No images? Click here The unexpected places where power resides December 2019 Issue No. 86Quotation of the month
The unexpected places where power residesAt the Jesuit Refugee Service community centre in Amman, students constructed an art piece to represents their reality. The piece depicts a church and a mosque, representing co-existence, and the seeds in the foreground represent refugees and the new life and future they bring to Jordan. (MCC Photo/Anna Vogt) Christmas is our annual reminder to seek God in unexpected places. A baby, born in a stable to a poor Jewish family in Bethlehem, is the face of God? A child refugee, forced to flee to Egypt, is a witness to the Divine? In Ottawa, it is tempting to view politics and positions of prestige as the space where change happens and where power resides. I was honoured to spend some time in Jordan this November. Jordan is the country with the second-highest per capita number of refugees in the world. While there are challenges, it was beautiful to observe the ability of people to receive each other and live with one another across differences and divides. I saw people choosing to see the Divine in those they encountered, both those on the move and those doing the welcoming. It was a timely reminder of the power of perception. When we see God in those around us, especially in those where it may appear that we do not have a lot in common, we are choosing to change the narrative about the way the world appears to work. When we change the narrative, anything is possible. As we approach the MCC centennial in 2020, marking 100 years of work with displaced peoples, the stories and encounters with those on the move continue to resonate and inform our advocacy work. This December, as we celebrate the birth of a tiny baby, may we continue to question our ideas about power. May we seek change in unexpected encounters and work for a world where no one is forced to flee their homes. - Anna Vogt, Director of the MCC Ottawa Office Canada votes to support Palestinian self-determination at the UNAmal Nassar and her nephew Bishara Nassar repair fencing around a young grape vine on the hilltop farm where their family has lived for more than 100 years. The farm is near Bethlehem and is surrounded by five Israeli settlements. (MCC photo/Emily Loewen) In November 2019 – for the first time since 2005 – Canada voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in support of Palestinian self-determination. Resolution 74/69 aligns with Canada’s long-held official policy for Palestine and Israel, particularly Canada’s condemnation of the occupation and continued construction of illegal Israeli settlements, as outlined in the Fourth Geneva Convention. We want to take the time to thank the government for their important shift in this direction! We see this as a crucial step and encourage the government to continue to move forward. In the interest of keeping the momentum going, while we welcome this vote, we continue to be concerned that Canadian trade policy for the region, specifically through the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), is inconsistent with official Canadian policy and with the UN resolution. CIFTA lacks any regulation to ensure goods produced or sourced from illegal Israeli settlements and industrial parks within Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), are either excluded or labelled as such. This allows the benefits of CIFTA to extend to illegal Israeli settlements. This is contrary to Canada’s obligations to uphold international law. We are grateful for this change and want to thank the Canadian government taking this stance! It is important that we take the time to thank the Canadian government for this welcome shift in voting, but that we also urge the government to put regulations in place to ensure all of Canada’s actions in the region are consistent with official policy and this UN resolution. Without such regulation Canada’s UN vote, while important, is only symbolic. We can encourage Canada to support a just peace for all in the region. Act Today: Send a message to your MP and the Prime Minister, noting your appreciation and urging the government to do more!
MCC Ottawa UpdateWind chimes on display outside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. (MCC Photo/Anna Vogt) In November, Anna Vogt, Director of the MCC Ottawa Office, traveled to the Middle East to join a learning tour in Palestine and Israel organized by MCC Manitoba and also visited MCC partners and projects in Jordan working to address challenges created by forced migration. Our Policy Analyst, Bekah Sears, presented MCC’s A Cry for Home Campaign on a panel on advocacy effectiveness hosted by the Canadian Council of Churches. |