wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Christians begin to rebuild their lives in Orissa

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World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 07/10/2009 16:43:43

CHRISTIANS BEGIN TO REBUILD THEIR LIVES IN ORISSA

Christian villagers are rebuilding their lives and relationships
more than a year after being attacked by a group of Hindu
extremists in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) Living Letters (
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)team travelled recently to Kandhamal, Orissa in solidarity with
the victims of the violence that broke out following the murder
of the hard-line Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, 23
August 2008.

The team of eight representatives from churches around the world
visited one of the remaining Christian-supported relief camps in
the Kandhamal region. They were also welcomed by Christian Pano
Dalits and Kandho tribals on land recently demarcated as the site
of a new village.

Living Letters are small ecumenical teams visiting a country to
listen, learn, share approaches and challenges in overcoming
violence and in peace making, and to pray together for peace in
the community and in the world.

Dalit and tribal Christians told the group how their homes were
burned to the ground and their loved ones murdered when an
organized mob terrorized the region in the days following the
killing of the radical Hindu leader by Maoists. Thousands of
people were forced to flee to the forest before they found
shelter in government-run relief camps, which quickly turned
squalid.

"I lost my husband in the attack," said Lurdu Mary, 50, from
Raikia in Kandhamal. “My sons are alive but they are not with me
because they had to flee. The mob came and smashed and looted our
house."

Hindu extremists destroyed 500 churches, 126 Christian shops and
5,000 homes leaving 50,000 people homeless. Christian schools and
hostels were also attacked. Refugees fled to the nearby towns of
Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Jharsuguda as well as to the
southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

"We have been providing blankets, saris and mosquito nets to the
relief camp nearby," said Sam Naik, director of Happy Valley
Children’s Home in the Kandhamal district. "We had two medical
camps also. The people in the camp have the hope that once the
government pays compensation, they are going to rebuild their
houses and settle down in their villages. They are very strong in
faith and have continued to hold worship."

Some of the homeless told the Living Letters team that they had
begun to rebuild their homes, but added they were afraid to
return to their villages permanently in case of further attacks.
The refugees had been told that unless they renounced their
Christian religion, the extremists would not allow them to
return.

>Churches help in reconstruction efforts

"Many groups have responded to the crisis situation, including
the government, but I think the churches have done a lot," said
Rama Hansraj from Catholic Relief Services. “Much work has been
done in the district to help the victims go back home."

The Living Letters team also met with the Orissa United
Christian Forum at the Stewart School in Bhubaneswar, and the
Utkal Christian Council in Berhampur.

"By God’s grace, the situation is calming down in Kandhamal and
work is in progress," said Bishop Samson Das of Cuttack Diocese.
Authorities are taking control. But there are still villages
where peace and harmony has to be worked out."

The cost of reconstruction of one destroyed house is estimated
at 82,000 rupees. Although the Indian Government has committed
50,000 rupees per destroyed house and 20,000 rupees per partially
destroyed house, the forum reported that not all victims had
received the money legally entitled to them.

The Orissa United Christian Forum has committed to providing a
further 30,000 rupees per destroyed house. Forum members reported
that 300 houses had already been rebuilt with the churches’ aid.

Father Manoj Kumar Nayak from the Bhubaneswar Archdiocese said a
committee had been set up in every village to ensure rebuilding
work was completed. Father Ajaya Kumar Singh from the Kandhamal
Response Programme said legal work was continuing in order to
ensure justice was done in the courts and witnesses were
protected.

Das added: "So far we have committed to financing 30,000 rupees
to 3,000 houses. We will be able to commit to the remaining 2,000
houses in the days to come. The legal aspect is a huge challenge
for us."

Ecumenical organisations and NGOs have also started running
community projects designed to foster amicable relationships
between Hindus and Christians in Kandhamal. Christian and Hindu
children have once again begun playing with each other in some
villages.

Living Letters team members: 

Ms Karen Burke, media officer, Methodist Church in Britain 
Bishop Dr G. Dyvasirvadam, Church of South India 
Ms Diana Fernandes dos Santos, Methodist Church in Brazil,
moderator of the WCC youth commission Echos 
Rev. Edwin Makue, general secretary, South Africa Council of
Churches 
Rev. Gerard Willemsen, regional director for Asia, Mission
Covenant Church of Sweden

WCC and NCC staff: 

Rev. Rajbharat Patta, National Council of Churches in India 
Rev. Dr Deenabandhu Manchala, WCC programme executive for Just
and Inclusive Communities 
Mr Mark Taylor, intern, WCC Programme for the Ecumenical
Movement in the 21st Century

"Indian Christian leaders call for an end to caste-based
discrimination, also within churches":
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/indian-christian-leaders.html

Living Letters visit to India:

http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/peace-convocation/living-letters-visits/india.html

Photo gallery:

http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/news-and-events/photos/visit-to-india.html

WCC member churches in India:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/india.html

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland.