【慈幼通訊社 ─ 2017 年 11月 9 日烏干達帕拉貝克訊】 ─ 由於南蘇丹這個世界上歷史最短的國家，暴亂持續升級，逃避戰亂的難民，聚集與烏干達北部接壤的邊境地區，祈求天主賞賜和平。慈幼會傳教士在烏干達北部的Palabek難民營，開設了五所小聖堂，並為逃避國內暴亂的難民，提供牧民服務。
by Doreen Ajiambo
他們詠唱詩歌，有時也會誦唸玫瑰經。其他人則在樹下設立的新小聖堂內跪下，含淚祈禱，因為缺乏遮蔽之所。座位是木板或木頭，固定在地上。Peter Jok為南蘇丹難民，在烏干達北部Palabek難民營一所由慈幼會傳教士開設的小聖堂中講授教理，他說：「我們每天祈禱，因為我們希望天主俯聽我們，寬恕我們。我們所受的苦痛，終有一天會停止，因為天主正前來調停。」
居住在Palabek的南蘇丹難民共34,000。小聖堂的牧民工作，為移居的難民，包括在內戰中失去至愛的人帶來希望，並使他們合一。
慈幼會士開設了聖若望鮑思高、聖母進教之佑、聖十字架、聖達尼爾・金邦尼及聖德蘭修女小堂，舉行彌撒，並作為社區中心之用，服務婦女及小孩。
來自Pajok 的Pauline Alue育有三名子女，她所在的城鎮受政府軍襲擊，丈夫被殺，本年四月來到難民營。「我曾作噩夢，看到遇見的人被殺。然而小堂幫助我克服這陰影。現在我可以誦唸玫瑰經，困難全然解決。」
當地總教區新委任慈幼會難民指導神師表示，修會委派他的福傳工作，是要協助難民，推動建設和平活動、神修及農耕事務，改善他們的生活。
他說：「我們的工作，是要為這裡及世界各地，在國內流離失所的人士，帶來鼓舞與希望。」
2011年7月，南蘇丹經歷數十年戰亂後，脫離蘇丹獨立。然而兩年之後，國內1,100萬人隨即捲入新一輪的內戰中。數以萬計的人被殺，逾100萬人被迫自行逃到毗連的烏干達。另有100萬人，在區內其他地方尋求庇護。烏干達各主教，促請一眾司鐸探訪難民營，提供牧民關愛服務。
Salesian-run ministries aid South Sudanese fleeing violence
(ANS – Uganda –Palabek, 09 November 2017) – As violence escalates in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, refugees fleeing fights gather over the border in northern Uganda to ask God for peace. Salesian missionaries have opened five chapels in the Palabek Refugee Camp in northern Uganda, and minister to the refugees who have fled violence in their homeland.
by Doreen Ajiambo
They sing hymns and sometimes recite the rosary. Others fall to their knees and weep in prayer in the new chapels established under trees because shelter is scarce. Their pews are planks of wood or logs dug into the ground. “We are praying daily because we want God to hear and forgive us,” said catechist Peter Jok, a South Sudanese refugee who works in one of five chapels that Salesian missionaries have opened in the Palabek camp in northern Uganda. “The suffering we are going through will come to an end one day because God is going to intervene.”
About 34,000 South Sudanese refugees live in Palabek. The ministries offered in the chapels bring hope and unify the migrants, including those who have lost loved ones in the civil war.
The Salesians run St. John Bosco, Mary Help of Christians, Holy Cross, Daniel Comboni and Mother Teresa chapels. Catholic Masses are celebrated in them; women and children use the buildings as community centers.
“We had lost hope as people of South Sudan, but the church is restoring it,” said Pauline Aluel, a mother of three who arrived in the camp in April after government soldiers attacked her town of Pajok and murdered her husband. “I have been having bad dreams about the people I saw being murdered. But the church has helped me to overcome it. I can now recite a rosary and all my problems are solved.”
The newly appointed Salesian chaplain of the refugees in the archdiocese said his order’s missionaries were helping the refugees in peace-building activities, spiritual and agricultural practices to improve their lives.
“We are working to provide inspiration and hope to internally displaced people here and around the world,” he said. “We also help poor youth and their families through education.”
South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011, after decades of war. But two years later, the new nation of 11 million people became embroiled in a new phase of fights within its own borders. Tens of thousands have been killed, and more than 1 million people have been forced to flee to neighboring Uganda alone. Upward of another million have sought refuge elsewhere in the region. Catholic bishops in Uganda have urged priests to visit the camps and provide pastoral care.
Source: National Catholic Reporter