants centered around Inter-faith dialogue initiated through the presentation of Preman Pannikkar. He spoke about "Unseen Christ in Hinduism". This inspiring presentation facilitated a lively debate.

 

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The conference covered a wide spectrum of concerns including Christian Presence in the Academic Community, Changing Pattern of Liberal University, Need for a new Concept of Mission, Church Union etc. Many of those ideas influenced my thinking and attitude to life.

I value and reflect with gratitude that Federation event, which facilitated my involvement with the Centre of activity of the Federation. Subsequently, I participated in the Asian Leader-. ship Development Centre programme of 1970 under the able guidance of Kentaro Shiozuki and Kang Moon-Kyu.

I also had the great pleasure of working as one of the Secretaries of the Asia/Pacific Region and representing the region at the executive committee of the Federation. A unique feature of the Federation life is that its leaders are also the learners. Those who fail to recognise this reality cannot make a substantial contribution to the Federal Life. These long years of experiences in Federation events not only contributes to sustain my faith in Jesus Christ, but, also helps me to prioritize issues that demand my commitment. It is in the SCM and Federation that I grasped the theological basis for involvement in the process of struggle for the liberation of the poor and marginalised.

 

Federation in 1965 and NOW

There were 58 participants at the conference in 1965 December, of which the students numbered 14 and women only 11. These two categories of persons played only a marginal role during the proceedings of the Conference. Most of the thinking and talking was done by "those powerful men" in the Federation. This state of affairs is changing gradually as a result of many battles waged by students and women during the last 22 years. Currently Asia/Pacific Secretary is a woman. It is a major step in the history of the region. However, making the Federation a truly liberated community is a long may ahead of us.

At the 1965 Conference the theological debate centred around perceiving God's action in the context of a crisis-ridden liberal university. Currently the theological stance of the Federation is to perceive God's action in the context of the struggles of the poor, marginalised and exploited.

In 1965 the Regional Secretary for Asia,

 

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though an Asian, was based in Geneva. The Regionalizatlon process that was launched in 1966 has now gone a long way. The Regional events are responses to the regional concerns and needs.

Leadership style of the WSCF has undergone a vast transformation. There is a collective style of leadership now operating within the Federation. Big names do not necessarily have the monopoly of ideas and power in the functioning of the Federation.

While we appreciate these changes and joyfully praise the Federation for its achievements as a pioneering Ecumenical laboratory, it is important to remind ourselves about the great tradition of the Federation, extending critical solidarity with the Church. To what extent are we functional in this respect?

On the other hand are we self critical about our constituency problem? Isn't it important to find Days and means of attracting more students to the Fraternity. Without strong constituency linkages what hope is there for the Federation? Critical reflection on these concerns are vital to sustain the Federation as a major instrument in the ministry amongst students.

While we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the 5CMs in the Indian sub-continent, it is important to remind ourselves of our history to enable us to make our evaluation of ourselves and our regional contribution to the worldwide solidarity. The Federation has helped the SCMs in the Indian sub-continent to make a substantial contribution to the Ecumenical movement and the life of the Church in terms of ideas and human resources. Are we still doing this? One could say yes! by looking at some of our Fraternal organisations. However, will we be able to continue this tradition in the future? Is it really necessary to play this traditional role or is the Federation adapting a different approach to mission and evangelism in the context of difficult struggles of our time? These and other challenging issues are before us and demands of us to engage in exploration and reflection on them in the days to come.

 

MARSHAL FERNANDO

 

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Movement Report/Message

 

Student Christian Movement of India

Platinum Jubilee Year

1912-1987

ELIZABETH ANDERSON

 

As an outcome of the work of the YMCA-YWCA among the university students and teachers, representatives of the universities along with senior friends launched a movement in 1912 in Serampore, to draw the youth into a live fellowship of faith and service. Named the Student Christian Association of India and Ceylon, this was serving the youth, producing able leaders for service in Church and Society. This Movement was later joined by Burma in 1920. In 1955, the political changes led to the formation of the autonomous associations of Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, The SCM of India has been enjoying a global and ecumenical fellowship within the framework of the World Student Christian Federation in Geneva which is recognised by the UNO and the UNESCO as a non-governmental agency under category 'B' in 1972. The SCMI was registered with the Government as a society in 1973. It continues its fraternal bonds with YMCA, YWCA, NCCI, AICUF and the SCMs of other countries.

 

AIMS AND BASIS

AIMS:  The SCMs seeks to be a student community which enables students:

-    to become committed to Jesus Christ as Lord, Saviour and Liberator.

-    to understand critically and participate creatively in the total life of the University.

-    to become aware of the contemporary social realities and be involved in the struggles for fuller humanity,

-    to participate in the life of the Church for its mission, renewal and unity.

 

To this end:

- to initiate, facilitate and coordinate programmes for :

1. Worship and Study

2. Fellowship and Caring

3. Action & Reflection

 

BASIS: The Word of God, revealed in the Bible, active in history and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit.

 

THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY

At the break of another dawn, the SCMI entered the Platinum Jubilee year with self-evaluation of the past and self-determination to make the future visions a reality. The various programmes planned for this year are aimed at reviving the SCM units and re-awakening the SCMers, to raise to action in building up themselves, the church and the society. At various programmes especially the thanksgiving services held at different parts of the country, the sharing of the experiences with SCM by the former SCMers have a great impact on the present SCMers, enabling them to rethink their role in Church and Society, encouraging them to take-up an active role as SCMers. The membership drive and the finance campaign form the two major features of the Platinum Jubliee year to render continued and efficient service in the building up of the students personality to make the buds of their talents and potentialities to blossom and bear fruit.

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At present the SCMI functions through the country dividing it into 13 areas. There are approximately 100 local units and 10,000 members. The network of these local units is coordinated by the Programme Secretary of the respective area and the network of the areas by the General Secretary and the staff from the national headquarters from Bangalore.

The SCMI has dedicated itself to remain as the arm of the Church in the universities, among the students and the youth of our society, creating an awareness amongst them with respect to the changing socio-economic and political situations. To equip the programme staff in their work among the students and youth, a training programme on Biblical and Theological. Social Analysis and Leadership has recently been introduced, Bible Study booklets are published annually and 'Aikyatha', the mouth-piece of the movement is published regularly,

The national headquarters and the area programme secretaries conduct many programmes at the headquarters and other parts of the country. During the past academic year 1985-86, forty-four major programmes were held at the national and area levels in various parts of the country. These include Consultations on Education and New Education Policy; Seminars on Social Analysis and Education; Social Analysis and Social Education; Work-camps-flood relief; HRD Programmes, International Youth Year Programmes, Students and Senior Friends get-together and Exhibition related to social problems and World Environment Day.

Apart from these many Christian and other secular organisations held their programmes in the SCM Programme Center, Bangalore. All these enable the SCMI to serve not only the students and the youth of our country, but also the whole society in which it is placed,

 

 

A Glance at the History of SCM India

 

The winter of 1912-1913 is significant not only because of the birth of the Student Christian Movement as an arm of the Church, but also because of the great gatherings and events of that year. About the same time there were meetings in India :

The Edinburgh continuation conference, student evangelistic meetings led by Dr. John R. Mott and Dr. Sherwood Eddy, the Syrian Church unity conference, the consecration of the first Indian Anglican Bishop (V.S. Azariah); Last but not the least, the National Student Conference in Serampore, which decided on the formation of an independent student movement.

It was not as though the Student Movement as an independent organisation came into existence as a brain wave of the group that met in Serampore, conceived and brought into existence overnight. Much prayer, thought and preparation preceded the historic decision at Serampore. The YMCA, the YWCA and Missionary agencies were first to realise the need for organizing the university students and lead them to accept their Christian responsibility. As early as 1884, the first Student YMCA was formed in Vaddukoddai Ceylon. In 1886 the first Indian Student YMCA was formed in the theological college, Pasumallai, Madurai District. During the period till 1886 a number of student YMCAs sprang-up in various Mission colleges throughout the world without any organic link to bind them. Their search for some tangible expression of the unity and fellowship made way to the formation of the World Student Christian Federation in 1895 under the leadership of John R. Mott.

While Mott visited Madras in 1896 as

 

 

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the first General Secretary of WSCF, the existing Student Christian groups in India and Ceylon decided to form an Inter-collegiate YMCA. This ancestor of the SCM was one of the first members of WSCF.

At the same time a parallel Movement was taking place in the YWCA. They formed the first student YWCA in 1898 in Madras. Miss Elizabeth Zachariah who was appointed as its first national travelling secretary travelled widely and organized student groups in all the Women's Colleges of those days.

 

THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (SCA)

The need felt for an independent Student Movement led the leaders to call the National Student Conference at Serampore in December 1912. Mott presided over this first "All India Student Conference". There were present 194 student delegates from 72 different colleges comprising 127 from Madras Presidency, 31 from Bengal, 5 from Punjab and 10 from far away Ceylon. 46 Christian colleges and 26 Government colleges were represented. It was a rare and great experience for those who participated at this historic conference. Two sessions were given to the discussion of the future of the Indian Student Movement. With practical unanimity the delegates voted for such a Movement, with the name 'Student Christian Association of India and Ceylon". Most significantly the students themselves subscribed liberally to the funds for an Indian travelling secretary. The association was formally affiliated to the WSCF the same year. In 1920 Burma joined the SCA to be known as SCA of India, Ceylon and Burma.

 

STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT

Between 1932 and 1935 there was a great change in the composition of the Movement. The first joint conference of the SCA and the student YMCA was held in December 1933 at Ewing Christian College, Allahabad. The two bodies met again at the Women's Christian College, Madras to merge together and be known as Student Christian Movement of India, Burma and Ceylon. Dr. A. Ralla Ram became the first General Secretary. Up to 1935 the women students attended the Conference as YWCA delegates and functioned in a fraternal relation. The desire to have an amalgamated Movement of men and women students was gaining ground. At the historic meeting of the General Committee in 1935 in Madras, the final amalgamation was affected. Thereafter the SCM gained augmented strength. To symbolize the union, an Associated General Secretary in the person of Miss Ila Sircar was appointed to assist Dr. Ralla Ram. It was about this time that Ms. Sarah Chakko was elected as the first woman Chairman of the Movement.

The year 1947 brought many changes in the SCM as well as to the new nations, India, Pakistan and Ceylon. India was partitioned and Pakistan emerged out as a new nation. The Triennial Conference was held in December 1947 at Madras Christian College. Dr. Ralla Ram retired after 19 years of active service and Mr. C.S. Paul took over the General Secretaryship. Burma decided to separate and form an independent body. The name of the SCM was changed to SCM of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, The SCM headquarters which was in Allahabad till then, was moved to Bang al ore and since then has become the permanent headquarters of the Indian SCM.

In January 1954, Rev. Harry F.J. Daniel became the General Secretary. In December of that same year the SCM decided to form three independent National Movements in India, Pakistan and Ceylon, In 1961 Mr. G. R. Karat assumed office as the General Secretary of SCMI. During this time SCM became a dynamic force on many college campuses in India. Mr. Karat served the Movement till 1968. Mr. Ninan Koshy became the General Secretary in 1968 and led the Movement till 1973. In 1973 Mr. M.E. Prabhakar became the General Secretary. He had the opportunity to realise the dreams of previous General Secretaries in building the Ralla Ram Memorial Building, SCM Programme Centre and SCM House. In 1975 ,Rev. (Dr.) Satish C. Gyan took over as the General Secretary and led the Movement until August 1985. Since September 1985 the SCM of India is led by the new General Secretary. Rev. (Dr.)

 

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Godwin Shiri.

 

STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION

The SCM of India functions at three levels; national, regional, and local but as a coordinated whole.

The local unions are small or big groups organised in a locality, Christian College or City (inter-collegiate unit). Each local unit is constituted primarily by students, but also includes senior friends. The student community being a transitory group, the senior members often ensure continuity and offer leadership and financial support. The local units manage their own affairs and programmes through local union Committees, led by annually elected office bearers,

The local unions within a regional area, (defined geographically) are coordinated by an Area Committee and are affiliated to the National General Committee by payment of affiliation fee.

The Area Committee is constituted within at least one student member from each local union, along with a few senior friends from the region. The committee normally meets once a year, and primarily functions through an executive committee meeting more often, to coordinate the work of the local unions, to plan regional programmes namely : the Annual Camp, Work Camp and Human Resources Development Programmes and to promote national movements concerns. An Area or Regional Secretary, who is a full-time staff member of the National Office coordinates work in the Area. The Regional Area Committees are responsible to the National General Committee*

The National General Committee is constituted by two student representatives from each Regional Area, nominated students, nominated senior friends, representatives of Movement Secretaries and representatives from other Christian Organisations. The General Committee meets once in two years, and is the supreme policy-making and programme planning body. Its interim business is managed by the Executive Committee, meeting twice a year. The General Committee appoints the General Secretary, passes budgets for the biennium, effects Constitutional Amendments, coordinates Area Committees and nominates representatives to national and international bodies.

With a view of fulfilling the several obligations and relationships of voluntary organisations to the Government, the SCM of India was registered as a Society (SCMIS) and it is controlled by a Governing Body composed of Executive Committee and other elected members. The Governing Body of the society meets once a year to forward to the government the reports, accounts and any amendments to the Constitution (Memorandum and Articles or Rules and Regulations of Association),

More recently with the acquisition of assets for the Movement, in the form of land and buildings (towards self-support) at Bangalore and elsewhere, a Trust (SCMITA) was created and registered to hold, administer and control all properties of the Movement, and also to generate resources within the country to support the Movement,

The National SCMI is affiliated to the World Student Christian Federation with its headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland). The WSCF primarily functions through regional offices, the Asia/Pacific regional office is located at Hong Kong. Thus the SCM of India is both a national and international fellowship and the members of the Indian SCM are also members of the world-wide student community.

The national office of India is administered by the General Secretary of the Movement who coordinates a body of both programmes and ministerial staff persons. The programme staff includes Programme Secretaries in various regions and at the National Headquarters,

 

_____________

Reproduced from Aikyatha - adapted from different sources

 

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BANGLADESH SCM – BRIEF REPORT

 

Bangladesh SCM first started in 1956. Due to step-brother like attitude of then Pakistan SCM it remained isolated from WSCF and thus it had no effective measure, relationship with WSCF started during the early seventies i.e. right after the independence of our country. In 1975 a national committee was formed. In the following year Bangladesh SCM got its affiliation and henceforth it is playing an effective role in people's struggle on the basis of WSCF principle.

Bangladesh SCM is still in its childhood. In the first few years we concentrated most of our efforts in movement building and organisational matters. Within these years we could successfully form six local units at Barisal, Chandpur, Dhaka, Jessore, Khulna, and Kustiao Our membership includes 45 senior friends and 150 associate members.

The socio-economic and political situation in Bangladesh is unfavourable to SCM work. Also a fanatic Muslim majority, the so called evangelical as well as imperialist foreign missionary influenced churches and organisation, extreme poverty and social superstitious feelings often hamper our attempts in our struggle for a just society.

Due to the conspiracy of the imperialist missionaries our national leadership in the community is destroyed. Therefore, the BSCM is giving priority to Leadership Development. Seminars and Workshops are arranged so that the youth can be oriented to understand the social realities,

Publication also gets priority in our activities. SCM journal ‘Protysha’ (Hope) in Bengali and a quarterly ‘Truth' in English are being published on a regular basis.

The so called evangelical foreign missionaries by their money took advantage of our poverty and converted most of our churches into their anti-ecumenical block. Recently, because of this we have been working for the revival of the building up of an ecumenical movement. So far negotiations and dialogues are on with the progressive-minded churches, secular and Christian organisations to strengthen the ecumenical platform, Bangladesh SCM took the leadership in this attempt.

Because our students are extremely poor, our SCM started a scholarship programme to provide them possible assistance. Due to lack of financial strength we don’t know how long this programme can last. We also started one commercial school in 1977, so that our students could learn secretarial work. But, unfortunately due to financial problems we had to close it down,

We started a women's programme a few years ago. BSCM made various resolutions on socio-political issues. We are also trying to build an awareness on human rights abuse within the various areas. Celebrations of national and international days and religious festivals are also part of our programmes.

 

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SCM SRI LANKA MESSAGE

 

Celebrating a 75th Anniversary is a joyous occasion but to do so amidst the mass murders of civilians, detentions and ethnic and class oppression now rampant in our little island calls for a deeper understanding of the meaning of "celebration"

Our festivities become truly closer to the acknowledgement of the wonder of self-sacrifice, so supremely incarnated by our Lord and Saviour, as we in SCMSL, joyfully shoulder the weight of understanding and responding to the demands of witness in our strife-torn island,

Our experience, as a Movement, struggling to re-build with new perspectives and new styles of witness parallel the struggles of the Sri Lankan people – the exploited poor, alienated ethnic minorities and marginalized women – to link hands as we are moved by the Spirit towards the realisation of the reign of justice, peace and love.

On the 75th Anniversary of the SCM of Sri Lanka we the students and Senior Friends once again remind ourselves of our calling to the renewal of Church as the agent of the Good News to all in need of our heavenly parent's care.

 

Lakshman Gunasekara

General Secretary

 

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Perspectives

 

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF THE ETHNIC EXPLOSION

ROBINSON ASGHAR

 

The tragic events in Karachi and Hyderabad in which hundreds of people were killed continue to dominate the national scene in Pakistan. In the corridors of power many other things have been pushed into the background. The routine exercise about half-yearly evaluation of the economy will soon acquire a new dimension. The unforeseen tragedy will have its repercussion on trade and industrial output in view of the weight that Karachi has in the nation’s economy. The ultimate setback will undoubtedly be substantial. If the Karachi ethnic violence continues, the economy of the country will suffer tremendously. Already the latest figures show a fall in the foreign exchange reserves because of the return of Pakistani workers from the Gulf.

The wide ranging debates in the two Houses of Parliament here last week also helped to focus attention on some deep rooted socio-economic causes of the repeated violent eruptions in Karachi in the past couple of months. Some immediate political remedies of the malaise are of course important. But, the somber occasion, as some members emphasised, also calls for deeper reflections and study of the underlying factors which are ignored because of the distant relationship with the immediate and urgent political issues.

Pakistan because of its recent emergence on the map of the world is still in a fragile state. To strengthen its national and federal fabric it is important to have a balanced large-range policy to develop its socio-economic growth. But, it seems we have not learnt anything from our past experiences,

During the past years we have suffered from an uneven and lop-sided economic development, particularly, during the late sixties. The past ten years too have added to the instability of the economy. Industrialization has been sacrificed in exchange for superficial and illusory affluence created by excessive reliance on external inflows. The result has been perpetuation of industrial under-development and unemployment. Scores of people uprooted from the rural environment swarm the urban centers that offer some gainful employment,, If Karachi is today exploding with the overweight of population and related tensions, it is also because it happens to be the biggest refuge for all kinds of deprived from areas untouched by economic development.

In spite of all the talk about fiscal and related incentives to lure private investments to the neglected region, the bulk of industrialization is concentrated in Karachi. This is no fault of Karachi but of a thoughtless free-for-all policy. This policy was also pursued during the past decades. The state had chosen to abdicate its responsibility to correct the regional imbalance through its neglect in public sector investments, thereby leaving industrial growth to unfettered private enterprise. Thus, hindering the development of our country.

 

_____________

Robinson Asghar is the General Secretary of SCM Pakistan

 

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Biblical Reflections

 

“Not the might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”


I.    The Human Predicament

 

There are leaders of some countries and organisations that deliberately exercise brutal and dehumanising power. Muscle power and nuclear power are widely prevalent. The authoritarianism of the right and the dictatorship of the left exercise arbitrary and absolute power. The Warsaw Pact of the socialist countries and the N.A.T.O. Alliance of the capitalist countries jeopardise peace of our time. The multi-national companies like the Military-Industrial complex want to dominate and domesticate the people of the so-called Third world. This cannot be conducive towards the creation of peace on earth. International organisations like the GATT, IMF, UNCTAD and the World Bank refuse to establish a new international economic order and thus perpetuating and promoting injustice and oppression. The rich nations of the world continue to exercise a monopoly over economic power. In this context what is the perception of power from a Biblical perspective?

 

II    The Divine Imperative

 

1.   1 Kings 19 : 9-18

Zech. 4 : 1 - 10

In the Kings passage we read about the prophet Elijah's flight to Horeb. It telescopes in a dramatic way Elijah's career in the programme outlined in vs. 15-17. It brings out clearly the nature and quality of God's power. The Lord was not in the mighty wind, the earthquake or the fire but rather in the gentle whisper of the breeze (vs. 12).The fiery prophet had to learn that God in his own way will work out his will without any display of overt power, Such an assurance was necessary as this passage was written during a great crisis. In 587 B.C., the Babylonian armies of Nebuchadnezzar had broken the walls of Jerusalem, had destroyed the city, burnt the temple to the ground and deported to Babylonia the elite of Judean people. In the midst of this national catastrophe the prophet was reminded of the power of God which is

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qualitatively different from human power. This dependence on the power of God is again enunciated by prophet Zechariah (see also Is. 30:15, 40:28-31). The power of God is stated as "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (ps 86:5, 15; 103:8; 145:8).Indeed power belongs to God (ps 62:11; 145:11; 147:5) and we are called to trust in this power.

 

2.   Luke 22 : 47-53;

Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane preparing himself prayerfully for his impending death. He was not prepared to be defended by the sword. Jesus was not naive or simplistic about life and reality and therefore he talks about "the power of darkness" (vs. 53) that needs to be dismantled He is not prepared to dislodge this power of darkness by the display of his own power. He says, "Don't you know that I could call on my Father for help and at once he would send me more than twelve armies of angels" (Matt. 26:53).He overcomes and changes people by the power of his forgiving love. He demonstrated this in his words and deeds. This forgiving love has its own intrinsic potency which ordinary human beings are not able to comprehend. But those who believe Him and accept His lordship must believe in the power of God's forgiving love. We are called to participate in this kind of power. That is the demand and challenge of the Gospel.

 

3.   Philippians 3:1-11;

II Corinthians 4:7-12

The ancient apostles like Paul recognised and acknowledged the power of the resurrection which was made possible through the death of Jesus. With Jesus, they were also not naive people suffering from shallow optimism or cynical hope. They were fully conscious of the power of sin and darkness in the third world (Rom. 3:9; I Cor. 15:56; I John 5:19). They were aware of the existence of principalities and powers that rule and control this world (Eph. 6,12). In spite of this situation or because of it, the early Christians unequivocally affirmed, "that the transcendent power belongs to God and to us" (II Cor. 4:7). Believing in this power they were able to live a triumphant life in the midst of perplexity and persecution. This power gave them hope and an open future for which they were prepared to work in the name of Jesus. Such is the strength and security of the Christians (see also I Cor. 2:5-11).

 

III   Theological Affirmations

 

Bible testifies to the power of God as it is operative in history. It is a power that is exercised as against the power of Pharaoh in the Old Testament or of King Herod in the New Testament. The power of God transcends and overcomes the power of such people or of such forces represented by them. At one stage even the early disciples of Jesus were doubtful about such a power. Therefore Peter denied Him and Judas betrayed Him hoping that Jesus would exercise muscle power. That did not happen and Christianity became a force to reckon with. Therefore it is not surprising to hear Paul say. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith...." (Rom. 1:16). Do we believe in this power? Are we willing to practise this power?

1987 q3n48.jpg
Jesus the footwasher - the symbol of power

 

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Jesus said "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God.'

(Mathew 5:9)

 

I.       The Human Predicament

The world-wide arms build-up and pervasive poverty have caused great fear and cynicism in the world,. For majority of the people the future of humanity is predetermined and therefore predestined. Life in India seems to be fated and the future foreclosed. The law of karma at the empirical level has engendered an ethos which is basically characterised by defeatism and escapism. Vast majority of the people have been muted and defuturised. On the other hand we are aware of great stalwarts like Ghandhiji, Martin Luther King and Bonhoeffer who have championed the cause of peace actively in that time. In our time people like Olaf Palme of Sweden who was recently assassinated and Willy Brandt of West Germany have contributed to the cause of peace without giving up. People like Ella Bhat of Self-employed Women's Association, Baba Amte and Mother Theresa are examples of such an effort. There is hope and despair lurking in the bosom of the present. What is the Biblical approach to this conflicting mood of our time?

 

II.   The Divine Imperative

1.   Zechariah 8:12-19; Ps. 34;14

I have already mentioned that the Hebrew word, shalom indicates the whole Biblical tradition of the idea of peace. It meant for them not just the absence of war but the presence of the fullness of life. It meant completeness, unity and wholeness. This wholistic thrust becomes evident in the Zechariah section. We ate called upon to make for this kind of peace and cherish it (vs. 16 and 19). Knowing what God has done in history we are called upon to promote and pursue peace actively. We are not to give up and say, "Nothing new happens under the sun. Hence all is vanity" (Eccl.l:9). Amongst the ancient Hebrew people their law (Torah) stipulated the sacrifice of peace-offerings which is mentioned in the sacrificial code (Leviticus 3:1-9; 7:11-37). This is also mentioned in the Book of Numbers (6;14-26). In the modern time this peace offering should become our code of conduct in the world.

2.   Matt 5:9; Mk. 9:42-50

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his disciples that they will be happy if they are peace-makers. There are lots of people who are peace-lovers. We have to foster friendship and forge unity among people. We are not to engage in divisions and dissensions. We are to actively engage in the ministry of reconciliation. Jesus follows this up with further instructions in vs. 23-26. The reward for this kind of attitude and action is to be called sons of God. Therefore this pursuit of peace is not peripheral to the proclamation of the gospel. It is written, "Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace" (Nahum 1:15). In the midst of the centrifugal forces and fissiparous tendencies of our time we are expected to be peace-makers in words and deeds. That is our master's mandate. Our fidelity to our faithful God demands that we preach and practise the gospel of peace which is understood in terms of justice, It must be transformative and creative in character which is the meaning of "salt of friendship" (Mk. 9:50).

3.   Hebrew 12:11-17, 1 Peter 3:11

The early disciples were a rejected

 

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and a dejected lot. They were a small group without any social standing. They were persecuted. In that context, they dared to hope and believe in the power of the gospel of peace. The Graeco-Roman world was violent and war-torn. In the midst of it the early church encouraged and promoted peace. They were to intercede for peace (I Tim. 2;2); aim for it (II Tim. 2;22); pursue it relentlessly (1 Pe. 3:11; II Pe. 3:14) and be at peace (I Thess. 5:13; II Cor. 13:11). They are to "maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3) because it is a wisdom from above (James 3:17) and "For God has called us to peace" (1 Cor. 7:15). Indeed the early followers of Jesus constantly preached and practised peace in their own way. For them this was the fundamental characteristic of a Christian.

 

III.  Theological Affirmations

Peace is to be promoted as an active response to what God has done and is doing in history. Jesus is the Prince of peace who comes to establish it on earth. In Jesus' coming we become peace-mongers based on justice. In the light of the resurrection we affirm life in its fullness negating death and sin. War and injustice cannot be the last word. We are emboldened by the knowledge and experience of the God of the future who is actively present and available, forwarding his kingdom of peace and bringing it to consummation. It has been rightly maintained, "The universal realization of peace is certainly not an immediate possibility. But the relative and proximate increase of peace is in every moment a very realistic possibility." Let us believe and act in that hope.

 

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Ten Bible Studies on the Christian understanding of Peace has been written by Dr. Somen Das under the title 'Justice & Peace will join hands'. Two of the Bible Studies have been reproduced in this issue

 

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IT IS THE PAIN OF CHRIST

PAKDEE WATTANACHANTARAKUL

 

1987 q3n410.jpg

Christmas and Easter are two main events of Christians which cannot be separated since they are Christ centered. The Risen Christ is the center of the life, faith, mission and theology of Christians and the Church. If this risen Christ is replaced by someone or something-else there will be disunity and division in the Christian Church rather than unity and peace. This implies that the family of God is broken. That is the pain of Christ which we do not realise.

The fact that Christ rose from the dead is the only truth which makes Christian faith different from other faiths. It is the only Good News which Christians have to proclaim to the world. And again it is the pain of Christ if Christians promote their churches, denominations, organisations, movements and themselves rather than the Risen Christ. It is the responsibility of every Christian to make the presence of Christ real among people both inside and outside the Church. It is not our duty to Christianize people who do not believe in God. Our main task is to bring these people to meet the Risen Christ and then He will reveal Himself to them and make them Christians.

There are many Christians who cannot really proclaim; the good news of the Riser Christ since they are not sure about Him The good news of Christ has become the rumour of Christ for them. This is also the pain of Christ. At the same time then are a lot of young people asking and seeking to know where they can see and meet the Risen Christ if He is really alive.

From the Scripture reading the Rises Christ could be seen and met on the highway and at the table where the bread was broken. The act of breaking of bread opened the eyes of the disciples and they could see the risen Christ. We should understand that the breaking of bread is the breaking of Christ's body. The body of Christ is broken in order that man can recognise and reconcile with God and His people. Therefore, whenever the act of breaking of bread is performed the reconciliation always takes place. And there we can see and meet Christ.

 

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The risen Christ is always living with and among us here and now . We may meet and see him every day but we never recognise him. As the prophet Isaiah said, "as many were astonished at Him-His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men - He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." (Is. 52:14,53:3)

The risen Christ comes to meet us in the form of those who are starving, thirsty, homeless, fatherless, in trouble, in need, sick, ugly, outcast, useless, unimportant, left out, rejected, persecuted, exploited, oppressed, powerless and broken hearted and the like. We usually ignore and behave with them like the priest and Levite did to the wounded man in the parable of the good Samaritan with many reasons and excuses. What makes us blind to the needs of these people? And what makes us deaf to their cries?

The story from our reading tells us clearly that the women could not recognise the voice of Jesus who talked with them face to face because they were too busy with their tradition of tomb visits and preparing the spices. Neither could the two disciples recognise Jesus who walked with them side by side since their minds were full of distress, disappointment and sadness. Both men and women were too busy with their own problems, work and thinkings of the Crucified and Dead Christ. There was no room for the Living Christ in their hearts and minds. Because of this they were blind and deaf to the Risen Christ and His voice. In the same way Christians today can't really see or hear the Risen Christ, who lives with and among us in the form of those who are poor, suffering, unemployed, discriminated, strangers, lonely and mistreated. Worse than that Christians' themselves are the ones who have been exploiting, oppressing, hurting, wounding and killing their neighbours. These people are crying, groaning, struggling and longing for help, care, warmth, love, understanding, acceptance, justice, freedom and peace. We are deaf to their cries and blind to their needs because we are preoccupied by our own business, problems, activities, families, education programmes, fund raising, running workshops, organising conferences and workshops attending meetings, paper work, documents, reports regulations, traditions, creeds, theology and ourselves,

We should remember that the cries and sufferings of these people are the cry and suffering of Christ Himself. As the Son of man said to those who are at His right and left hand, "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Truely, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me ... For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me." (Mtt, 25:35, 36, 40, 42-45)

From this saying it indicates that to ignore the people of God is to ignore Christ. At the same time whatever we do to the people of God we do it to Christ Himself as Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. (Acts 9:4-5).This means that the pain of the people of God is the pain of Christ. When are we going to act on Christ's pain?

You remember the song "Blowing in the Wind".

How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?

How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?

The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind. CAN YOU HEAR IT?


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Meditation delivered at the Closing Worship of HRD '87 by Rev. Pakdee Wattanachantarakul, Senior Friend and Counselor of Thai SCM

 

 

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Faith & witness

 

LIDDY'S TALE

 

1987 q3n411.jpg

(Liddy Nacpil, 27, is the wife of Leandro Alejandro, Secretary General of the left-leaning BAYAN, who was assassinated on September 19 shortly after a press conference where he announced the holding of protest rallies to denounce the suppression of civil liberties. His killers have not yet been identified but BAYAN suspects they are rightwing extremists. Alexandra's funeral was one of the biggest Manila has ever seen.)

"It never leaves my mind. I can't keep still otherwise I'll start crying. But then I try to stop myself. I go to bed only when I know I'll drop off to sleep." It is Liddy talking, the bouncy, bubbly girl of many rallies. It is more than a month now since she lost husband Lean, 27 to assassins’ bullets.

Lean was not Liddy's alone. He is the towering young man of a thousand dreams, was brother and friend to many, son to unweary old men who had wished to bequeath to him their lights. And no matter that thousands upon thousands claimed him to be their own, only Liddy is left with a wife's memories of a husband.

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"Lean liked quiet days at home. He loved to sleep, cook, play with our baby. Sometimes we would watch a movie together. I remember him this way, not as a speaker in a rally or presiding over a meeting." Liddy's eyes are smiling but wet. "I remember him tying his shoes. He had this passion for cooking, he had his wok, his cleaver, his chopping board. He loved to cook mechado, sinigang, talunan. Recently he was into stir-fry dishes. I remember him carrying the baby, singing to her..."

Liddy and Lean were married in January 1986. Both were known to be student activists during their UP days. Lean was president of the student council. Liddy was with the Student Christian Movement. When they were married they were well in the "parliament of the streets". Lean was a known BAYAN figure, a brilliant speaker secure in his nationalist politics, never brash but could be scathing in his tirades against anything that smacked of injustice. Liddy was deeply involved with GABRIELA, a women's movement. At the time of Lean's death, Liddy was working with BAYAN.

"I always remember the day he died. But it has not completely sunk in yet because I never associated Lean with death. He's been so alive. Deep inside me, I ask, how could it have happened? We expected danger, yes, that death could be just around the corner, but it is hard to believe. He was so brave, so knowledgeable about crisis. And even if logically I was prepared, at the back of my mind I said, not this soon."

"He didn’t have a fighting chance. How could he, he was sitting in the car. Even in a combat situation there are rules of war. Lean was in the open legal struggle, they knew where to find him."

Liddy and Lean were supposed to meet late that day in the Bay an office. The last time she saw Lean alive before he went to the National Press Club for a press conference. Liddy went off alone to shop for some babies' clothes. It was late in the afternoon when she arrived home that she learned about what happened to Lean. "Na-ambush, I was told. It had been announced over the radio. I wanted to know if he was alive. There is something that keeps you hoping. But I had learned that his brother Francis had come to the house to break the news, I knew it was true. It was a full hour before I could leave the house because of possible dangers.

When we were on our way to St. Luke's Hospital, I asked myself, kaya ko ba ito? When Lando (Olalia of Partido ng Bayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno) was killed. Lean did not want me to see Lando in the morgue, But this time I said, I can handle this, And there was Lean, covered with a white sheet. The first thing I said was, ‘Bakit ninyo siya tinakpan, bakit ninyo siya tinakpan?’ (Why did you cover him?) They showed me a part of his face. I guess they didn't want me to see that one side of his face had been blasted. But I had prepared myself. I didn’t concentrate on his wounds, but on his features that were intact. I checked the parts of his body, his eyes, his ears, his hands. I couldn’t find the mole on his face because he was full of wounds. I opened his shirt. I felt his feet, they were still warm. Then they brought me out.

I tried to think logically. I think that was one way to cope. My father said, I had to make decisions, like where Lean would be brought, the coffin and all that. I also called for a press conference so I wouldn't have to answer the same questions over and over again. At that time only his brother Francis was here. His parents and brothers were still abroad. They arrived after a few days."

Lean was buried in his hometown in Malabon after a ten day wake at the UP.

"I grieve all the time. I think of him in the morning when I wake up, in the evening before I go to sleep. I keep wishing it were a dream, like in the TV series 'Dallas'. It may sound corny but I have to take hold of myself, to take charge. I cannot break down. We have a baby, I have to be strong for her. I want Rosanne to know her father, what he was like." Liddy plans to gather all the articles written about Lean when he was still alive and after he died.

"Lean and I may have been both in the

 

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same stream but each of us had his or her own turf. But at the end of the day it was always us. We were not kanya-kanya." Liddy recalls that it was only long after they were married that Lean and she were able to go away for a honeymoon. "I was already four months on the family way at that time. We went away for a couple of days then we were back to work. But Lean was not all work. He loved to play tennis and wanted to excel in it. But he could not because he was busy. So he dropped it. He was always in a hurry."

"I have none of this bakit ako? (Why me?) Lean believed as I did that life does not stop after physical death, that we will see each other again. I can feel him in the same room with me, watching over us, giving me strength. I cannot take nothingness after death. I'd panic if I think that there is nothing, that I will not be with him. I'm holding on to this maybe to cope, to give me hope. The hard part now is missing him because he's no longer around in the same way."

"I'd thought of this during the wake – suddenly it becomes relevant for a revolutionary to think this way – there is life after death, a soul. I have this longing, this sadness that my child and he will never know each other physically. But he is around. He will see his daughter grow up. One of the things I'm scared about is that it will be a long time missing him. Twenty years from now it will be harder, missing him when I can no longer remember vividly how he was."

"I do not want to drown in this loss* The only way to get out of this is take charge, to go forward. On the third day of the wake I already started to project. I do not wish to pine away." It's been just more than a month since Lean died and Liddy allows herself to grieve, to weep, to plumb the depth of her loss. She is human, she has tears. And while Lean's life and death can be marvelously explained in terms of his politics and his struggle, there is a side to him only Liddy has been privileged to know. "We were the best of friends, but we were also each other's worst critics. My thoughts are full of him. I'm going through a phase when it's hard to imagine he is gone. It was easier during the wake. Everything reminded me that he was dead. Now it is harder to internalize his death.

"I have to get used to the fact that death means a lot in this life. I don't know if my loss is greater than the others. I have a strong support system, But what makes Lean's death so tragic is that his life was so meaningful, more meaningful than those who spend their lives oppressing others."

Liddy had her moments of consolation. "I know Lean is with me. Towards the end of the funeral march which took the whole day, I was just about ready to collapse. It had been a taxing day, I had to wave to crowds, speak, be strong. I could no longer feel myself. I thought I'd black out. But when I stood there before Lean's body just before he was going to be interred, I felt the heaviness lift. I felt a certain lightness I felt so at peace and I was smiling. Lean communicated". At the moment of parting Lean was there to be by her side,

 

______________

Reproduced from the Sunday Inquirer Magazine - published in the Philippines

 

 

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IN MEMORY OF JULIET TAN GUEK HOW

 

Juliet Tan was 24 when she died in a plane crash in Phuket, Thailand on August 31, 1987. Death took away the lively, vivacious character of this young woman.

Juliet, born on 2nd May 1963, had just completed a year's study course on Women's Studies at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, England. She decided to spend her vacation in Malaysia and Thailand to meet family members and friends, after learning that it was not wise to return home due to the recent detention of many community workers in Singapore.

Initially a student who was actively seeking a meaning to life, she gave of her creativity to school publications, literary matters and her school band. Later, this expanded into questions about the role of university students and whether life in Singapore contained more to it than the often-defined job, family and career. This search led to her involvement in the Student Christian Movement in 1982, and with it a fresh breath of air for the Movement.

In the period 1984-86, Juliet served as the Chairperson and full-time staff of SCM Singapore. She participated actively in many regional and inter-regional programmes;

            1982           - HRD, Bangkok.

            1983           - Women's Workshop, Hong Kong.

1984           - elected as Standing Committee Member (Member-at-large) during the Regional Committee Meeting in Bangalore.

                 - became a member of the Regional Women's Committee.

- was one of the representatives of the Asia/Pacific Region at the Convocation of the United Ministries in Education in July, USA.

1985          - Regional Women's Committee and Regional Women's Conference, Singapore,

1986          - Regional Committee, Women's Pre-Assembly & General Assembly, Mexico.

We will remember her bubbly personality, her constant struggle to come to terms with her own sexuality and what it means to be a young woman in today's world, we will remember too her determination and giving spirit.

Juliet leaves behind a memory of an intelligent, inquiring mind and a warm caring soul. We take solace in the knowledge that she would not have chosen to live her life otherwise in the last few years as she sojourned with the Student Christian Movement.

 

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Dedicated by SCMers and Senior Friends of Singapore

 

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A TESTIMONY

 

Time and again we are met with the loss of a friend, companion and comrade. Many lives have been offered for the cause of the people's liberation. A political death is not uncommon among our ranks. But the death of Lean is especially closer to our hearts. For he was and IS part of our specific struggle as youth and students,

Though we have committed ourselves to this struggle with the preparedness that lives are daily put on the line. Lean's sudden demise shocked us. And later -- angered us,

We remember Lean as the ideal student leader who never failed to relate to the masses, the basic ills that beset our country.

For eight years till his untimely death he served as a staunch defender of the rights and life of the Filipino people. We, in the SCMP fondly remember him as Lean who greets us with a warm smile and handshake. V/e think he was a born politician!

Lean was a charismatic leader and an idol of us SCMers. He was the image of an ideal youth leader and a burning inspiration to our new crop of leaders. His contribution to -the youth and student movement is more than being a speaker at a forum, symposium or meeting. We in the SCM remember him fondly as the "nang-iindiyan"  or latecomer! His contribution goes way back to the time he started as a campus writer and then a student leader. He was the inspiration where we youth drew strength from. His undying commitment to serve the people, no matter how great the risk -- was truly an example for us Christians who are called upon to be stewards and witnesses amidst repression, suffering and struggle.

Many have died in the struggle for justice and freedom, but the death of Lean is closer to our hearts. Both Lean and Liddy have contributed much to life of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines. Liddy was the General Secretary from 1980-82, and in the early eighties she served as Vice-Chairperson of its Inter-Regional body, "The World Student Christian Federation.

His death brings much pain to his family and friends. Yet beyond the pain is a commitment deepened by his death that spurs us on with new blood to continue the Filipino people's struggle.

Hence we call on all freedom-loving Filipinos to stand up and fight for justice. We cannot wait for the false justice doled out by the government in the form of a commission or another endless investigation that would bring no results. Together, let -us seek justice for it is said : "Seek and you shall receive; knock and the door shall be opened!" Let us turn our grief into rage and rage into action, for it is also said s "Go not gently into the night, but rage, rage against the dying of the light!"

Mabuhay ka Lean! Mabuhay ka Liddyl Kasama mo kami!

 

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This Testimony was delivered by SCMP during the Ecumenical Mass for Lean, September 21, 1987, at the UP Chapel, Quezon City.

 

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Issues

 

 

The SCM's Response to Women's Struggle

THERESA C. CARIŃO

 

My paper will attempt to deal with three things:

1.       the imperatives for the SCM's involvement and participation in the struggle for liberation.

2.       a description of some of the steps taken by SCM's and the WSCF in response to women's struggle for liberation over the last decade.

3.       a delineation of the levels of change that need to be undertaken and some of the strategies that could be adopted.

I would like to begin by sharing with you a definition of feminism that was suggested by two international workshops on the subject held in Bangkok and Stony Point between 1979 and 1980. At these workshops, women from both First and Third World countries agreed on a working definition of feminism in terms of two long-term goals;

1.   the achievement of women's equality, dignity and freedom of choice through women's power to control their own lives and bodies within and outside the home.

2.   the removal of all forms of oppression and inequity through the creation of a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally.

Implicit in this definition, I think, is the recognition that given the diversity of cultures and economic milieu in which women find themselves, the specifics of the women's struggle vary from country to country and from culture to culture. Nonetheless, they all share certain commonalities and it is important for women to realize this in order for them to strengthen their solidarity with other women.

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Secondly and equally important, the working definition acknowledges that the attainment of equality, freedom and dignity for women cannot be fully achieved independently or separately from the creation of a more just social order both nationally and internationally. We cannot isolate women's struggle from the struggle against racism and class oppression, There cannot be a just society unless women achieve equality, dignity and freedom. In other words, the struggle for women's liberation is an integral part of people's struggle for freedom and justice to which I believe the SCMs and the WSCF are committed. Just as much as we abhor discrimination on the basis of class or race, we cannot and should not tolerate any form of discrimination on the basis of sex.

And this is what women's liberation is all about. It is not a movement for women to become more like men nor is it a struggle against men. It is a movement that seeks to free women from oppressive structures and exploitative relationship and to empower them to be independent, self-reliant and active participants in the overall struggle for human liberation and development.

 

I.    THE ASIAN CONTEXT

Historically, you will find that in most, if not all cases, women's struggle for freedom and equality in Asian countries have been rooted and integrated in the struggle for national liberation from colonial domination. Here, we are reminded not only of the Truong sisters who led Vietnam out of more than a thousand years of Chinese domination but also of the millions of Vietnamese women who participated in the war of liberation against US imperialism. They not only carried out domestic chores and provided auxiliary services in the war, they also actively participated in the political arena in demonstrations, in negotiations and at the frontlines where they carried rifles and drove armored tanks.

In China there were women who endured the same hardships and who survived the heroic but incredibly grueling Long March of several thousands miles during the Chinese revolutionary struggle against foreign imperialism and military dictatorship. It has been in the face of the most crushing oppressions that women have demonstrated their ability to resist, to fight and to be equal to men. It has also been in the context of their struggle for national freedom that women have realized that they are doubly oppressed.

Chinese women, before 1949, observed that in addition to being oppressed by feudalism and imperialism, they suffered male domination and exploitation in a patriarchal society. In traditional and Confucianist China, women had bound feet -- an excruciatingly painful symbol of their oppression. They were socially bound and governed by the "three obediences" throughout their lives: between birth and marriage, they had to obey their fathers, after marriage they were expected to be obedient to their husbands and when their husbands died, they were obliged to obey their sons. Women could not inherit property nor hold independent economic positions and were bereft of any individual social identity.

Within the context of Confucian tradition, a prerequisite for women's participation in the liberation struggle was their release from economic and social subservience. Unless they could have unbound feet and the freedom to move around in public, unless they had access to education, unless they were socially recognized as independent social entities, they could not participate equally with men in the Chinese people's struggle for national, economic and political freedom.

 

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My point here is that women's liberation or feminism is not a secondary or peripheral issue but is and should be located in the mainstream of the national movements for freedom, equality and dignity. Having said that, however, I wish also to stress that national liberation in itself does not necessarily guarantee the full recognition of women's rights, their special needs and their full participation in decision-making at all levels. Today, Vietnamese women no longer have to fight the US war machine and Chinese women no longer have their feet bound. But the struggle of women is far from over. Chinese women, for instance, are still fettered by the deadweight of centuries of feudal and patriarchal traditions and ideas and today, even in socialist China, female infanticide is a practice that is difficult to stamp out because of the traditional preference for males.

In the Philippines, changes in the law and political emancipation have decidedly improved the status and position of Filipino women from colonial times, but traditions and myths about women have been slow to change. The laws and Constitution may demand equal rights from women but the inferior status of women continues to exist because practices and attitudes remain unchanged and women themselves accept them. Sexism continues to prevail, even in and especially myths that mould our consciousness. The Filipino myth of creation, for instance, describes how man and woman emerged simultaneously from a bamboo split opened by a huge bird. Filipino folklore has reinterpreted the myth over time, naming the woman "Maganda" (beautiful) and the man "Malakas" (strong). According to one writer, by calling the woman "Maganda", modern male chauvinists have relegated her to a pedestal, where she is admired but not consulted. By calling the man "Malakas", men have unwittingly painted themselves into a corner, creating a self-perception that forces them to be strong (even if they are not).

In many Asian countries, release from old structures and forms of oppression may not necessarily be reflected in a "liberated" consciousness. Subservience in behaviour and thinking continues to persist. Vestiges of colonial and feudal culture remain ingrained in the mind of people and facilitate the continued exploitation of women through new forms and structures. The increase and diversification of women's roles in modernizing but not necessarily developing societies have in fact exposed them to new forms of exploitation and domination, and added to their burdens. Here, I am referring especially to women workers and peasant women. As a matter of fact, the onslaught of multinationals into Asia over the last 20 years and the concomitant rise of repressive developmentalist regimes in this region have contributed to the intensification of women's oppression and their marginalization in society.

In the Philippines, for example, the taking over of agricultural lands by agribusiness have transformed numerous peasant women into poorly paid plantation workers* Thousands have been driven to the cities to work as exploited domestic help or as cheap labour in foreign-owned factories and firms. Others, even less fortunate have ended up as commodities in a booming flesh trade that has gained international disrepute . Both the advertising and tourism industries have depicted and used women as sex objects. In cities and in the countryside, physical violence against women have increased in geometric proportions and in Metro-Manila, it has been reported that there is a rape committed every fifteen minutes.

Obviously under such circumstances, one cannot possibly ignore the need for women's struggle. There are powerful imperatives for the SCMs to participate in changing the situation of Women. What have SCMs done?

 

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II.    The SCM's Response

Over the last 15 years, SCMs have taken quite a long stride in responding to women's struggle. An HRD entirely devoted to the theme would have been quite unthinkable 15 years ago. In the first ALDEC, the forerunner of HRD in 1970, there were only 4 women participants in a group of 25! Today, the majority of HRD participants are women.

Apart from the more conscious attempts by SCMs to day to address themselves to women's issues, I think we should also note that the increasing participation of women in the leadership of the WSCF and the SCMs has been the result of the following factors;

1.   The women's liberation movement in the West, despite some of the negative aspects, has made a very positive impact in terms of raising public consciousness regarding women's oppression. If I remember correctly, it was within the North American and European SCM where women first demanded for greater female representation in membership and staff. By the early 70s, there were deliberate moves to ensure that there would be women staff workers. This was not achieved without much struggle and many accusations were hurled at the women by their male colleagues concerning the "diversionary" nature of women's lib. Women were accused of dividing the students' movements and diverting attention from more pressing issues* There were conflicts within SCMs regarding the importance of women's issues as they became more conscientized in relation to women's issues and women became clearer in their self-analysis. Involvement in the women's movement also became a training ground for women's leadership.

2.   In Asia, greater access to education by women has resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of female students in universities with considerable impact on the membership and composition of the SCMs. In Singapore, for instance, beginning with the early 70s, there has been a continuing trend towards female leadership and participation in the SCM. This has also been true of the Philippines SCM which often seems dominated by women.

3.   The UN declared Women's Decade, which will end this year, even if it has not accomplished much in terms of improving women's material conditions, it has helped to keep in the public mind the necessity to improve the situation of millions of women.

All of these factors have contributed in one way or another to the raising of the level of consciousness concerning women's problems.

Today, the WSCF has committed itself to involvement in the women's struggle by making it one of the four program thrusts of the Federation. SCMs in Asia have committed themselves to the appointment of national co-ordinators on women's programs and a number of consultations have already taken place to define the areas of focus and tasks involved in the women's struggle. I understand that currently there is a move to ensure that leadership at the regional and inter-regional levels will be equally shared by men and women.

 

1987 q3n414.jpg

 Theresa Carińo speaking at the HRD '85 programme

 

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Needless to say, on the national levels, SCM responses have varied depending on the region they are in as well as their historical, cultural and political contexts. Some regions still do not have female representatives to the Executive Committee. Some SCMs are dominated by female leadership while others are still traditionalistic in relegating women to support positions, such as being secretaries and treasurers.

Obviously, while SCMs have made some progress regarding women's participation in WSCF-SCM decision-making structures, these gains are not sufficient. Leadership training for women to enable them to participate effectively in the decision-making process is vital if we do not wish these structural changes to become mere tokenism. I wish to emphasize here the importance of political education. Unless women grapple with political issues and familiarize themselves with the interconnection between politics, economics and social issues, they will never be in a position to assert themselves in the public realm,

Reforming or changing of structures are essential in enabling women's participation in decision making -- particularly in areas which effect them. But change cannot stop there. The issues go beyond equality and participation. They are not structural or legal but also ideological. And unless the ideological issues are dealt with and overcome, structural changes run the danger of becoming tokenism. Thus, beyond structural changes, an important aspect of SCM work will be the conscientization of both men and women on women's issues. There must be a growing consciousness of the conditions and ideas that breed inequality and the subordination of women, if we are to change them. Transforming these conditions entail, no less, the transformation of society's images of women as passive and dependent. Structural and ideological transformation have to go hand in hand.

 

III.   STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE

There are two levels on which women's struggle has to be carried out:

1.   on the level of transforming exploitative and oppressive structures -- be it in the Church, the WSCF-SCM, Universities, etc. multinations, government institutions – there must be a change from hierarchical to participatory, democratic forms.

2.   on the level of ideas-consciousness-raising among women regarding their oppression and the myths, images and the socialising processes that reinforce women's subordination in society,

The WSCF should integrate women's struggle into the other areas of concern in which they are engaged. Thus, if the major concern is militarization, then there should be an attempt at understanding how women are affected by militarization. If the major concern is racism, then we should also be concerned about how racism oppresses women specifically.

We should also recognize that women belonging to different economic strata experience different degrees of oppression. Women in the lower classes are usually the most oppressed. Poverty reinforces discrimination based on sex. Therefore, in dealing with women's issues, we have to link this to economic inequality. Furthermore, the SCM should focus on issues concerning women who are the most oppressed. In other words, there are women who suffer from many layers of oppression and discrimination: there are women who are discriminated against on the basis of their sex, their race and their class. In the U.S., e.g. a black, working class woman is definitely much more oppressed than a white middle-class woman,

It is important for us to identify with those women who are the most oppressed and to build solidarity with them in their struggle. Here, I would like to suggest the kinds of women we should be working with: women workers, peasant women, urban poor women, migrant women from cultural minorities.

 

46

 

Regarding the kinds of strategies to be used, I think it is important to use a variety of methods and to organize or work at multiple levels. It is also crucial to always keep in touch with women at the grass-roots. Conscious-raising is necessary and basic in the women's struggle. It is important in:

a)   creating awareness of oppression and developing skills to cope with it in all its forms from outright physical violence against individual women to societal stereotypes of women as "emotional, weak, indecisive"...

b)   creating awareness of the risks involved in resisting oppression and developing both skills and solidarity to confront those risks (e.g. what to do if a rally you are attending is violently dispersed)

c)   developing and creating awareness of existing support mechanisms for those who struggle against oppression at micro and macro levels (e.g. in a restricted, authoritarian situation, women can form "non-political" groups which provide protection for activities that could become political in nature such as lawyers, researchers groups, businesswomen or consumers' group). The forms of support could also range from telephone hotlines (for battered wives) to feminist publications, lawyers* groups that give legal advice on divorce and human rights.

Building and sustaining leadership through leadership training programs, political education, exposure trips, learning through immersion in workers, peasant communities and understanding the situation of women from the oppressed classes.

Building alliances: It is vital to build a broad base of support — not only with other women but also with men. This includes alliances and coalitions with individuals, institutions, groups, political parties, trade unions through joint projects, conferences, publications.

Mobilizing for Mass action -- this is the most difficult to organize and to sustain. It depends very much on the political context in which it will be carried out. Moreover, conscientising and mobilising is difficult because women are divided by race, class and religion.

A crucial corollary to consciousness-raising is networking: Many women's groups involved in the struggle have realized the significance and the values of networking. Here, I am referring to networking at the national and international level and this also is where the WSCF's existing linkages will be an asset. Networking is important for the following reasons:

1.   it provides for the sharing of information, ideas, strategies, material resources and skills.

2.   it could provide media attention and publicity for an action outside the Country of origin both as a protection from government retaliation and abuse and as a means of letting people know what is happening -- including getting information back into one's own country via the media outside.

3.   women in different countries can co-ordinate their efforts and strategies on the same issue or on various aspects of the same issue as it affects them e«g» such as sex tours, multinational policies regarding birth control devices, migrant women etc.

4.   it provides psychological sustenance and strength that goes with being part of a world-wide struggle i.e. it builds up women's solidarity.

Clearly, there are many strategies and tactics open to the WSCF and SCMs as we further engage ourselves in the women's struggle. There are also many levels and areas in which we need to work. As a student Christian movement, the SCM by its very nature affected by and concerned with women's issues in the academe and in the church. Churches and educational institutions alike retain feudal and patriarchal structures that need to be challenged and changed. In most instances, they contribute to the perpetuations of a male dominated culture through their structures and socializing functions. SCMs need to support church women's struggle in developing a feminist theology just as they need to support reforms that will empower women to have a greater role in decision-making within church structures. Likewise, in the academe, the SCMs have the task of enabling women students to assert themselves in leadership roles, to explore and penetrate fields that hitherto have been exclusive to men, to expose educational instruments that have been used to perpetuate stereotypes of men and women and to undertake research , analysis on the conditions that subordinate women,

In all these activities, it is equally vital that there should be linkages with women who are the most oppressed in society – these would include urban-poor women, peasant women, migrant women, women workers, political detainees and women belonging to tribal minorities, I believe that it is only through engagement in the issues confronting these women who suffer from multiple layers of oppression that we can fully grasp the real meaning of women's struggle.

1987 q3n416.jpg

____________

Theresa C. Carińo -is the Director, China Studies Program, De La Salle University of the Philippines

 

 

47

 

Reports

 

INTER-MOVEMENT EXCHANGE

AGNES KOO

AILEEN LAM

 

PART I

 

Objectives

WSCF Asia/Pacific Region has good relationship with the United Ministries in Education. In 1986 we agreed to set up the Students Exchange Programme between WSCF Asia/Pacific and UME in order to share the visions, the missions and the main concerns of our own region with students and church workers in the U.S., thereby strengthening the ecumenical movement partnership and our mutual understanding of witnessing to life.

 

Introduction

From 20th December 1986 to 10th January 1987, three students from Asia were invited by the UME to attend its Student Conference organised by the Presbyterian Church USA, held in three different regions:

Eastern Region – Atlanta – attended by Ms. Agnes Khoo from Singapore Central Region – Kansas City –– attended by Mr. Alex K. Ginting Suka from Indonesia.

Western Region – Los Angles – attended by Ms, Aileen Lam from Hong Kong. All three conferences shared a similar theme which was:

No Longer Strangers

Visions of God's Peace with Justice

The three students were also given several exposure trips to various organisations and agencies at San Francisco after the Conference. Rev. William Ng, Director of UNITAS, a United Campus Ministry at University of Berkeley, California, was our host.

 

Part II

 

Main Concerns Arising from the Conference

Los Angeles: Obviously, from the inputs and workshops, the main concerns of the participants were the relationship and problems between the U.S, and Central America on border level, as well as relationship problems with friends, family and people in general, on the personal level.

The keynote speaker pointed out to the participants the injustice and violence that the U.S. military and the Reagan Administration were responsible for in Central America. He also brought to the awareness of the students the failure of the mass media in reporting the facts regarding these violations. As a result, there was some uneasiness among the students at the comments made by the speaker. It would seem that the students generally did not know much about the politics and violation of human rights in Central America.

Atlanta: On the whole, it was a fruitful experience as there were not only very frank and good inputs given by the resource persons but also a honest sharing among the participants, which made the meeting a truly memorable one for me. Although there were times during the conference when differences in opinions became very intense. Upon reflection, it showed that there were true exchanges of ideas between people who came from different parts of the country with different backgrounds and hence also with varying levels of social awareness.

 

48

 

The U.S. involvement in Central America was a pertinent issue raised again and again by both the resource persons and participants. It could be seen that although not all who came for the conference had a good understanding of the situation for instance, between Nicaraguan government, the U.S.-backed Contras and the Reagan administration, the relationship between the U.S. government and the El Salvadorians, the related El Salvador refugee problems in the country etc. Nevertheless there was a keen interest among the students to know more.

As implied by the theme "No Longer Strangers – Visions of God's Peace with Justice" the participants tried to grapple with the issue of Peace not only within their own country but also in the world at large, and the United States as one of the Superpowers. One of the main concerns of the students was the role of Christians in promoting peace especially as American citizens whose country's policies are affecting many parts of the world.

There were two South African keynote speakers who spoke about the Apartheid in their country and how the blacks are struggling to dismantle the oppressive structures instituted by the ruling white elites in their homeland. There was an earnest call to the participants to confront the U.S. involvement in the Apartheid issue, which later brought forth very intense discussions amongst the participants,

The paradoxical phenomena of poverty in the U.S., one of the richest, most industralised and advanced countries in the world, was also raised. The reasons, its implications on the society were also examined. We were also able to relate these problems to those confronting Asia due to the U.S. domination in our economy. It was difficult for the participants to understand and accept the fact that the third world countries are perpetually poor and dependent on the first world because of the economic, political and social imperialism of the later on the former. Especially when the media in the country hardly covers Asia and generally, the students have little knowledge of it.

 

Exposures:

We had a week of exposures together, mainly in San Francisco and Oakland after the conference. Apart from sightseeing amidst the busy schedules, we visited several churches, student and grassroot organistations. We were able to share with the leaders and workers in grassroot movements, human right groups, church and student organisations about their work, problems and concerns and vice versa.

 

Issues Arising from the Exposures

-     The homeless in the U.S. and the problem of poverty.

Through the mass media and the tourists from the United States, the Asians are often given the idea that the U.S. is the richest country in the world. However, the fact is, a rich country does not mean that all her citizens will be rich. No doubt, there are also homeless in the U.S. and poverty is a problem.

It was surprising to see so many homeless wondering in the streets, either begging for money, queuing for food at the 'soup kitchens' or congregating in parks. And most of them were young people who gave up working even though they were healthy and able bodied,

Though we do not have any research on the causes and statistical information on them, we had observed that the cost of living in U.S. is very high and if one is unable to obtain higher education that in turn provides for well-paid jobs it is difficult for him/her to maintain his/her life economically. Moreover, social problems commonly associated with urbanization such anomie, materialism, fast pace of living, competitiveness have prevented many younger ones from 'struggling' for their living.

-     Immigrant problems

In recent years the U.S. has seen a steep rise in the number of immigrants, especially Asians. Although the Latin

 

49

 

Americans who have either migrated or 'illegally* entered the U.S. also form a significant community. As we had more opportunities to interact with the Asian communities especially in Chinatowns, the discussion here shall only focus on them.

Most Asians migrated to the U.S. because of economic reasons (although these reasons are also in many ways related to the political situation in their respective countries). Thus, the preoccupation of these people is to 'make it' economically. Life for new immigrants is often tough, they usually have to start from scratch. They would occupy most of the lower-rung jobs in the society. Recently, the influx of Asians had given rise to tension with the Spanish communities who see them as the ones 'taking away their job opportunities'.

For most of the first generation immigrants that came directly from China or Hong Kong, the western culture seems to be very alienating. It is a total uprooting of oneself from one's cultural and social environment to another that is almost entirely opposite. Whilst for the younger ones they were able to adapt better to the American society. And as the generations go on, they are gradually acculturated into the society.

As racism exists almost everywhere in the world, manifesting itself in different forms in different contexts, America has her share too. Hence, one of the most pertinent issue confronting the non-white communities is the issue of racial discrimination. In some cases, this is successfully minimised, if not resolved through the efforts of both parties, in others, it becomes a social problem that gives rise to other types of problems. There are several groups and organisations that cater their services and actions to the migrant communities, some initiated by the migrants themselves, others established by social concerned groups and human rights organisations,

Apart from all these problems, there are certain things about the country which we appreciate very much too. First and foremost, the Freedom of Speech and Ideas, the Freedom to all sorts of Information, the Freedom to Organise and Take Actions without the fear of being persecuted or harassed. Generally, the American students have much more access to information and knowledge about their own country and the world at large. There are ample opportunities to different ideas and opinions on which they can make sound judgements. They enjoy the relative ease in organising actions under the banner of Democracy. Although this does not always mean that their actions would always have an effective impact on the problems. All these are certainly 'Priviliges' in life which the Asians generally do not enjoy because of our government's authoritarianism, intolerance towards any forms of oppositions to their power, internal strifes etc.

 

Reflection

We would like to thank the UME who gave us such an invaluable opportunity to learn from the students and Church workers whom we met at the conferences as well as during our exposures, their lives, concerns and their convictions. This also gave us a chance to share with them our lives, problems and beliefs as Asians. Despite the fact that we come from the two opposite sides of the globe, we were able to find commonalities between us. We hope that in future, UME and WSCF Asia/Pacific would continue to join hands in more exchange programmes between students of the United States and Asia. It is found that if the objective of the exchange is to increase the awareness of the people in the United States of the Asian realities, direct experiences of the former in Asia may be more effective, with carefully structured programmes and analysis. Whereas sending Asian students to the U.S. can also on the other hand enhance more extensive sharing of our concerns with the people in the U.S. We have a great deal to learn from each other and we hope that in the future, this ecumenical partnership will be strengthened with more cooperation and better understanding.

 

50

 

The Living World in Miniature

TONG MAN-YI, AMY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HRD community was a small living world. The twenty-six days we lived together was an interaction of people from fifteen countries. There was a feeling of friendship and also the inevitable conflicts and grievances.

I say the HRD community was a small living world because the personal experiences of the thirty participants made the community a representative of the world community. The problems that we faced were not only life-size but also dramatic. The women's issue, minority struggle and cultural discrimination came out in the discussions. The dramatic way in which the problems surfaced stimulated my awareness into a deeper perception, I became sensitive to such problems and also was able to learn more about Hong Kong from the questions that were raised at the presentation of the national report.

The most significant discussion was on women's issue. The discussion changed from being dull to an open hearted confession during the morning worship of 15th May. It was ignited by a male participant's reading of the scripture from Ephesians 5:22-32 concerning the role of husband and wife. The relevant passage stated that all wives should submit to the domination of their husbands. The participant later explained that he read it unintentionally nevertheless it was a fatal attack on the women. The morning session which was intended to be a workshop orientation session, became quite tense. Participants started to express their comments on the situation. Some male participants apologised and acknowledged their limited knowledge on the women's issues. After that, we entered into a more open-hearted discussion.

51

 

The event had its roots in the first and second women and men dialogues. In the first women K men dialogue on 8th May, the women participants felt that most male participants only discussed theoretically the women's issue but avoided to express their real feelings on it. We strongly felt that most male participants thought women's issues only concerned women and were not ready to be involved in the struggle. Some women participants felt the issue could not be discussed meaningfully if the attitude of the majority of the male participants remained as it was during the first dialogue. Consequently some of us organized and discussed ways to break the deadlock. During the second women and men dialogue, some male participants ridiculed our action of forming into small groups and deciding things privately.

We felt the male participants challenged our action because they suffered from the same fear as the oppressor. When the oppressed unite and strengthen themselves, the oppressor is brought to feel the pressure. Some of the male participants were believers in the ideology of a male dominated society, assuming the role of dominator and regarding the female counterpart as the weaker sex. We challenged them for having such a psychological fear of losing their control over the weaker sex. To question their fears we formed a small group for discussion. However we received no answer.

The tensions between the women and men participants which erupted during the "Worship incident" was defused after a sincere confession and discussion. The male participants then realized or at least made an attempt to understand the women's issues. They expressed they all had to involve to take action against the oppression of women. As a woman participant, I recognize the pain which they had to undergo especially to identify the women's issue as a human issue. This is because men are knowingly kept in a male dominated system. It is therefore difficult for them to move out of that system and challenge the system.

However, it is an important lesson to learn before we say that we fight together to build a more just and human society.

This incident was the turning point of the women's issue discussion. I do think that God works out plans in His own way. It is only after the tears, apology and confession that we gain understanding, knowledge and love. We had suffered but the suffering was worthwhile for we had learnt through the suffering. We sang the SCM solidarity song in the end and we embraced each other. I felt that we were much closer afterwards because I felt the courage and sincerity of each one of us in airing our grievances, confessing our apology and making plans of action. We are one family in God's name.

To learn surely is a painful process. In the HRD the male participants learnt to recognize the women's problem. I also learnt to be sensitive to other's problems, not only to the minority in the various countries but to the minority which we had created in our HRD community.

Another issue raised during the programme was the language problem of those participants who were not so good at English. The protest was initiated by the Taiwan and Japanese participants. It came in the form of a letter to all. They said that due to the participants speaking very fast in English, they could hardly understand what had been said in the open conferences and small group discussions. They felt that they were being regarded "as secondary in position to the better English speakers and in addition, not being accepted by the group.

The protest came as an ironic blow to all of us. We discussed minority struggles in our own countries and our efforts to fight for them. But at the same time, we created "minority" unintentionally. It is useless to talk about helping to release the oppressed people when we ourselves have created the oppressed ones. I realized their problem but

 

52

 

did not put any effort to help them. Though, I did not speak English very fast I was unable to slow down the speed of others. Many participants also expressed their apology and immediately tried to slow down their speed. The Taiwan participant said later that it was the first time he could understand clearly what the other participant said. We all laughed and the "language protest" was soon over. But the impact of the incident still left its print in my mind. I was then aware that my insensitivity had led to the suffering of others. It is just as we are blind to the suffering of the poor and deaf to the crying of the oppressed. I experienced in the event the importance of the sensitivity to the problems oŁ others, especially the problems of our neighbours.

The sound of protest did not subside after the "language protest", which came out in our multi-cultural conference. It continued with the white women participants who felt that they were being discriminated as "white". They felt that all their ideas and opinions were regarded as "western". As many Asian countries talked about western domination and exploitation, the white women participants feared that what they expressed was regarded as western to be imposed on the Asian participants. Therefore, the participants felt that they were not accepted by the others and their ideas were disregarded.

I do not know whether the other participants share the same feeling, but to me, I did not identify their ideas as "white" or "western". I regarded them as individuals and not particularly aware that they were "white women" expressing "western ideas".

Being aware of the differences in culture, we should at the same time try to break through the barrier. We must learn to accept people of other cultures as individuals and regard ourselves as individuals so that we can invite more open and intimate communication. It is no use talking about solidarity when we are so conscious of our own idea of being labelled as certain kind of people. We should accept others as individuals as v/ell as accepting ourselves as individuals disregarding culture, race and gender. It is then that we put ourselves in a more suitable position to fight for solidarity in the world.

In the HRD conference I did not only learn to be sensitive to other's problems but to the problems in Hong Kong. The national reports of the conference helped me to know more about the situation in the Asia/Pacific region as well as I was able to present the situation of Hong Kong through three recent issues; the 1997 Issue, the Dayabay Issue and the Public Law Ordinance Issue. In all the three issues, I emphasized the concern of Hong Kong' people about the communist domination. I also stressed that we were now fighting for a democratic system of government so that we could minimize the control of the Chinese Communist Party,

At the end of my presentation, I was asked why we seemed to be so critical of the communist rule while on the other hand, we did not criticize the colonial rule. Furthermore, when the democratic system of U.S. or Britain had revealed so many defects why did Hong Kong people, even the progressive groups still pursue for such a system? The questions really put me directly on the spot. I then answered by saying that the reason for our seemingly anti-communist attitude was largely due to the deeds of the Chinese Communist Party. Though the Party's ideals sounded appealing and just, when they were put into practice, it brought about hazardous effects. It climaxed in the turmoil of the ten years Cultural Revolution which ended in economic, political and cultural destruction of China. By now, we can still witness the oppression of the Communist Party through the limited freedom of speech and press and the wide-spread corruption under the Party system. It is the Chinese Communist Party which makes us distrust the Communist rule.

In response to our not criticizing the colonial rule, I had to acknowledge and accept the criticism. Under the colonial rule, we are born, educated and in a way benefit from the capitalistic system.

 

53

 

We are thus captured in a "colonial mentality" which makes us insensitive to the problems of colonial rule. Though, we are still kept in the "colonial mentality", I hope that in accepting the criticism, we are also brave enough to jump out from such mentality and criticise our own situation.

In regard to our struggle for democracy, I do feel that we are on the right track but we have to think more deeply on what we are fighting for. Are we fighting for a democratic system of government which has proved to be inadequate in many respects?

I hope that the lessons that I have learnt and the challenges that I have received can become the lessons and challenges for those who read and share my thoughts.

 

_____________

Amy is a SCMer of Hong Kong who attended the HRD '87 Programme at Bangkok

 

 

54

 

Wider Ecumenical Relations

 

25th Anniversary

"The University Christian Fellowship in Japan (UCFJ)"

 

The University Christian Fellowship in Japan (UCFJ) commemorated the 25th anniversary of its foundation in August at Tozanso, YMCA retreat center in Gotemba, near Mt. Fuji, 'vest of Tokyo. It was in August 1962, when the UCFJ had its first conference and began its activities. Since then the UCFJ has always been a supporting center of the Student Christian Movement in Japan, and the center for Christian professors who coped with the problems of universities as witnesses of Christian faith. It has also participated in Student Christian Movements in Asia, having attended to international and ecumenical meetings. The UCFJ is one of the few organizations of Christian professors, which was born in response to the call of the WSCE in the late 1950s, and which survived through many difficult years and still exist today in Asia,

The original body of the UCFJ was the Life and Mission of the Church Committee (LMCC), which was organized in 1962 by about 500 Christian professors in state , public and private universities and colleges, in order to carry out the WSCF's study project, called "The Life and Mission of the Church," in Japan. The nucleus of the LMCC was the members of the University Teachers Committee, which was organized by the national Student YMCA and YWCA after World War II. They gathered together to examine critically the Student Christian Movements before and during the war, to clarify the relation between Christian faith and scientific learning, and to answer the question as to what is the life and mission of the Church in universities and what are the tasks of professors and students as Christians. At the founding conference of the LMCC, Dr. D.T. Niles, General Secretary of the East Asian Christian Conference (EACC) and former Chairman of WSCF, and Dr. Valdo Galland, General Secretary of WSCF were present.

In principle, the UCFJ held two conferences in a year, one in the spring and another in the summer. Although each conference had different topics to discuss, basically there have been two questions throughout 25 years. The first question is. What is the Christian responsibility of professors and researchers in the university community? The second question is, how can one integrate academic pursuits and Christian faith? Both the Social Science and Natural Science groups have been very much concerned with the second question, and they have had several international conferences in connection with it,

In May 1964, the UCFJ was the host for the Asian University Professors Conference on "the Modernization of Asia and the Mission of the University," sponsored by the WSCF, which was held at Oiso, southwest of Tokyo In October 1967, the Asian Christian Social Scientists Conference, sponsored by the WSCF, was held at Gotemba. Its report was published under the tide of The Relevance of the Social Sciences in Contemporary Asia 1968, in which the uniqueness of Asian societies and the rapid change of societies by technology were pointed out. In the same year, one member of the UCFJ was invited to the Christian University Professors Conference in Taiwan. In August 1972, four members of the Korean Christian Faculties Fellowship (KCFF), including Prof. Suh Namdong, participated in the UCFJ conference. At that time the UCFJ and the KCFF officially established a sister-relationship. In December 1973, the Japan-Korean Natural Scientists Conference on "Natural Science and Faith" was held at Gotemba. Some members of the

 

55

 

UCEJ were invited to the KCEJ conference In Seoul in January 1974.

It was March 1982, when four members of the KCFF participated in the spring conference at Kyoto and raised questions about Japanese high-school history text books, which distorted the historical facts. Then an official open letter of the UCFJ to Asian friends was drafted and sent out in August 1982. As a result of this letter which expressed the UCFJ's deep concern about the issue, the Asian Christian Professors Conference sponsored by the KCFF was held at Kyonjung, Korea in January 1983, Dr. Mikio Sumiya and four other members of the UCEJ participated in the conference on "Understanding of History and Education of History," to which one professor from the Philippines and Hong Kong were invited.

In December 1983, the CCA sponsored a conference on "The Future : Science, Faith and Justice in Asia," at Manila, for which Dr. Keiiche Furuya of UCFJ and Dr. Kirn Yong Joon of the KSCF played leading roles in preparation. In March 1985, the CCA-WSCF Joint Consultation on "Critical Review of the Vision and Reality in Society" was held in Bangkok, which several members of the UCFJ attended, these were the main international and ecumenical conferences which the UCEJ directly participated in, though there were many other consultations and meetings which directly or indirectly involved the UCEJ.

 

1987 q3n417.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of the UCFJ celebrating their 25th Anniversary

 

The course of the UCEJ in the past 25 years has not been smooth and easy, and it is facing a problem of decreasing membership and a perception gap between professors and students in the Student Christian Movement. In order to improve the situation, the Graduate Student Christian Fellowship as a part of the UCFJ was organised in 1985, and it is expected that the GSCF may revitalize the UCFJ for the next 25 years. As many members of the UCFJ are interested in and concerned with the people of Asia, the UCEJ is looking forward to having more solidarity with fellow Christian scholars in Asian countries.

 

56

Poems

 

WHEN I SEE AN ANT NEXT TIME

 

I will not stare into

your feeble looking face

with a vengeful grin

on mine,

and squeeze your flaccid

sides ‘till the fluid

oozes out, leaving

you in fatal convulsive

fits,

feeling elated at my

mastery over things small,

for I too can be a

little ant to an Unseen One

and my own mocking cruelty

a rehearsal of an ironically

similar fate on me.

 

Christopher Jesudason

 

57

 

LAY I THERE

 

The field lay bare, naked and dry

And so did I.

The field lay sapped of its fertility

After it had yielded its productivity,

And so lay I

Shorn of my virginity

Then murdered for anonymity.

 

The papers apathetically read

"Found an unidentified body..."

But that is wrong,

My screaming spirit was my identity

In a female body meant for indignity.

 

When alive, blossoming and young

Men hovered around for sex and fun,

Now seeing me naked in the dust

They righteously decry...

"Such is the fate of those who lust."

 

It is an age-old accusation

For every woman's assassination,

But you have no sense or rationale

Those who accuse so openly

Are those who rape and murder secretly.

The field lay still, naked and bare

Also, lay I there.

 

Nargis Rachel

 

58

 

Regional Event

 

South East Asia Sub-Regional Workshop

 

The South East Asia Sub-Regional Workshop was held in Chiangmai, Thailand from 7th to 15th November, 1987. It was attended by participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

This programme on Movement Building was held under the CCA/WSCF Joint Programme. The Objectives were:

1)       To follow-up the CCA-WSCF Consultation Programme held in Manila, 16th - 21st March '87.

2)       To facilitate and motivate SCMs to build stronger links with churches and senior friends by planning national consultations in 1988-89.

3)       To share and exchange resources/experiences on Movement Building; including tools for understanding society.

4)       To identify commonalities and differences in the sub-region which will help towards building and strengthening inter -movement links between the SCMs.

 

1987 q3n422.jpg

 

59

 

News In Brief

 

STAFF VISITATION

Korea         - Briefly stopped over at Korea on the w»y to attend the Campus Ministers Conference in USA.

USA           - Visited the USA on the invitation of the United Ministries of Education (UME), to attend the National Campus Ministry Association's Annual Conference held from 31st July to 8th August.

Philippines  - Went to Manila September 28th to 30th to pay condolences to Liddy Nacpil on behalf of WSCF. Also joined in the funeral march along with thousands and thousands of people.

Singapore/Malaysia       - Visited SCM Singapore and Malaysia between 1 to 6th November,

Bangkok     - Carried out the South East Asia Sub-Regional Workshop in Chiangmai from 7th to 15th November.

 

INTER-MOVEMENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

This programme is supported by WCC-CICARWS. During the second half of 1987 the following availed of this opportunity :

Mr. Toshikun Takeda/Japan, Exco member of JSCM attended the Asia Alliance of YMCA's Leadership Conference in October.

Ms. Agnes Koo/Singapore visited Bangkok/Hong Kong/Bangkok during the months of July and August.

Mr., Wong Kai Shing/Hong Kong, staff person of SCM Hong Kong attended the Asian Ecumenical Course (AEC) sponsored by the CCA Education Desk in Karachi and Multan/Pakistan for three weeks. The theme of the programme was the "Mission of God and the Suffering and Struggling Peoples of Asia".

Ms. Caroline Booth/Australia attended the Ecumenical Leadership Training Course from 1st to 11th December '87, sponsored by the CCA Youth. This programme focused on Women's Issues.

 

AUSTRALIA SCM

ASCMers are preparing for their National Conference "Strangers in our Land: Racism, Christianity, Justice and 1988". This will be held in Healesville, Victoria from 29th December to 5th January,

 

BANGLADESH SCM

At their Executive Committee Meeting held on the 6th and .7th August, the members drew up plans for two years.

 

60

 

JAPAN SCM

Members have already started making plans for their Centenary Anniversary which will be held in 1988. Mr. Toshikikun Takeda, the Exco Member attended the Asia Alliance YMCA Leadership Conference held in Tozanso in October.

 

KOREA (KSCF)

In November a rally was held to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of KSCM, Over ?00 Christian students took part in the rally, resolving to end the military dictatorship . It was also decided to set up a 'National Student Christian's Corps' for fair election. So far, KSCF have published three issues of their English newsletter 'Confession and Praxis'.

 

TAIWAN SCM 

On November 15th members of 5 SCM groups in Kaohsiung went on an exposure trip to see how waste and pollution are being handled in their area. The trip was led by Hsiao Chia-Sheng of the City Department of Environmental Protection. Visits were made to a sewage treatment facility, a cement factory, a garbage dump and a landfill project at the seashore. This trip was organized by Huang Chao-hsin, the HRD '87 participant.

 

WSCF ASIA/PACIFIC REGIONAL WOMEN'S WORKSHOP

Theme  :     FACING CHALLENGES: SCM WOMEN IN ACTION AND SOLIDARITY

Date     :     28th December 1987 - 9th January 1988

Venue   :     India SCM House

29 CSI Compound

II Cross, Mission Road

Bangalore 560027

India