KHARTOUM:
20 January 2012 --
Perhaps there's a little story in recent days that might
just get entirely overlooked on the wider scene, especially in
our
Region where the Casket or Statue of Don Bosco has already
passed through.
What does one do when one State refuses landing
permission for the Casket at the last moment? As far as
we know,
it has only happened once - a few days ago. Here is the
story,
pieced together from various sources.
The
Don
Bosco Casket was due in Khartoum on 16 January, and what's
more it was
on its way from Kigali, Rwanda. The Salesians in
Khartoum had been
working at all the correct permissions as well as preparation
in 13
parishes throughout Khartoum, since October last year. But on
16
January, 2 hours before takeoff from Kigali, word came through
to the
pilot that his landing permission had been revoked for
Khartoum. The
problem was that the Government of Sudan got cold
feet, if such a thing is possible in such a hot climate, at
the last
moment - or was it just the airport authorities?. Fortunately
the
newly-proclaimed
State of South Sudan was already willing to accept the Casket,
and
those accompanying the flight had all the due written
permissions with
them, so the flight simply went to Juba, where Don Bosco was
unloaded a week before he was due to arrive! The Casket
was taken
to the Don Bosco Gumbo compound in Juba and looked after by
the three
member groups of the Salesian Family living there - SDB, FMA
and CSJ
(the newly arrived Caritas Sisters from our Region).
And
where did this leave our good Salesians in Khartoum and
surrounding
districts? Initially disconcerted no doubt but, as St Paul put
it in 2
Corinthians or thereabouts, (in parpahrased form, if I may),
"knocked
down but still have some life in us". Or in the words of our
correspondent: "Having known the situation in the country, the
committee had an alternative plan for the visit of the Relic
of Don
Bosco. We decided that, if in case we did not get the Relic,
we would
keep only the holy Eucharistic celebration in the Parish and
in the
Cathedral. We also decided to use the statue of Don Boso and
the relic
of Don Bosco available in our community, for public
veneration". .. and
bingo.....! That solved
that!
The
enthusiasm has been no less in Khartoum than anywhere else in
Africa so
far - and has the added touch to it of 'We beat 'em!' And the
reaction
of the 10 or so parishes which missed out? "The parish priests
of the
places where the relic of Don Bosco should have gone informed
us that
the people started to flock to the places for veneration and
receive
the blessings of Don Bosco. The parish priests conducted
simple prayer
services and gave them the blessings, in order not to
disappoint them.
One member of the faithful said that she hoped that 'Don Bosco
will
come to Sudan one day,' another said, that he 'believes, the
Don Bosco
relic may not be here at this moment, but Don Bosco's Spirit
is fully
present here among us'." Our
correspondent in Khartoum continues on a sombre note:
"At
this moment both Sudan and South Sudan are facing many
problems,
especially lack of security. People (priests included) have
disappeared
in Khartoum, the Sudan generally, and many people have been
killed in
tribal clashes and cattle raids in the South Sudan. April
8th is the
final day for southerners still living in the North. What is
next? God
only knows.
Trusting in God we live our daily life.."
Let's keep our Salesian Family in this area very much in our
prayers.
There is more than one member or former member of our own EAO
Region
working there. We need to let them know we are with them at
this
difficult time.
