In the last month at church, I heard some news that can only be ranked at the top of the "Bummer List."
We have a Nigerian (from Niger not Nigeria) who attends our church, and he is an extremely gentle and loving guy who is 28 years old. He is soft spoken and has a kind heart. My wife and I have had him over for dinner before, to hear about his story.
He grew up in a Muslim family as a Muslim himself, but about the age of 21 he became curious about Christianity. From the Christians, that were from other countries, he noticed that they were pretty inclusive, and more than anything he noticed how they loved people. This drew him to find out more, and to eventually become a Christian.
It was at this point that he "lost" his job, was thrown in jail on two different occassions for questionable offenses, and received multiple death threats (some of which were from his family members). Someone from the French Embassy told him that he must flee the country in order to save his life, and he did so. Now he lives here.
The bummer though is that he has tried on a few occassions to legally obtain citizenship or refugee status in the USA, but has not been able to do so. The U.S. government has thrown him in jail on a couple of occassions for being illegal. The church we go to raised his bond money ($15,000) which the government still holds to this day (over a year later). The bummer doesn't stop there. He has been scheduled to be deported back to Niger on the 19th. (Niger is considered a tolerant country from the political arena so the government thinks that there is no danger.) The church has worked hard to get this turned around by finding attorneys, writing letters to the U.S. Justice Department to vouch for his charachter, contacting our Representatives, and even told the powers that be that the recovered bond money would be used to pay for a college education.
It seems that this has been to no avail, and the 19th is approaching soon. He has been greatly depressed and rightly so because martyrdom is not something you wish for. To help ease his depression our church has decided to have him into our homes everynight this month until his departure. Sunday night is the night he comes over to our house. I am really excited, but I also cannot think what to fix. That might sound trite, but I am wondering if this should not be on par with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Thoughts?
Friday, September 8, 2006
Tolerant Countries?
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5 comments:
Well my first thought is that you might search the internet for traditional Nigerian fare. Then again, he may not want to be reminded.
This also reminds me of a story I heard a few months ago about a Muslim who converted to Christianity in Afghanistan and was given a death sentence for it. Lucky for him the U.S. stepped in and said, "Hey, don't forget who put you jerkasses in power. Let the guy go." (They did.)
Anger is a reaction to a threat. The threat is one less person who believes as they do might cause them to question their own faith, I believe. Instead of facing your crisis of faith, you quash the trigger for the crisis. It saves you the trouble of having to explore your reasons for your beliefs.
I must be over-simplifying this, but I think that there is a kernel of truth in what I'm saying.
Anywho, I certainly hope for the best for this guy, and I'm glad your church is doing so much to help him out, even if all they can do now is help comfort him.
I will pray for your friend. As for what to fix - who doesn't like Thanksgiving dinner?! Go for it.
I think he's trying to make a point that much of what your Nigerian friend has faced in his home country is based on them trying to suppress the perceived threat of Christianity which they fear has the potential to nullify their own belief in Islam if they were to scrutinize the details of their faith.
The reverse is true with many so-called Christians. It's always easier to get angry rather than to face issues. I guess this principle extends to any prejudice whether it be religious, racial, sexual orientation, or even economic.
But back to your question, I'll throw my vote in, too, for traditional Thanksgiving bash. Just leave out the cranberry sauce--I hate cranberry sauce. Does anyone like cranberry sauce? It's that or a good ol' Texas-style chicken fried steak complete with mashed potatoes, green beans, maybe a fried corn on the cob, homemade cream gravy, and a Dr. Pepper to wash it all down...yum!
And if someone from Niger is Nigerian, what is a person from Nigeria called? Nigeriarian?
I'm not real sure either, but I think Swany T. has hit on it. If someone is secure in his beliefs, then I believe that hearing differing views doesn't threaten him.
Maybe it has something to do with what you, Mrs. Willie, and I were taking about in Austin this past weekend. Until you've "wrassled" for it, maybe you can't have any real security in it because you are still taking someone else's word for it, essentially.
Regardless, your friends' neighbors in Niger are angry because they perceive him as a threat. The most logical conclusion is that his conversion has on some level called their own faith into question, which can be quite disconcerting. But instead of "wrassling it out," they just want to rid themselves of the trigger that caused the discomfort in the first place, which is unfortunately this young man.
What? Oh heck no! Quite the opposite. It takes takes courage just to change. It takes tremendous courage to question and ultimately go against something you have been taught to believe your whole life. It takes even more courage to do so in a place where your neighbors will threaten to kill you.
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