ISRAEL, July 19, 2007 — “Even if our feet go astray, your Spirit within us and around us leads us to fill our hearts with peace.”
These words from an Arabic hymn had a very special resonance on the lips of refugees from war- torn Sudan who are sheltering for the time being in Israel. They sang the hymn at a meeting organised by the Palestinian Bible Society and a Messianic Jewish congregation in Beer-Shiva.
The Bible Society and the congregation had decided to meet the refugees primarily to give them used clothes collected for them by Christians in Galilee. The Bible Society’s particular contribution consisted of Arabic Bibles, children’s colouring books, pamphlets, daily Bible reading aids and other literature, all supplied free of charge.
“We just wanted to give them the opportunity to feel the love of Christ from people who care for them,” said Albert Yacoub, who is responsible for the Society’s Scripture distribution.
Photo: (Palestinian Bible Society)
This couple, refugees from Sudan, had their first child while they were crossing the border between Egypt and Israel. They were among refugees who attended a meeting organised
by the Palestinian Bible Society and a Messianic Jewish congregation in Beer-Shiva, Israel, in June 2007.
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In recent years many Sudanese have fled the ethnic massacres in Darfur and southern Sudan, in which thousands of people have been killed because of their ethnic background, the colour of their skin or their religious beliefs.
Some had previously gone to Egypt, but were denied refugee rights and proceeded to Israel, entering the country through the unguarded Egypt-Israel frontier. The local and international media drew attention to the case and there was a lot of debate and uncertainty about what to do with them. Technically, Sudan and Israel are enemies, which means that the refugees are not likely to find an official welcome in Israel and that they will face execution if their own government learns that they have been there. A year ago the number of Sudanese refugees across the country was put at well over 200.
With help from local authorities, the Israeli police placed some of them in hotels for a short time but then left them to their fate. Eventually some interested organisations such as human rights groups and Christian agencies started to look for ways to help, finding temporary places for them to sleep, for example, in hotels and assembly halls.
On June 26, a team from the Palestinian Bible Society visited Beer-Shiva, the capital city of the Negev, the hilly desert region in southern Israel, to give a group of refugees material and spiritual support.
At the meeting, Mr Yacoub encouraged them with some thoughts on a passage from Scripture and the pastor of the Messianic congregation taught them a Hebrew hymn based on the first verse of Psalm 136, and an Arabic hymn that speaks about the peace that God gives his people.
A line in the Arabic hymn says: “Even if our feet go astray, your Spirit within us and around us leads us to fill our hearts with peace.”
“It was unique for us to see these suffering people smiling and sharing some of their experiences during their hard journey,” commented Simon Azazian, the Society’s Public Relations Officer.
Nadine, another member of staff of the PBS, spent some time talking with women in the group, giving them encouragement while they told her about their suffering. One woman had a baby just one week old. She gave birth while they were crossing the borders, and she and her husband have decided to call the baby Israel.
Later, the visitors sat in a circle with the refugees and asked them to voice some of their fears and questions.
“They shared about the uncertainty facing them in the future,” said Mr Azazian. “Where would they spend the coming days? What would they do if the Israeli government decided to send them back to Sudan or Egypt? Obviously, in both cases they would be at immediate risk of being killed. They shared about their wish to see and live in the Land of the Bible: places such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, where Jesus lived and walked.”
A representative of students at Ben Gurion University, in Beer-Shiva, said that students were willing to organise a demonstration in Jerusalem, just outside the Israeli parliament building, to urge government leaders to make a decision concerning the status accorded to the refugees, rather than ignoring their plight.
“During the meeting,” said Mr Azazian, “we were able to get to know them quite well and to understand their needs: food, food for children and babies, maternity supplies, medicines, hygiene equipment, clothes, toys and spiritual guidance and encouragement.
“We ended the day with prayers from several people,” he added. “Some of them were very open and shared their faith with us.”
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