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Elizabeth Phelps is a co-representative for MCC Colombia. This blog is part of our ongoing series on migration.
There is a small Mennonite church in Quito, Ecuador, that has opened its doors to refugees from neighboring Colombia. There is no sign at the door announcing services, no logo advertising office hours, and yet by word of mouth people keep finding their way to Sunday services and weekly intake interviews with caring and compassionate staff. The church distributes food packages and other aid, and provides psychological counseling for often deeply traumatized people escaping situations of violence across the border.
Over the last two decades, 147,616 Colombians have sought asylum in Ecuador,[1] fleeing the longest-running armed conflict in the western hemisphere. Even though the current peace process is moving forward in encouraging ways, the flow of people across the border has not slowed perceptibly. According to current UNHCR statistics, 122,161 officially recognized refugees and 11,583 asylum seekers currently live in Ecuador.[2] Over 70 percent settle in urban areas, such as the capital of Quito.
Celebrating Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia in the Mennonite Church in Quito. Tibrine da Fonseca.
Since the first day the Mennonite church in Quito opened its doors, Colombian refugees have been welcome, even though this act of hospitality has not always been easy. Marion Meyer, visiting the church and project from Colombia, noted that “the victim identity that they [the refugees] bring with them, the accumulated trauma and jadedness about the future, as well as their coping skills for war, as opposed to relative peace, really count against them adjusting well to being in Ecuador. This is in stark contrast to [a church] worker who chose to leave Colombia for Ecuador through a discernment process rather than under duress. She is able to appreciate all that Ecuador is able to offer and take those lessons home with her. She has experienced Ecuador positively while the refugees have experienced it as hostile.”
According to Daniela Sanchez, who is currently coordinating the project along with psychologist Jennifer Rey:
over the years some people were not supportive of the project, and they have left the church… but we need to break the barriers of nationalism. We are all different, but now we are a family. We can’t be insensitive to the needs of others.
In this context of hostility towards Colombians, the hospitality offered by the church is a balm to the wounds carried by many refugees.
Celebrating Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia in the Mennonite Church in Quito. Tibrine da Fonseca
But what does the practice of hospitality do for the host? Pastor Luis Tapia has said many times that the outreach to refugees changes the church, keeping it mindful of the importance of social outreach and mission. Sometimes it’s easy to think of hospitality in sentimental, warm and fuzzy terms; the hospitality practiced by the church in Quito is anything but. In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus says
When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.
Following the invitation of Jesus, extending hospitality precisely to those who cannot return the favor is a demanding and exacting job. At times the demand to integrate refugees has felt like too much for the church. And yet Gladys, a member of the governing board, says that the church needs to feel that the refugee project is “theirs, close, and possible.”
David Sulewski and Tibrine da Fonseca, who worked with the project for two years, described their work this way:
“In the Refugee Project we sought simply to be there when the refugees arrived, to be witnesses of hospitality—and to respond to their questions and needs as best we could with the limited resources we had… ‘We feel like humans, not numbers,’ one refugee said. ‘We receive spiritual nourishment,’ said another. And another added that the church is a ‘safe space where we can let down our guard.’”
Celebrating Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia in the Mennonite Church in Quito. Tibrine da Fonseca
Feeling safe enough to let down your guard is a precious thing, in a situation where “discrimination… can seem pervasive and many refugees talk about the challenges of renting an apartment, finding work, or even riding the bus. We hear stories of owners refusing to rent to Colombians, and even in our first weeks here [we] heard many stereotypes of Colombians as sneaky, addicted to drugs, and too pushy.” Refugees often arrive with nothing, and while it is important to meet their basic needs, they also need safe, supporting spaces where they can form new social bonds and friendships. The church works to meet those needs.
With the peace accords between the Colombian government and the lead guerrilla group, the FARC, all but signed and sealed, humanitarian organizations have been decreasing support for Colombian refugees in Ecuador. But the church has not seen any decrease in the number of traumatized people showing up at the unmarked door. And so the Quito Mennonites continue to practice hospitality as they have since the church was founded, with love.
[1] Más allá, 13.
[2] UNHCR, 2015 UNHCR subregional operations profile – Latin America, accessed on August 21, 2015, http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e492b66.html
UNHCR on refugees in Ecuador: http://www.unhcr.org/news/videos/2016/6/5756bda84/ecuador-despite-peace-talks-colombians-still-flee-conflict.html
COHA on same: http://www.coha.org/unfinished-business-ecuador-continues-to-manage-its-refugee-population/