World Refugee Day - All Africa Conference of Churches Statement
Below is a statement from the All Africa Conference of Churches in regard to the UN World Refugee Day that will be marked here on Thursday 21, 2007 with the donation of gifts to a group of refugee women who have come together and beaten the odds. There also will be a service to mark the same.
Brenda Otindo Communications Officer
AACC infodesk@aacc-ceta.org
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Leaders of AACC member churches, Our Partners,
ON June 20th, the world will commemorate the 6th anniversary of the United Nations World Refugee Day. For the Church in Africa, it will be an opportunity not only to reflect on the plight of refugees and the causes of their exile but to also celebrate their determination, hope and courage. As the Church in Africa, we have learnt a lot from the refugees in our midst and are grateful to the Almighty for all the blessings they brought to our communities. The World Refugee Day is a time for us to take stock and ask ourselves if we have been able to remain the ¡§Church of the Stranger¡¨ that our Lord Jesus-Christ wants us to be. ¡§I was a stranger and you invited me in ¡K whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers, you did for me. (Matthew 25: 36 ¡V 40)¡¨ The theme of this year celebration is topical, relevant and timely to our biblical mandate: ¡§New home, New Life¡¨. Refugees in our midst turn to us expecting to have a new home that will allow them to start a new life. While recognizing a decrease in the number of refugees worldwide, the Church in Africa is still concerned about the refugee population of Africa as of December 31, 2006: ?« Central Africa and the Great Lakes: 1,119,360 ?« East and Horn of Africa: 857,730 ?« West Africa: 273,050 ?« Southern Africa: 187,690 ?« North Africa: 98,300 amounting to 2,536.130 refugees out of the global number of 9,894,480. Alongside refugees, Africa is battling with 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons of the world¡¦s 6.6 million IDPs. Most of the refugees are unable to return home even after wars and conflicts that set them on the move. These figures should challenge the Church to deal not only with the consequences of uprootedness but also the causes that are political, economic, social, environmental, etc so as to allow every African to contribute to the rebuilding and renaissance of the continent. The All Africa Conference of Churches commends the long commitment of the Church in Africa in assisting refugees and trying to give them a better life and should continue to voice its concern at everything that may create more refugees or hinder their smooth integration in the local communities and/or repatriation. Furthermore, the churches should engage their respective governments on how to look for a long term solution to the refugee crisis. Every African is a potential refugee. Let us extend our solidarity and love to the refugees in our midst and celebrate their courage and determination in rebuilding a new life. Let us honor them for the qualities they have and for what they bring to us.