Descendants of Slaves Find a New HomeAfter many years in a refugee camp on the border of Kenya and Somalia, about 12,000 Somali Bantu refugees are now being resettled into the United States. The Bantu are descendants of persons taken into slavery from Malawi, Tanzania, and Mozambique around the turn of the 18th century. Hereditary farmers, they eventually settled into Somalia's arable regions along the Juba River. Physical differences from other Somalis set them apart and allowed them to be treated as second-class citizens, preventing them from gaining access to schools, land ownership, and political representation. After the civil war in Somalia they had no possibility of returning to the land they did not own and consequently they spent over 10 years in a refugee camp, until the United States decided to resettle them. The Purse of IndependenceJudi Edmunds of Chalice Christian Church in Gilbert, Arizona tells of her congregation's experience with a Somali Bantu family as follows: "My neighbor cleaned out her closet and gave me a purse and a pair of shoes for the refugee woman Chalice Christian Church is sponsoring -the twenty-seven-year-old single mother of two little daughters who has lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for twelve years – the young woman who went out each day to gather firewood risking attack or abuse on the way – the Somali Bantu whose ancestors came out of slavery into second-class citizenship in Somalia – the woman who became a refugee when war broke out in the '90's – the woman who became a widow when her discouraged and depressed husband left her and was subsequently killed – the refugee who arrived in this country two weeks ago with her two children and half a shopping bag full of belongings. "Chalice Christian Church (a brand new congregation in Gilbert, Arizona, 60-some members including Winter Visitors, meeting in a school building, exploring who it is and what its place in the community should be) has heard the call to refugee resettlement and defined that ministry as an integral part of its identity. Having already resettled an Amerasian Vietnamese family and a single Iranian man, we waited for the Somali Bantu to be approved for resettlement. We experience a close relationship with other Disciples congregations in the Valley, especially our parent congregation Community Christian Church in Tempe, who has participated vigorously with us in the resettlement mission! They contributed significantly to furnishing the apartment and helping with needed services. All the practical, survival-level things were provided for this little family who had lived without electricity or plumbing and came to this urban apartment amidst the wealth of America from an agrarian background. "So we took the purse and the shoes with us when we went to visit on Sunday afternoon. The children were shy and quiet. They sat on our laps and licked the lollipops we had brought. With no common language, communication occurs largely by pantomime. Using a baby doll the girls had been given, we pointed out how it opens and closes its eyes, and taught the words 'open' and 'closed.' Looking around for other things to demonstrate 'open' and 'closed,' I picked up my purse, opened it and closed it. Then I asked the young mother if she had a purse. The answer was: 'No.' I went out and got the purse and shoes. She slipped on the shoes. Then she swung the purse onto her shoulder and stood up. Smiling broadly she sashayed a couple of steps. She laughed and opened the purse, examining every section. Female instinct took over. Now she was a modern American woman! She could shop. She could 'fit in.' She could look professional at agency appointments and even eventually job interviews. She ran to the bedroom and found her and the girls' medical cards in a sack and brought them out and placed them in Her Purse. She had taken one more step toward assimilation and independence." A Sign of God's CovenantFirst Christian Church in Rowlett, TX, was the first Disciples congregation to sponsor a Somali Bantu family. Tom Sellers, a member of that congregation, wrote: "I first heard of the opportunity to help a refugee family in church. Attending church, you put yourself in a very vulnerable position for God's gentle persuasion. Debby Bobbitt, our Outreach Director, simply asked if I would help sponsor a refugee family. It was a simple direct question, which I agreed to. In the light of Monday, I would ask myself why I agreed. I wrote down all my doubts and questions for our first meeting. In the meeting my questions were mostly met by faith, hope, and charity. I was really hoping for fact, bird in the hand, and charity in hard cash. I would be reminded that we have a faith that will accommodate both. "The congregation really pulled together in helping set this family up in style in their new 2-bedroom apartment. The Munyadi family arrived on Labor Day weekend in the last week of August -our church had waited through the long summer with on again, off again rumors of their arrival, but now they were finally here! The children (Amadi, Hussein, Sharifa, and Fatuma) were ready to have their travels come to an end. Holiyah, the wife, and Yussef, the husband, were glad to be settled in America. Yussef surprised us with quite a bit of English and Holiyah could properly pronounce hello and I am fine. "Debby reported that upon the first appointment to the clinic they learned that Holiyah was expecting. They thought she had maybe 2 or 3 months. They were quite shocked to learn she was due in January and even doubly shocked when she gave birth to a boy in the first part of December! It was fortunate that they happened to have Holiyahs' baby shower the weekend before the new baby arrived. Holiyah apparently had never been to a Disciples shower before. And Debby had a dickens of the time trying to convince the Dad that this was for girls and that he would need to baby sit the boys, at home. They had the traditional cake and presents and decorations. Hoilyah's cake had a stork on it with a baby hanging in a blanket. Debby told her that that was how babies came! She looked at Debby like she had just fallen off a turnip wagon. And all during the shower she could hardly take her eyes off of that stork. It wasn't long until Omar was born. "Looking back on the night I was to pick up the Munyadi family from the airport, I feel that God gave me a sign that put everything in the right perspective. I was waiting at the church in the late evening. It was the fall of last year when red Mars was shining so brightly in the Southeast sky. I was alone and wondering somewhat what I was doing here. I went outside to see Mars. After locating Mars, I looked to the opposite part of the sky and in the distance saw a thunderhead building up into a cumulus of rain and lightning. You could see the lightning strike through it. I was immediately reminded of the pillar of fire by night that led the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. To my imagination I saw the House of Mars representing war and violence from where the Munyadi family was leaving, and in the opposite way the guidance of God to a better place they had chosen. It was a synchronicity of Heaven, and the faith of a refugee family coming together. I wonder if this really is the Promised Land for them, and for us. I know that will depend on the future choices we make. But I believe that God has made an everlasting covenant with us, and we have hope." Judi Edmonds is a member of Chalice Christian Church in Gilbert, Ariz. Tom Sellers is a member of First Christian Church in Rowlett, Texas. |
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