A Catholic missionary to the Islamic world has asked that the faithful not forget the suffering of those caught up in humanitarian crises, particularly in Sudan and other parts of Africa.
Father Diego Dalle Carbonare, a Comboni missionary who has served in Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan, told Aid to the Church in Need that more needed to be done to bring peace to conflict-ridden zones.
Sudan has spent the majority of its post-independence history in one civil war or another. At present the country is divided between the RSF and the SAF, essentially the factions of two formerly allied warlords.
The story is similar in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the country enjoyed relative stability under the totalitarian rule of President Mobutu, since his death in 1997 conflict has been nearly constant. At present government forces are engaged with the allegedly Rwanda-backed M23 group, with Islamist militants also carrying out attacks.
Father Carbonare, remarking on the current state of the world, said, “The Catholic Church teaches that we share a common home. Distance should not be an issue. What is happening in Sudan, what is happening in Africa, to civilians, children and women, concerns all of us in some way.”
He added, “We all believe in a judgement. One day, God will examine us, and many will be surprised when he asks about forgotten wars. As citizens, we have the duty to ask our governments to do whatever that is in their power to stop wars and to regulate the weapons and the gold trade, which is what funds wars such as the one in Sudan.
“We are all citizens of countries whose governments should be held to account for their commitment to peace in the world, everywhere. Therefore, to forget about Sudan, or any African country, is not to be taken lightly by us or by our governments.”
The flow of the various conflicts has had an impact on Christians caught up in the middle of it.
In March last year Christians in Sudan were able to return to the capital of Khartoum and resume worship, after the SAF drove the RSF from the city.
Father Carbonare noted however that conditions remained difficult, with schools struggling to find teachers and students.
“Many teachers and their families had to move from place to place, there are even people who fled to South Sudan, people who were almost graduating and suddenly found themselves without work and without a future," he said.
“Some teachers were killed - one was captured and tortured. It was a tragic story. He was going to get married, he could have been a headmaster, and instead he suffered a slow death.”
The priest recounted another story in which a widowed teacher was threatened by RSF militants. The militants threatened to steal her car, and she simply told them to take it.
On another occasion they entered her house and threatened to kill her.
“She replied ‘Fine, do what you must, but remember, he who lives by the sword will die by the sword’. Startled, they asked what she meant, and she explained: ‘It’s from the Gospel, don’t you know?’ and they fled.”
“She recounted the episode calmly but added: ‘God’s Word is powerful’. The next day they returned and asked for forgiveness.”
Though far from the first person to observe this, Father Carbonare noted that war had the capacity to bring out both the best and the worst in people.
