I’m back after an almost three-month leave of absence, and it’s hard to know where to begin. The news stream of cases of human rights abuses against religious minorities in Middle Eastern nations that arrives in my email box, or even populates national news websites, reminds me a little of that opening scene in the Matrix movies of the endlessly streaming lines of computer code. The stories of religious persecution, as heartbreaking as they are, in the aggregate really do seem overwhelming. Compassion fatigue is a definite threat for those who advocate for human rights.
According to Wikipedia, “Compassion fatigue, also known as a Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a term that refers to a gradual lessening of compassion over time. It is common among victims of trauma and individuals that work directly with victims of trauma. It was first diagnosed in nurses in the 1950s. [1] Sufferers can exhibit several symptoms including hopelessness, a decrease in experiences of pleasure, constant stress and anxiety, and a pervasive negative attitude. This can have detrimental effects on individuals, both professionally and personally, including a decrease in productivity, the inability to focus, and the development of new feelings of incompetency and self doubt.”
I read the news stories from organizations like http://www.compassdirect.org, and I wish I could step through a matrix of time and resources and be that Good Samaritan, but I’m stuck here in the U.S. amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and … well, I’m here and they are there. Prayers are unbounded by time and distance. But, practical advocacy and aid is needed and many Americans are so overwhelmed in coping with this huge economic change they cannot keep up with it all.
I almost think a new strategy is needed, and the tools like Twitter, and social networking sites could be a powerful thing – we saw this recently in Iran – yet, how exactly is something like that mobilized? Or, is it more of a spontaneous arising? Will Middle Easterners themselves end up being their own rescuers as they see the West more and more mired in their own often self-made quandaries?
That Statue of Liberty has been a beacon of hope – a focal point on one precious word that all peoples from time to time have seen great value in – and that is freedom. Yes, people abuse freedom and do ugly things. But, in our innermost selves, we know in our hearts we are free to believe or not to believe in ideas – religious, ethical, or political. The difficulty has been in sharing our beliefs with others without fear of being imprisoned or tortured; beaten or killed.
My leave of absence made itself a necessity even though I would have preferred to put it off: the day of reckoning came and I had to recharge because I was out of both energy and ideas. It came to me that in the area of human rights and religious freedom, the world’s economic bubble and resulting crash was mirrored throughout the non-profit universe as well. Back in 2007 and 2008 there was a lot of hope and a whirlwind of activity by many Westerners making trips to various countries, and supporting all kinds of programs. Mission tourism was a big deal. Then, a quiet descended and I wonder what has happened to all those who are still forced to run for their lives when they offended someone in their family, or their community because they made a choice to express their beliefs, or even more inciting — to change their beliefs?
I think they must still be there, living daily amid threats, weaving in and out of the busy streets in major Middle Eastern cities, which have become cities of refuge that provide the welcome camouflauge of crowds for those who must leave their homes in smaller villages, towns and cities, because their families and neighbors consider them apostates worthy of death. They are still there, because they cannot get visas to leave, or authorities seeking to pacify local religious leaders stop them from getting on airplanes, or ships, or trains and going to another country. They are still there coping with a daily struggle, meeting with others who are like-minded in small groups, helping one another survive in an incredibly stressful and difficult situation.
Would it make a difference to you if I listed the names or the details of these cases? Other organizations have listed them, and sometimes it helps. Other times, it seems it doesn’t. We received a letter this month from a Coptic priest in Egypt. It’s a letter that leaves you feeling helpless, because you know that there are so many others in the same boat – persecuted, abused, forced to flee in the night, hoping that the U.S. Embassy in Cairo will spread a little of that freedom to a few Egyptians, too. (Don’t wait on it, folks, because that is simply not their priority.) Still, these suffering ones hope, and stand in line, outside that embassy, because they believe that maybe – just maybe – that precious freedom Americans have will somehow, someday come to their own country, and spread among their own countrymen. Who has the heart to tell them it’s probably not going to happen? Who has the heart to tell them they are in it for the long, long haul? No Westerner is going to rescue them. Maybe that one case in a hundred that catches the eye of the media will result in one person finding that elusive freedom among the tens of thousands who suffer each day.
Well, back to work. One day at a time. I thank God for His grace.
Jan