POULOSE MAR POULOSE
BISHOP, CHURCH OF THE EAST
CHAIRPERSON,
WORLD STUDENT CHRISTIAN FEDERATION
Residence: Metropolitan's
House Trichur 680 001 Tel 20978 |
WSCF Inter-Regional Office Ecumenical Centre 5 route des Moreillons 1218 Grand Saconnex Tel (022) 98 89 53 |
MESSAGE
On the auspicious occasion of the 75th anniversary
of the Student Christian Movements of India,
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.
3
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,
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
4
World Student Christian. Federation Ecumenical
Centre 5, route des Morillons 1218 Grand-Saconnex |
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,
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 |
5
General
Assembly Mission Board
(404) 873-1531
PERSONAL LOOKING BACK ON
THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS OF
INDIA, PAKISTAN & CEYLON
I. Student
Days in
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
SCM stood for
Society for Courtship and Marriage
SCM stood for
Society for Collecting Money.
Having come a long way from
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
6
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
II. 1948
In 1946 some of the Asian SCM delegates at Oslo
7
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
Within
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
8
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
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
9
revealed.
Other Gods
How far has nationalism in
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
10
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
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
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
11
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
a) arranging
a WSCF conference in Agape,
b) The Third
world Conference of Christian Youth in
c) following
the world Conference there was a WSCF conference in
d) then the
WSCF General Committee in
During the WSCF Conference in Tambaram,
the General Committee of the SCM of India,
IV. 1954-19S1
This was a period of change for the SCM's in
At the end of 1954 we had the last of the Triennial
Conferences of the united SCM of India,
12
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
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
During the period in
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
13
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
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
14
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
15
Christian
Conference of
10 New Industrial Road *05-00 Singapore 1953.
Tel: 286-1511
Cable:
MEMORIES
My memories go back to the period 195D-1961 when I
was closely associated with SCM. Alleppey is a
coastal town in
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
16
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
17
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
Tel. (022) 916111
Telex 23 423 OIK CH
Cable: OIKOUMENE
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
That was why we chose for the Triennial Assembly of
the SCMs of India and
18
The 1968 EACC Bangkok
Assembly had spoken of the "need for dynamic Christian presence in
Beginning with the
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
19
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.
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
Mr. Kenataro Shiozuki - WSCF Secretary in
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
Mr. M. E. Prabhakar
- Subsequently General Secretary of SCM of
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
My personal acquaintance with some of these leaders
had a profound impact on my thought processes and interests. Their inspiration
and
20
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,
1.
Luther D. Wishard, the
first full-time Secretary of Student YMCA utilized
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.
21
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,
22
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
23
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
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.
24
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
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
The
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
While Mott visited Madras in 1896 as
25
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
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
The year 1947 brought many changes in the SCM as
well as to the new nations,
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
26
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,
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
The national office of
_____________
Reproduced from Aikyatha
- adapted from different sources
27
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
The socio-economic and political situation in
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.
28
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
29
ROBINSON ASGHAR
The tragic events in
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
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
30
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.
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
31
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
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...." (
Jesus the footwasher -
the symbol of power
32
(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
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
33
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.
_____________
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
34
PAKDEE WATTANACHANTARAKUL
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.
35
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
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?
____________
Meditation delivered at the Closing Worship
of HRD '87 by Rev. Pakdee Wattanachantarakul,
Senior Friend and Counselor of Thai SCM
36
(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
"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.
37
"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 '
"Lean and I may have
been both in the
38
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
39
Juliet Tan was 24 when she died in a plane crash in
Juliet, born on 2nd May 1963, had just completed a
year's study course on Women's Studies at the
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
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,
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.
_____________
Dedicated by SCMers and Senior Friends of
40
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
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!
_____________
This Testimony was delivered by SCMP during the Ecumenical Mass for Lean, September 21,
1987, at the UP Chapel,
41
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.
42
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
In
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.
43
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
In the
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?
44
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
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
Theresa Carińo
speaking at the HRD '85 programme
45
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
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.
____________
Theresa C. Carińo
-is the Director,
47
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
Introduction
From 20th December 1986 to 10th January 1987, three students
from Asia were invited by the
Eastern Region – Atlanta –
attended by Ms. Agnes Khoo from Singapore Central
Region – Kansas City –– attended by Mr. Alex K. Ginting
Suka from
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
Part II
Main Concerns Arising from the Conference
The keynote speaker pointed out to the participants
the injustice and violence that the
48
The
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
The paradoxical phenomena of poverty in the
Exposures:
We had a week of exposures together, mainly in
Issues Arising from the
Exposures
- The
homeless in the
Through the mass media and the tourists from the
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
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
Most Asians migrated to the
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,
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
50
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
56
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
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
The South East Asia Sub-Regional Workshop was held
in
This programme on
1)
To follow-up the CCA-WSCF Consultation Programme
held in
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
4)
To identify commonalities and differences in the
sub-region which will help towards building and strengthening inter -movement
links between the SCMs.
59
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
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.
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,
At their Executive Committee Meeting held on the 6th
and .7th August, the members drew up plans for two years.
60
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.
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
WSCF ASIA/PACIFIC REGIONAL WOMEN'S
WORKSHOP
Theme : FACING
CHALLENGES: SCM WOMEN IN ACTION AND SOLIDARITY
Date : 28th December 1987 -
9th January 1988
Venue :
29 CSI Compound
II Cross,