Christmas in Kandhamal-Orissa

On 12th Dec’08, an unexpected request for volunteers came from Kandhamal-Orissa  to assist in the relief camps with the medical team and be present with affected people around Christmas time. In prayer it was soon confirmed as the Lord’s calling. Though my presence in the community around Christmas time was needed, perceiving the greater need and an opportunity to be present in the persecuted Kandhamal district of Orissa, deep down the Spirit urged me to respond to this call, to  be in solidarity with this suffering body of the church.. My joy and confidence was immense when Patsy, our Provincial too offered to accompany me. The providential CRI Delhi Unit meeting on 13th Dec’08 gave me an opportunity to make an appeal to sisters which resulted in getting 3 religious volunteers( Sr Candida, a nurse from CFMSS & 2 juniors/students, Ajita & Phausteena, from RJM). We left Delhi by Sampark Kranti express on 16th Dec. morning.

On reaching Bhubaneshwar, the 5 of us  were given our specific tasks by the Director of  Social Service Centre Fr. Joseph Philip SVD who oversees  the relief work in various camps. We traveled more than 6 hours by jeep to reach kandhamal.  Along with two sisters, I was placed in Raikia camps while two others in Udaygiri camps.
We were welcomed by the sisters of St Catherine’s Home ( Daughters of charity of St Vincent de Paul). They offered their hospitality to us till the end of our stay , as they have been doing for the past 4 months for numerous people who visit this part of Kandhamal.

All the 12 blocks of Kandhamal district have been affected  by the widespread communal violence & Raikia is worst affected block. St Catherine’s school ground camp initially had a population of 1649 in 46 tents.& Vijaya school ground camp had a population of 2433 in 77 smaller tents & some classrooms.  Both the camps are well guarded by the CRPF. The Block Development Officer(BDO) is overall in charge providing food, water supply, sanitation etc. I worked in St Catherine’s camp & just 2 days in Vijaya camp.

 On entering the camps, one can sense the feeling of  pain, frustration, anger, fear, disgust, as 4 months has been a long time to be lingering in the relief camps after having lost everything and enduring all kinds of sufferings. Along with these feelings there is a sign of hope and firm faith in Jesus which keeps them going.

 In St Catherine’s camp, besides working with the medical team, I could spend some time with the families (each tent having 10-12 families/ Christians of various denominations)., listening to them, interacting with women, youth , teenage girls. Ten girls from the camp were prepared to go to Sundergarh Dt of Orissa for vocational training and also to prepare them for the board exams so that by March they are able to come back to kandhamal to write their exams, and the whole year is not wasted. Twenty-five girls have already been shifted earlier.
 Christmas Celebrations:
Christmas celebrations with the people in the camps was an experience of deepening my own faith.. Though the Bandh was called off, an atmosphere of fear & tension prevailed everywhere. The vigil Mass on 24th Dec was held in the Church of Our Lady of Charity at 3 p.m. so that people from both the camps & nearby villages could attend the vigil service without security problems of having late service.  This church was spared in the August attack as it was already destroyed in 2004 violence  & now renovated beautifully. There is a story that in 2004 one of the men who hit a stone at Our Lady’s statue above the alter, the stone returned to hit him instead.; also some other misfortune came on the mob that attacked the church.

It was an emotional moment for me as people started pouring in from both the camps  dressed in their best clothes.(The Government-Block Development Officer had distributed saris , clothes for children and candles the previous day). The church was well guarded by extra CRPF & Orissa police throughout the celebrations. It seemed people had forgotten their pain & sorrow for the moment as very devoutly & joyfully they joined in the celebrations ,singing  carols in Oriya & with full force participating in the celebration of the Eucharist. The candles they had received were brought to offer to baby Jesus as a sign of their love for the helpless babe in the manger; an expression of their total identification with  Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus as they continue to live in pathetic conditions of the relief camps. To me they looked  like the shepherds of the First Christmas in Bethlehem who came to pay their homage to the newborn king .
 
The celebrations continued throughout the day on 25th in the camps. They were delighted to be served special food financed by the Diocese. Sr. Suma MC, along with her sisters coordinated this massive task of supplying live chickens to all the camps ,traveling day & night all over the district. With much enthusiasm people in the camps volunteered to clean up & prepare the meal. They did relish this meal together( It was finally over by 4 p.m.) after eating rice and watery dal ,sometimes vegetable, every day last 4 months. The sisters of St Catherine’s Home had also taken much trouble to prepare some nice sweet packets(Home made items)  for almost 4000 people in the two camps. I was so glad to be a part of this whole celebration.

The evening celebration was even more touching. I was back to the camp at 6 p.m. for the cultural program organized by the youth of all denominations. Since it was delayed , I visited the Crib at the entrance of the camp to pray. ( It was done simply with 3 new red cotton saris gifted to women for Christmas..) I noticed 2-3 women lighting candles & praying & asked them if we could pray the Rosary together. They readily agreed. A few men too came in suggesting that we have a candle-light procession in the camp.(It’s a custom in Kandhamal to have candle light procession Christmas night). In no time approximately 400 people gathered; men, women children with lighted candles in their hands. They offered me a candle  asking me to lead the procession around the camp as they sang beautifully for an hour all the decades of the Rosary. At the end of the Rosary we gathered once again in front of the crib. The catechist then reading  the Word of God asked me to break the WOG. As I was very much enthused by this spiritual experience, the Spirit lead me to give them a message of hope, love & peace, reassuring them that we are with them . As I spoke in Hindi, one of the youth helped with translation.in Oriya. In one voice the whole crowd repeated after me some of the slogans, encouraging them to remain united & firm in faith in this painful situation. At the end of it all, I expressed my gratitude to God & to the people for this most beautiful Christmas in my whole life.

 The next day, with the help of the youth ,we organized sports for children. Most fulfilling experience for me as children enjoyed every bit of that evening. They were delighted to receive small gifts like pens, pensils, exercise books etc. All these children have not been to schools last 4 months. Some  of them do attend some non-formal classes conducted by an NGO. Nobody knows what happens to these children at the end of the year, as they are about to waste one entire year of studies, besides going through the trauma of having lost everything and constantly living in insecurity and fear.  

The new Collector of Kandhamal district gave his full support & co-operation during Christmas week so that Christmas celebrations could be held peacefully all over Kandhamal including in the relief camps. Extra CRPF and Orissa police force was deployed all over sensitive areas and the relief camps.

The government officials have also taken initiative to start Peace process  in each block, though one is not sure if its just an eyewash. Peace committee meetings are being held with the Panchayats  along  with the village people.  While I was in the camps, a Peace committee meeting in a village was successful & about 8 families from the camp have decided to go back to their village in spite of  the risk involved. As Mr. Michael, a teacher by profession, puts it,’ Earlier I was afraid to die. Now that I have lost everything, I’m not afraid to die for my faith. When I asked him,’If the government decides to close the camps, what would you do? His answer,’I will leave this place’. To save your life? No, he said,’to save my faith’.

Visit to Mondosore village , a Parish 17 kms away from Raikia, opened my eyes to the reality of the cruelty, the destruction of property; houses, shops, churches, convents, boardings, vehicles, by human beings. Hard to believe….  I was glad to meet those courageous sisters who had to flee into jungles & live there for days  without food & water. They are truly Joyful witnesses of Risen Christ, as they continue to live in their almost destroyed convent, with so many village people living with them, including in their broken chapel..

Christmas comes as Life of the world. Amid the darkness of communal violence, state-sponsored terrorism, Christ comes offering us abundant life, inviting us to reconcile with ourselves, with others & with God.. He is our Hope who makes all things new.

Lets pray for the people of Kandhamal-Orissa that they hold fast to the hope that drove Mary, Joseph forward in the face of all odds at the first  Christmas.
 May this Christmas and New year bring healing and wholeness into the lives of these wounded people, and their remarkable faith in Jesus may reward them with all the blessings they need to persevere, to experience that peace, Joy & hope in the midst of gloom.

Magdalene Almeida DHM
Prabhatara, R.K. Puram