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Image: Reflections on Jesus, food and hunger

12/08/2022

This short reflection was taken from Caritas internationalis and used at a Glasgow Catholic Worker round table discussion entitled 'Going to bed hungry in the UK'.  


Poverty is in some ways a kind of violence. We can say that its strongest expression is hunger. Let’s not forget that some political, economic and even humanitarian actors don’t hesitate to use poverty, and its most violent expression of hunger, as a “resource” for their own advantage. They use it like a business asset, as a means of illegal enrichment, of dominating and subjugating entire populations. In my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, I remember that in order to subdue the students who were demonstrating against the corruption and dictatorship of his regime, President Mobutu cut off their grants and closed down all the university dining halls.

…We must refuse to accept poverty and hunger as an inevitability and not give in to the temptation that there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve often heard things like: “We’ll always have the poor among us.” These words borrowed from Jesus sound like an appeal to not get involved, but are rather an invitation to refuse the status quo, to fight until no child, woman or elderly person is deprived of sufficient, nutritious quality food. Jesus accepts no justification for letting someone go hungry. We recall his answer to the apostles when they adopted a defeatist attitude before a crowd of people whom the Lord had asked them to feed. He didn’t hesitate to tell them: “You yourselves must give them something to eat.” (Mt 14,13-21). – Father Pierre Cibambo, Caritas Internationalis, Rome
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It’s us the Lord is speaking to today: “You give them something to eat”, and he knows we have the wherewithal to do so! He says to us: You who are my disciples, don’t abandon them to their fate. Do something, you have the wherewithal to do so. Stretch your imagination and be creative. Work ceaselessly and share what you have. Fight selfishness and don’t waste anything. Protest so that the exploitation of the most vulnerable comes to an end. Demand that a stop be put to the monopolisation of land by the rich. Give the poor, women and farmers the know-how and tools they need to produce, process and sell the products of their land, etc. Do the same as God, who is always interested in our daily bread: from the offering of bread in the Temple to the breaking of bread in Emmaus, from the manna of the exodus to the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the Lord has always paid attention to human hunger. May this campaign also help us to rediscover and go deeper into the mystery of the Eucharist. The Lord left us this memorial – which he wanted to remain vitally present among us through the symbols of bread and wine – for a reason. Since then, we cannot break Eucharistic bread or become communities that celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament of communion and alliance, without doing our utmost to give back dignity to our brothers and sisters deprived of sufficient, good-quality food. Indeed, the Eucharist is the expression par excellence of God’s compassionate, merciful and redeeming love. –Cardinal Oscar Andrès Cardinal Maradiaga, President of Caritas Internationalis



Image: 2022 FIRESIDE TALES…CIRCLES

15/07/2022

We are pleased to share this latest update from Calais where Alex Holmes volunteers with destitute asylum seekers. Blog 


Fireside, Calais. The Eritrean Stadium camp. There’s a strong north wind, and channelled by the high security wall, it drives the smoke horizontally southwards. A game of draughts is underway, an intense and silent focus. Outwitting the opponent. ‘You want tea or coffee’ asks the ever-smiling Sheshy placing the kettle on the grid above the flames. The black skin of his hand is marked by a vivid rose-pink scar from a burn last year. I remember his bandaged hand. Seeing the scar tissue has caught my attention, his grin broadens, ‘I like this, it’s a good memory…I don’t like things to be easy, I prefer when there are problems’. He strategically lays more wood on the fire. ‘Tomorrow they will stop bringing you wood because it’s May’ I tell him. ‘Maybe!’ comes the instant comic retort from Negus, sharp-witted, the convincing yarn-spinner. ‘Watch this!’ Negus leaves the fireside, grabs the bike leaning against the security wall, and mounting it backwards like a circus performer, he sets off with a grin on his face. Completing a wide circle, he dismounts, does a little bow, drops the bike and returns to the fireside. ‘It’s like your government; we want to face forwards, they make us look backwards, push us back to Africa, to Rwanda.’ Since the UK government’s April announcement*, the word ‘Rwanda’ has been a staccato fire cracker in the flow of Tigrinya, repeated again and again and again. It needs no translation. In the pauses, in the silence, it’s the ticking of a time bomb. And then questions, questions: Is it safe to go to UK? What is the news about Rwanda? Is it true or not true? ‘If they send me to Rwanda’, declares Sheshy, ‘I will go back to Eritrea and live like we do here in Calais, hiding, in secret’. For Yoel, it is darker: ‘If they send me to Rwanda, I will kill myself.’

Another bike is propped against the security wall. A bulging rucksack is attached to the cargo-rack, plastic bags hang from the handle bars. The bike is Moustapha’s. Sitting fireside, downwind, his eyes water from the smoke, yet despite repeated invitations to move his seat, he resolutely stays put. A small white globule has formed in the tear duct of each eye. He’s an Arabic speaker from somewhere in the Middle East but apart from his name, nothing more is known. Negus tells me he has given them 40 euros. It is Ramadan and zakat is required of Muslims, the charitable giving of money to those who are less well-off. Some of the guys at the fireside speak Arabic and it’s explained to Moustapha that the camp is only for Eritreans. Offering to show him another Calais refugee camp where he can sleep, Osman sets off with Moustapha. Minutes later, they’re back. Moustapha looking bemused, returns to his fireside seat in the full flow of the wind-driven smoke. Once more his eyes begin to run.

There’s a sudden blast of traditional Eritrean music, the legendary Yemane Barya. Sheshy, now the DJ, has linked his phone to his speaker. ‘You like this? Listening to music is the only way I can sleep at night’. Negus chips in, ‘I listen to Mozart to get to sleep. Eine kleine nachtmusik is the best. I like Beethoven too.’ He mouths the famous opening motif of Beethoven’s 5th symphony, da-da-da-dumm, da-da-da-dumm.  ‘During the Second World War it was your symbol for victory, V for victory. Da-da-da-dumm. Never give up!’ And as if to illustrate this, he leaves the fireside, picks up the bike and once more mounts it. This time he faces forward and spirals out in ever widening circles. He raises one hand and makes the V for victory sign. ‘Da-da-da-dumm, da-da-da-dumm. We never give up!’

*14 April 2022; UK Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a plan to relocate to Rwanda ‘those arriving illegally into the UK’ https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretarys-speech-on-uk-and-rwanda-migration-and-economic-development-partnership 



Image: Cost of living crisis: the hidden cost

08/07/2022

As the cost of living crisis is at the forefront of people's minds right now. Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Scotland, have put together this piece for us in response to many requests from churches in Scotland wondering what they can do to respond.


Over the last couple of years many of us have experienced what it’s like to feel trapped and lonely. Through lockdowns and periods of self isolation we’ve been cut off from friends, family and loved ones. We’ve experienced the impact on our mental health and wellbeing from periods of uncertainty and isolation. 

For many of us, the easing of COVID restrictions in Scotland meant an end to isolation, but for thousands of low income households struggling with problem debt and poverty, the isolation and loneliness they feel is actually getting worse due to the cost of living crisis and mounting debts.

At Christians Against Poverty (CAP) we are seeing a concerning upward trend in the impact that low income and problem debt is having on households throughout Scotland. In a recent survey, we discovered that 60% of our clients have felt lonely often or always. Over two thirds (68%) were scared to answer the phone, more than half (55%) were too afraid to answer the door and 40% were too afraid to leave their home. Worryingly, the proportion who thought no one could help them has increased from 34% to 43%.

Right now we know many people are feeling isolated, scared and forgotten as they struggle alone with their debts, not aware of the free help available. Too many remain trapped in debt as they are too embarrassed or ashamed to tell anyone, even those closest to them. 

At CAP we have a network of community based Debt Centres based in local churches throughout Scotland. Through our Debt Centres we provide free, professional, person-centred debt help to anyone who needs it. 

Debt can happen to anyone, an income shock, a sudden change in circumstances, can push people into unexpected debt. At CAP Scotland, the main causes of debt that we see are low income, mental ill-health and relationship breakdown. In Scotland, the average annual household income for CAP clients is less than half of the UK average. Without a debt solution, the average repayment term in Scotland is a staggering 43 years - something that simply isn’t sustainable. 

Even before the pandemic, over 1 million people in Scotland were living in poverty. That means for over 1 million people their resources fall far below their minimum needs. This means facing daily financial uncertainty that strips people of dignity, it strips them of choices and it prevents them from being able to fully participate in the community around them. Poverty is oppressive, it is all consuming and it can pull people under. 

Right now as we face a cost of living crisis, poverty is on the rise. People in our cities, in our neighbourhoods and perhaps even living next door are going without the basic essentials that we all need. We know that poverty disproportionately affects some of our most vulnerable citizens with the highest rates for single parents, disabled households and those from Black and Minority Ethnic communities. 

A recent study from Citizens Advice Scotland found that 1 in 5 people regularly run out of money before payday. More and more people are being pushed into debt as they are forced to borrow money to pay for essentials. 

Regularly we hear from people who are struggling to afford the basic essentials that many of us take for granted. We hear heartbreaking stories from individuals who are feeling the impact of rising costs and worried about the future and how they will survive the winter when they can’t afford to heat their homes. Recently, one woman told us that the only reason she can afford to buy food is because she has a credit card and she can’t remember the last time she had 3 meals in a day as she chooses to go without in order to feed her children, surviving off their leftovers. 

Struggling with debt takes its toll and leaves people feeling trapped, isolated and suicidal. As well as mental ill-health being one of the primary causes of debt, debt also exacerbates mental ill-health. 43% of our clients told us that debt made a pre-existing mental health condition worse. Tragically over a quarter of our clients have either seriously considered or attempted suicide as a way out of debt. 

There is a particular stigma that exists around debt meaning that many people are too ashamed or embarrassed to tell anyone. This leads to delays in seeking debt help, 1 in 2 of our clients wait for over a year to get help, often waiting until they reach crisis point. 

CAP Scotland client, Bethany*, experienced the profound impact of problem debt on her mental health: “When you have debt you feel like you are hiding. You feel like people are after you, especially if you have mental health problems and are getting terrifying letters. Debt can be such a secret pain and worry. It can be something you don’t even speak to your family about so you don’t have any support.”

As a church it’s time for us to rise up and make a difference. It’s time to allow ourselves to be moved by holy discontent at the reality people in our communities are facing as many are being forced to make impossible choices between heating or eating. The latest stats released by the Scottish Government, show that people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland have a life expectancy that is 25 years shorter than those in the least deprived areas. Poverty is costing lives. 

In the face of such overwhelming injustice it can be hard to know where to start but the important thing is to take that first step. Rise up in prayer, lift up the people around you and petition God for lasting change. Get to know people in your community, open your doors, show them the practical love of Jesus, host community meals, create a safe space for people to come and be heard. Partner with organisations like CAP, that can resource your church with specialist knowledge and tools. 

Use your voice. Talk to your local Councillor or MSP. Right now the Scottish Government is not on track to meet the interim Child Poverty Targets for 2023. Make sure your local elected representatives know about the issues of poverty in your community and ask what they are doing about them. 

Finally, we would love to take this opportunity to encourage you to consider opening your own CAP Debt Centre - they are needed now more than ever before. We’re here to serve and equip your church to serve your community and see lives transformed. Find out more by visiting capuk.org/yourchurch




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