Respond - Durban Refugees
- Clint McLean
- Apr 22, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 3
I don’t really know what to say about today. It was very hard. The pics and videos are a glimpse into the world of the foreigners who live amongst us, who serve us dinner and drinks, who guard our cars, work in hair salons and on the side of the road selling vegetables. And sometimes end up on the street. They are beautiful and community minded and look after each other while away from home, homes they have often escaped due to hunger and violence. They are suffering right now. They are locked down in the CBD, where lockdown is a scary and intimidating experience.
St Peter’s Church, under the leadership of an absolute gem of a man, Fr. George, have accommodated our Food Chain with such enthusiasm and love. The stories that Fr. George has told me today about his community of foreigners surviving this lockdown, have broken me. Once we finish distributing this food on Friday, I will publish a few of the messages that are coming out of his community. People are starving. Real desperation. They have no representation and aren’t cared for by the government. No grants are coming. We have to stand up for them. They are African and they are our brothers and sisters and my heart, this evening is satisfied that the food is ready, but heart broken that many, many people are sitting in darkness and haven’t eaten for three or four days.
On a brighter note, I realized today that Ubuntu Army is working exactly where it should be. A voice and a hand to the most vulnerable. As I ate dinner tonight, I received a number of messages from Fr. George, one detailing St Peter’s strategy for responding to Covid. In the first line of his strategy , Fr. George wrote “Foster African solidarity (Ubuntu). Encouraging those who have to share those have nothing.” Ubuntu Army is exactly where it should be. To all those people from around the world who have donated to our army of Ubuntu, thank you so much. You are saving lives, and I hope these pics and videos give you some insight into what your generosity Is making possible. Thank you.
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