Justice Camp Reflections from a Global Partner

Recently, Edmond Bayisabe, Youth Worker from the Diocese of Bujumbura, Burundi visited Canada to participate in the Diocese of Niagara Justice Camp and visit with the Dioceses of Montreal and Quebec. This visit was a continuation of an ongoing partnership between PWRDF’s jusgeneration.ca Program and the Diocese of Bujumbura.

Sheilagh McGlynn, justgeneration.ca Facilitator asked him to share some of his thoughts about his experience at Justice Camp. Here are some of his thoughts –

Sheilagh McGlynn (SM): What have been some of your biggest learnings from attending the Anglican Church of Canada’s Justice Camp?

Edmond Bayisabe (EB): Through the Aboriginal Justice Immersion group, I saw a different face of Canada, unlike a Canada that we studied in schools, read in many books and are told in newspapers. It was good to be there, to see and hear some first stories because, some times, we just know the second stories.

The Justice Camp was a good opportunity to understand the difference between charity and justice. I realized that many organizations are working for charity instead of justice. Charity deals more with the symptoms of a problem while justice deals with the deep and hidden roots of a problem in order to eradicate it and prevent it from happening again.

I appreciated the increasing courage of the Anglican Church and the government of Canada in assuming their historical responsibility regarding the Truth and Reconciliation work for Aboriginal Justice. It is not a comfortable task but it will liberate all those who are involved in it if they accept to be humble, honest and sincere in the pursuit of real healing. It will also liberate current and future generations from lies which caused false and/or lack of self esteem, hate, despair, fear and confusion.

SM: What connections do you see between justice issues in Canada and in Burundi?
EB: The burden of the history of domination, war, colonialism, impunity, social injustices and their consequences on lives of innocent people for decades and centuries. Burundi and Canada are both in a Truth and Reconciliation journey to heal from the spiritual and emotional wounds caused by the tragedies of their history. The contexts are different as well as the approaches but I am convinced that the result will be helpful for both countries. Each country could learn from the other and support each other in various ways.

During my visit and my participation in the Justice Camp, I noticed that there are problems of poverty, education, joblessness, homelessness in Canada but we cannot make a comparison with the situation in Burundi because those problems are so intense in Burundi. Having access to education, getting a job, a salary or an income, a house, health care, etc. are general problems in our context.

SM: How can we make stronger connections between Canadian young people and the young people of Burundi?
EB: This can be done in various ways for example through exchange programs to allow young people from both contexts to learn from one another, joint efforts for advocacy on some issues affecting young people’s lives.
It would also be helpful to work on some common projects to support initiatives taking places in each country, according to our capabilities. On our side, the priorities for the young people are peace and reconciliation, education, jobs, income generating projects and networking among others.

The connections may also strengthen the evangelism in the lives of young people. Our young people need to understand that the Gospel message is the solid foundation on which they could build healthy physical, moral and spiritual lives.

SM: What message would you like to share with the young people of Canada?
EB: They have a beautiful and rich country in various ways but they have a lot of things to learn from its history and they must be ready for that learning with open minds and humble hearts. I would like to encourage the young people of Canada to learn from what is happening in other parts of the world. I would like to see them learn what is happening particularly in Burundi. I would like to see them see how they can be positively involved in the ongoing dynamics to foster development and justice as we are members of the same human family.

I encourage them to give a place to God in their lives as young people. This will help, guide, inspire and strengthen them in addressing the contemporary challenges of a changing world. No one who follows Jesus Christ and gives him the place of a Master and Saviour in her/his life is disappointed; Jesus gives a real sense to life.