I have spent the past few weeks working among refugees here in the mountains of Indonesia. It’s hard to find the words to describe the way these people touched my heart. All I know is it is deep, and I’m not the same. I see in a new light now.
Most of the refugees we come into contact with are known as the Hazaras. Most of the Hazara’s are part of the Shia group of Islam, also known as the Shiites. They are the minority’s group of Islam. The great majority — upwards of 85 to 90 percent — of the world’s more than 1.6 billion Muslims are Sunnis. Shia constitute about 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims, and globally their population is estimated at less than 200 million. The Hazara people have been the victims of massacres committed by the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Conditions have not improved for the Hazara’s in Afghanistan and thousands continue to be been persecuted in neighboring Pakistan by Sunni extremist groups. Most of these Hazara’s come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
The history of this conflict is interesting. Much of this regional rivalry is about who wields the most political muscle in the Middle East. Its roots are in a rift between the Sunni and Shia disciplines of Islam that opened 1,400 years ago.
The divide is traced to 632 A.D., when the Islamic Prophet Muhammad died and a debate emerged about who should be his successor. While both sides agreed Allah to be their one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group (which eventually became the Shiites) felt Muhammad’s successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other (which became the Sunnis) felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet’s customs was acceptable. But this original schism between Islam’s two largest sects was not over religious doctrine. It was over political leadership.
Thus, one of the main reasons behind all of the violence within the Middle East, and why there are people that are fleeing.
These refugees left their home countries in fear of losing their lives, only to find refuge in a country that will not accept them as a citizen. Non of the refugees are allowed to work in Indonesia. So they must live off of saved money and in hopes to hold them over, or be provided for by loved ones either back in their home country, or by those who have made it into Australia or Canada, where they’re allowed to work. Most of the people that can leave the Middle East are the wealthy or middle class who can afford to. That leaves many behind in the country who are too poor to leave.
On top of this issue, once they flee, they are in a place where many don’t speak the language, and many are unable to go to school. Because they are not able to live normal lives, many fall into depression. They miss their homes and their families. They feel they have no place here. There are children born here that have no place to call home. They are free from the constant threat of being killed, but are left in limbo in a place not home without hope.
It’s really interesting. You know, I naively used to think that refugees in general were not safe. I generalized everybody from that part of the world with the chaos that is happening there, and put that stereotype on all of them. I now see that I was so wrong before in doing that. I was such a fool to not see that these are real people, with real names, and with real horrific stories. But they have real hearts. These are beautiful people who just want to live in peace, and enjoy life, explore, learn, have a family, and love. They are intelligent, generous, humorous, and full of life and love. They are nothing like media depicts them to be. They are nothing like Donald Trump makes them out to be. They are really just like us. They don’t want to live in constant fear for their lives.
I also used to think that once a refugee found safety everything was okay. They are no longer living in fear of their lives but they are free to go outside. While this is a benefit of leaving their country, the reality is much different than what I had thought. The people cannot make money so they are living on what ever they had saved before leaving. They are not treated as equals here and are generally viewed as uneducated people. This stereotype couldn’t be more wrong as I have come to know many of the people.
Something changes in your heart when you meet these people and live with them. When you hear some of their stories, you don’t think the same anymore. You wonder what it’s like for this man to live with his wife being killed in a bombing. His one son, and his memories of her is all he has left of her. On top of this, the boy grows up without a mother, in a strange and foreign land. What is that like and what does that do to a person and their character, that will shape the rest of their life? Or what’s it like for this one man. to help some Christians, and because the wrong people found out, your father’s throat is slit in the living room of your house, and yours is next if you don’t run? And here I was, thinking I had thoughts that haunted me. These are real stories, that is just a scratch on the surface.
A lot of these people will admit their faith to you, behind closed doors, just with you, if they trust you. But they can’t afford to put that out in the open for the sake of their family back in the Middle East, and sometimes even in Indonesia. Tell me that doesn’t make you feel lucky to live in a country where you are free to speak your mind and practice your own religion.
A group of refugees came together last year and decided to make a change in their community here in Indonesia. They decided to start a school where they would teach English, Math, General Knowledge, Art, Science and much more. This school, now known as Hope Learning Center (HLC) has brought so much hope and purpose to the refugee community here.
My squad and I were lucky enough to be welcomed into their community and live alongside them for the past few weeks. From helping out with teaching at the schools, and playing soccer, to drinking tea and playing Uno, living life with these people was an incredible and eye opening experience that I will never forget. I never would’ve thought that Indonesia was the place I would be working and living in a community of refugees from the Middle East. It has been such an amazing experience. I’m blessed to have had this, and can’t believe it’s already over. It went too fast. But I never used to see with this depth of compassion for people, and the past month awakened that in my heart. I see in a new light. All humans are so much alike. We are all looking for love. The differences that divide us are petty, and can be put aside. Just know, what brings us together and connects us is so much stronger than our differences.
Thank you all so much for all your support and for reading! There will be more soon.
Yours truly,
~Forrest Dickerson
