Lent Week 6: Wherever you travel…
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
— Psalm 130: 5-6
After enduring years of conflict and with no hope of peace, people continue to make exhausting and dangerous journeys to Europe in search of sanctuary. Borders across Europe have been closed for almost a year. Thousands of refugees remain stranded.
In this reflection for the sixth week of Lent, we journey with those who have travelled so far to find refuge but now find themselves stuck waiting in camps in Serbia and Greece.
A little boy replaces his shoes with wellies that he has received from Christian Aid partner, Philanthropy, in Serbia.
What shoes would you wear if you had to walk a long distance to find a safe place to call home? What possessions would you choose to take if you had to leave your home at short notice?
And after packing and carrying your things such long distances, imagine then having to throw them away.
Halima and Samira sit together outside their tent in a refugee site near Athens, Greece. ‘Everything went in the water. We threw everything. We were throwing our bags, everything. So not to be drowned, we threw everything. And so they could bring more people in the small boat. They said “your life or your bags.”’
Samira, pictured above on the right, describes the horrific journey she made with her family from Syria to Greece:
‘and so we threw the bags. [I arrived in Europe] with just my identity. What we wear is what we have’.
Imagine clearing out your savings account in order to pay for a journey you may not survive. People are having to spend their life savings on treacherous journeys across the Mediterranean and overland through Europe. For many, it’s the first time they have ever seen the sea.
Arash Himati, 30, from Kabul in Afghanistan supports refugees in Greece. He reflects on his own experience of travelling across the sea to Greece: ‘In Aghanistan we don’t have sea or rivers, not even small rivers. This is a big river, but on a plastic boat you sit down and you have about 30 people with your family and you go on this big journey for the first time, and you don’t know if you will reach the other side or not.
‘You have to be in a very difficult situation to get on this boat. If I paid you €100,000 would you get on this boat to Greece? I ask you. Nobody would do it, but maybe they are in a difficult situation to come this way. It’s not an easy way to come and you don’t know if you’ll reach land or not.’
This Lent, we travel and wait with those seeking refuge, watching for the morning to dawn on their despair.
And beyond Lent, as we prepare for Christian Aid Week, may we be inspired to give, act and pray with those seeking refuge.
Find out more about Christian Aid Week
Pray with us
You are the God in whom we take refuge;
yet many have been cast off,
cast into the depths of the sea.
You are the God in whom we take refuge;
yet many have had to walk so far,
mourning for family and longing for home.
You are the God in whom we take refuge;
yet many are oppressed by conflict,
refused safe passage and the refuge they need.
You are the God in whom we take refuge;
so to you we bring our downcast souls:
disquieted by questions, we refuse to be silent.
Be our hope and our help
as we seek to provide the answers
of welcome and hospitality for all.
You are the God in whom we take refuge.
Amen.
