Title: Opportunity Possible In Lebanon, According to ELCA-Supported Ministry ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 18, 2006
Opportunity Possible In Lebanon, According to ELCA-Supported Ministry 06-126-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Although fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah has ravaged and immobilized southern Lebanon, the Contact and Resource Center (CRC), Beirut, has managed to continue its mission of bringing together Christians, Muslims and others to meet the needs of people living with disabilities who are left vulnerable, physically and emotionally, in Lebanon.
An institution founded in response to a 16-year civil war in Lebanon that ended in 1991, the CRC works to enhance the quality of life and secure a better future for people living with disabilities. Among its many ministries, the CRC -- a companion ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) -- has sponsored reconciliation dialogues, which have brought together Christians and Muslims, disabled and able-bodied, to share their hopes for themselves and their country's future. The CRC was founded by a Lutheran missionary in 1978.
"We have lived together, and we want to live together. Please realize that, in Lebanon, there is an opportunity for (all) to live together, for walking the road together, for not judging the other. I think the world is taking sides, and I don't think a Christian should take sides," said Agnes Dagher- Wakim, director of the CRC. In the midst of the current turmoil, there remains opportunity for the people of Lebanon and the rest of the world "all (to) live on one side," she said.
"People come in all shapes and sizes and in all religions," said Dagher-Wakim, who spoke from Beirut in an Aug. 15 conference call with the ELCA News Service. With sounds of children playing in the background, a tearful Dagher-Wakim said, "I think all Muslims are good people. Christians are good people. But sometimes people judge from afar by (the) actions of a few. It is not a time to judge whether a Muslim is a terrorist or not. There is an opportunity here," she said. "This is the most important time for the CRC to proclaim" a message of love, "where our actions do more than our words."
According to Dagher-Wakim, 70 percent of the people who are suffering in southern Lebanon are Muslims. "This is not a civil war. Christians and Muslims are not fighting. It is not their fight. It is mostly Muslims who are being persecuted, and I say persecuted because I am here, and I know what is happening," she said. "When a whole building is destroyed," a high percentage of those killed "are children. This is persecution. You can't imagine the horror of parents carrying their dead children. The world doesn't see this. The world only sees people with beards, and people who are beating their breast with fists and shouting."
On Aug. 15, ELCA International Disaster Response reported that most of the casualties in southern Lebanon "have been innocent civilians."
"According to Reuters news, at least 1,100 people have been killed in Lebanon, about 90 percent of whom are civilians. The United Nations says that about one-third of those killed or injured are children under the age of 13. More than 100 Israelis, most of them soldiers, have been killed," said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, international leadership development, ELCA Global Mission.
"One-fourth of Lebanon's population is displaced from their homes, of which an estimated 128,000 have taken shelter in public schools and institutions, causing a humanitarian crisis. Many are now attempting to return to their homes, some to see if their homes still exist after massive bombardments," said Ishida.
Dagher-Wakim said many Muslims who fled the south are being received into Christian homes with love. "That is why I'm saying that it is time to walk together. This is the time to walk (together on) the road to Golgotha, stay together until (the) crucifixion and remain together for three more days until resurrection happens. This is the time for us to proclaim love, but it is going to take a lot of patience and hard work," she said.
"Now that the cease-fire is holding and people are beginning to move around the country, CRC will begin to move more freely where needed," the Rev. Said Ailabouni, director for Europe and Middle East, ELCA Global Mission, told the ELCA News Service. Ailabouni participated in the conference call.
"Up to this point the roads were blocked due to bombed-out bridges, and availability of gasoline was very limited. So, basically, CRC operated in a limited way by phone. Agnes was in constant contact with her staff and regular clients by phone. No one up to this point was moving around. They were all trying to stay safely indoors. The country was paralyzed and at a standstill," he said.
Since the conflict between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah started on July 12, ELCA International Disaster Response has sent $45,000 to the CRC. It also sent $50,000 July 17 to support relief work in Lebanon through Action by Churches Together (ACT) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). ELCA Global Mission provides financial support to the CRC.
Coordinated by ELCA Global Mission, International Disaster Response channels its funds through international church organizations and relief agencies. Funds provide for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials for survivors of disasters.
MECC is a member of ACT -- a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Geneva. The ELCA is a member of ACT, the LWF and WCC.
At the end of the call, Ailabouni told Dagher-Wakim that she and the staff of the CRC are "the eyes of Jesus. You are the hands of Jesus, you are the heart of Jesus, and you are the feet of Jesus. And, the love of Jesus pours out from you to all of these people. And, they see Jesus in you. May that Jesus, who is alive, bring life to your country, to the people -- Muslims, Christians, Jews and everybody -- and to the region, because (the conflict) needs to come to an end. This is just madness. In the 21st century to think that people still cannot resolve things through diplomacy. They have to use this awful violence. So, please share our love with the people you visit and talk with," he said.
The CRC is "people with lots of inner strength and stamina to do what the Lord wants them to do, lovingly and calmly, but sometimes loud so that people can hear. The CRC always has its eyes on God's mission," said Dagher-Wakim. - - -
Information about the Contact and Resource Center is available at http://www.ELCA.org/countrypackets/lebanon/crc.html on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news