EGYPT: Three places, two dioceses, one reality – fear

Marie-Claude Lalonde is the National Director of Aid to the Church in Need Canada. Here she reports back on her visit to Egypt in October to assess the situation facing Christians in the aftermath of the 25th January Revolution.

Whether in Imbaba, in Abou Qorqas or in Maspero, people here share the very same reality – one of fear. “Christians are scared, it is very dangerous,” a young man from Abou Qorqas tells us as he stands on the roof of a building adjoining the church. We cannot take pictures or film in this place – the two parish priests, fearing reprisals, refused to give us an interview in front of the camera.

We were visiting here six months after attacks that put 70 Christian families out on the streets when their homes and businesses were burned and pillaged in inter-religious violence. The knot at the centre of the conflict had less to do with religion than it did with quarrelling between two families. But no matter the cause, the consequences themselves were devastating for the Christians.

The same young man continued: “The children are in a bad mood, they have not slept in six months because their houses were set alight while they were inside.”

The villagers all wish to leave. There is no employment for them, no justice. They are arrested arbitrarily and can say nothing to denounce the situation.

The only positive note if there is one, is that the Catholic churches and the Orthodox and Protestant churches are helping one another and sharing the help they have received according to the needs of the people. About thirty Catholic families were left homeless. Half of them are housed by other families in the neighbourhood and the other half currently live in apartments the church has rented to them.

Bishop Antonio Aziz Mina of Gizeh is categorical in saying: “The source of violence is ignorance and poverty.” As we are speaking a great deal about the Christian exodus, he adds: “For every Christian who leaves, there are nine Muslims who also leave. I don’t want that. We encourage our faithful to stay… We want to participate fully and help in the prosperity of our country.”

Bishop Mina knows what he speaks of as the Imbaba neighbourhood, situated in his diocese, was rocked by violence on May 12, leaving 12 dead. The neighbourhood of Maspero (Cairo) where the assaults of October 9 left more than 25 dead and hundreds wounded is also part of his diocese.

There too, fear dominates. Proof of this: the simple act of a photographing or filming a church in Imbaba cost us 40 minutes worth of discussion with a police man. Even though everything took place calmly and politely, it is nonetheless a sign that the situation remains very tense.

Fear is an enemy that infiltrates everywhere, even in quiet and completely Christian villages. We observed this in Deir Dronka, a village of 3,500 people, all of them Christians. The inhabitants of the village are simple people making their living largely from agriculture. Not one incident was reported in this peaceful village.

And yet, they are frightened, claims their bishop, Monsignor Kyrillos William. “They want to leave the country because there are always massacres of Christians,” he tells us. What they hope is to go to Italy or America, but how many will succeed?

Some say they will go and vote [in the parliamentary elections which took place in late November], others not. People tell us: “The army is supposed to defend us, and they are killing us… so what good is there in voting?” Come what may, Church leaders are encouraging people to vote. They don’t say for whom they should vote, they are free. It is the exercise of democracy in which people are encouraged to participate.

The results of this suffering, of this fear and this uncertainty, will not be known in the near future as the electoral process will stretch over several months, or even a year. The process has only just begun and new inter-religious violence has already taken place.

What is left for Egyptians, both Christian and Muslim? Faith.

EGYPT: 'Building a future for my son and yours'

Marie-Claude Lalonde is the National Director of Aid to the Church in Need Canada. Here she reports back on her visit to Egypt in October to assess the situation facing Christians in the aftermath of the 25th January Revolution.

For the last year and a half, Egypt has made regular headlines because of clashes between Christians and Muslims. The country also hit front page during the Arab Spring early on this year. The situation of Christians – as well as of other minorities – continues to deteriorate.

Nevertheless, this cannot uniquely be seen as inter-confessional violence, as the roots of these conflicts are often found in the relationships between large families, unfounded rumours, the discriminatory rules of State, political issues, etc.

Despite these sad episodes of violence, life continues with school, work, agriculture, commerce…

In Dairut, a small village situated on the west coast of the Nile and 350 km south of Cairo, the Sisters of Saint Ann – an Italian congregation – hold a dispensary. They treat and counsel their patients without taking notice of their religion. For that matter, the majority of their patients are Muslim women with their children.

250 sick people, sometimes more, present themselves every day, preferring the Sisters’ dispensary to the public hospital. We are told that the care is better and as for the cost? One of the Sisters on site tells us, “They give what they can.”

A Sister tends to a young patient at the clinic in Dairut, Egypt

They treat just about anything, but particularly eye infections caused by dust and also many burns. There is a lack of hygiene as well that often delays the healing of wounds.

To the eyes of a stranger, burns are not habitually what come to mind on a list of treatments most frequently dispensed by a medical clinic. One Sister says: “Here, the children run everywhere. They are not careful and fall in fires… or there is boiling water for tea.”

Later on, she continues and explains that an angry man may very well throw boiling water on his spouse or his child. There is a lot of domestic violence. She concludes by saying “Men’s behaviour here is very hard with their women.” That is why, along with treating, the Sisters also educate.

In the cramped areas that serve as examination rooms, and in the hallways, they hang posters about democracy in the home. It’s a way to introduce the subject of relationships between men and women. They also distribute pens with slogans of tolerance inscribed on them: We will grow hand in hand; We are building a future for your son and for mine, etc. They hope that these ideas will do their work.

Tending to a patient at the clinic in Dairut, Egypt

As if the task was not already sufficiently large, they go into the streets to find the sick who otherwise would receive no treatment at all. They also lead a campaign against female circumcision in four villages. They tell us it is a reassuring fact to see that the mentality is changing and young couples are no longer doing it.

These three Sisters, and the nurses that help them, represent an element of change and of social stability. Through their attitude and their openness, they show that living together is possible, that democracy has its place and that, most importantly, all people have a right to dignity.

EGYPT: Changing the world, one 'tweet' at a time

Marie-Claude Lalonde is the National Director of Aid to the Church in Need Canada. Here she reports back on her visit to Egypt in October to assess the situation facing Christians in the aftermath of the 25th January Revolution.

Father Henri Boulad is an Egyptian-Lebanese Jesuit, and lives in Alexandria … that is, when he is not travelling around the world. He is now 80 years old, but rest assured, he is very much of our times. Well known for his straight-talk, it is with conviction that he speaks to us of the world, and of his vision of the world.

Interviewed in Cairo last October 21 by Aid to the Church in Need, Father Henri Boulad expressed his hopes and his fears for the future of Egypt as well as that of Christians who have been present there since the era of Saint Mark, the apostle.

At the outset, he recalls that the Coptic problem is not a new one in Egypt, and since Nasser’s rule (1952) Christians have felt increased discrimination. On the legal side of things, for example, Christians must obtain - not without difficulty - a permit to build a church; whereas Muslims can erect mosques just about anywhere without so much as a permit. There is also discrimination on a regular basis in situations involving obtaining jobs or buying property.

“What is new within these events is that not only are Christians protesting, but they are defending themselves against the violence done to them,” declares Father Boulad. He adds that since the events in Maspero (Cairo), last October 9 (leaving more than 25 dead and hundreds injured), the army lost its credibility. “We had the impression that they [the army] straight-out took position against the Christians!”

Father Henri Boulad, an Egyptian-Lebanese Jesuit living in Alexandria 

According to the priest, radical Muslims are now quite visible, which was not the case before the fall of Mubarak because he would track them. The radicals speak the language of violence, whereas the more liberal groups, who were at the source of the revolution, are “silenced through threats […] whether they are Muslims or Christians,” says Father Boulad. There are actually many who think that the revolution was hijacked along the way by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists (radicals).

“It is all for show; believing that the elections will be free,” believes Father Boulad. Egypt, he says, is not ripe for democracy. Only the liberals would be. But they are far too weak in relation to other groups for the time being.

“The passage through Islam is incontrovertible and it will last a long time. […] We must brace ourselves for a haemorrhaging,” he analyses with regard to the exodus of Christians from the Middle East. “The West does not care at all for Christians […] what interests the West, is their economical and political strategy, one concern, that’s all, period.” Later on in this interview he will add “guilt by omission; kills me.”

A burnt out car in the Maspero region of Cairo, Egypt, where 25 were killed
and hundreds injured when protesters came under attack in October 2011.

Being more philosophical, he adds, this necessary passage, as he calls it, will be resolved through cultural and educational means and it will be a matter of a long process because it supposes an evolution in mentalities.

When we ask him what we can do, he says: “You must speak, fight, struggle – what you are already doing – what they continue to do with or without Facebook, in the press. […] I believe in the Internet, in Facebook and in Twitter.

“I believe in the strength of the Holy Spirit […] I am a religious priest, a Jesuit, a believer to the bone, and I believe that the strength of the Holy Spirit will one day be stronger than all these channels, but… but…

“I believe the Gospel will have the last word, and the power of truth along with the power of charity will have the last word. But battles in the meantime, and unravelling in the meantime, disillusionment in the meantime – but I believe … I count on it ... I believe in the strength of the Holy Spirit!”

And, the energetic Jesuit added with conviction that his life-long maxim has been, “To change the world!”

Papal protest in Spain?

Being in Madrid for World Youth Day has been a wonderful experience so far, but I was rather bemused when colleagues back home contacted us to ask about the protest against the Pope´s visit. They heard through the media that a mass protest had taken place involving more than 100 different groups opposed to the Holy Father´s visit. Now it is always possible that there were more than 100 different groups involved but if so it seems that they didn´t field many people. An eye-witness who walked past the demonstration told me that it consisted of no more than 250 people and that more than thousand pilgrims gathered in a spontaneous counter demonstration, drowning out the protesters with shouts of "Benedicto!" To be honest none of us thought much of it when we heard about it. It was obviously much smaller than the protest against the papal visit to the UK last September. So I was very surprised to find that it had made it on to the news in the UK and Ireland - and that it had apparently featured so prominantly. Colleagues who contacted us were even concerned for our safety! Of course, I haven´t seen the reports in the papers but as someone curently out in Madrid the impressions we´ve received from those who saw the news back home seem to bear little resemblance to what we heard described by an eye-witness. It seems that a small protest was exaggerated to make it appear a lot more significant than it really was. Perhaps it was a slow news day?

John Newton is Press Officer for ACN (UK). He is in Madrid for World Youth Day to help out with the exhibition on Christian persecution which is part of the official WYD cultural programme. 

Egypt: Reflections, challenges and hopes

In April, our Head of Press and Information John Pontifex travelled with a small Aid to the Church in Need team to Egypt on a fact-finding trip. It was his second attempt to visit the faithful in Egypt, after the original travel plans were put on ice as the 25th January Revolution gathered pace. In this series of blogs, John will be posting his diary entries from the trip, giving an eye-witness glimpse into life for Egypt's 10 million Christians - more than any other country in the Middle East.

Sunday, 17th April 2011

I am writing this on the plane somewhere between Cairo and London. In fact, looking at the satellite images of our progress on screen, we’re just crossing the English Channel. My mind is buzzing with the experiences of this past 10 days. It’s difficult to take it all in.

As it happened, my driver who took me from the clergy house in Maadi, Cairo, nearly dropped me at the wrong terminal until I pointed out his error to him. Drama, right to the last minute!

What am I to make of the trip? We certainly covered a huge amount of ground, going to every Catholic diocese. In fact, after the first phase, spent in Cairo, we visited a diocese a day. In the aftermath of the Revolution, it feels like Egypt has rolled the dice – gambling on its future – but the dice is still rolling and nobody knows what it’s going to land on.

If it’s a six, democracy and respect for minorities are guaranteed. If it’s a one, however, historians will look back and show how Islamists – the Muslim Brothers, or the Salafists – were able to hijack the Revolution and introduce a theocracy every bit as punitive as Iran or Saudi Arabia.

A Coptic Cross at sunset

For Aid to the Church in Need, it’s clear. The charity must respond to Patriarch Cardinal Antonios Naguib’s call to help the Church respond to the opportunities opened up by change. In a time of turmoil, building up the faith is more important than ever: building parish centres, catechetical and Christian education work, Mass stipends for poor and persecuted priests, helping the monastery outside Alexandria, formation of priests, support for Sisters providing crucial pastoral and humanitarian help – the list goes on.

And that extraordinary line from the Patriarch comes back to haunt me, his reference to the charity’s commitment to prayer, emphasised in all our correspondence. What he said about this sums everything up for me.

He said: “I like the fact that in your letters about project support, you always ask us to pray for the benefactors. You remind us that this is at the centre of who we are to each other.”

Find out how you can help Christians in Egypt

Building the Church in Egypt in secret

In April, our Head of Press and Information John Pontifex travelled with a small Aid to the Church in Need team to Egypt on a fact-finding trip. It was his second attempt to visit the faithful in Egypt, after the original travel plans were put on ice as the 25th January Revolution gathered pace. In this series of blogs, John will be posting his diary entries from the trip, giving an eye-witness glimpse into life for Egypt's 10 million Christians - more than any other country in the Middle East.

Saturday 16th April 2011

I can't tell you where I have been or who I have been with.

It’s just one of those things. If I said, the people concerned will be in trouble. But that doesn’t stop me from telling a good story without any of the crucial information being left out.

It’s the story of how a chapel was created under the noses of the security personnel stationed there precisely to prevent the work from going ahead. How it happened is like this: the clergy wanted to turn one of the rooms in a church-owned building into a chapel. After the state police had received a tip-off about the plan, the Church had to think again.

Then somebody had a brainwave: the sister of a priest occupied the neighbouring building. She received the building materials – timber for the pews, concrete for the chapel pillars, stone for the altar etc – and bit by bit they were passed across through a hole in the roof. The chapel was duly built with the state police outside oblivious to what was going on.

A church in Egypt

Truth to tell, church building is really difficult in Egypt. Under the old regime, a church could only be built with the personal permission of President Mubarak himself. There are strict limits on the number of churches it is permissible to build. The state police and local government authorities have a track record of nipping church-building plans in the bud, claiming widespread local opposition.

Even if churches do get built, so often within months of them going up, a mosque – huge by comparison – is suddenly erected. And yet, the bishops feel they must build because vast new cities are being built to cater for a fast-expanding population where up to 1.5 million babies are born every year. The average age is about 26.

We visited some of these new cities and they are truly enormous – housing estates spreading into the desert as far as the eye can see. One bishop told us how in one of the cities the authorities repeatedly blocked his plans for a church. He reiterated the frustration he experienced, his repeated representations to the planning authorities.

“We must build,” he said, “otherwise our faithful will start abandoning the Church. We cannot accept no for an answer. It’s simply not fair. We must build,” and then he added in a whisper “and we are building…”

Find out how you can help Christians in Egypt

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