Let Us Experience More Than a Sufferari: personal thoughts on approaching displaced communities

It is interesting how some people engage with suffering.  I am not talking about those who endure suffering, but rather those who engage other people’s suffering.  We have no shortage of suffering in Lebanon at the moment; the Syrian Civil War has left millions displaced into horrific conditions of vulnerability and insecurity.  Many refugees have taken residence in tent settlement communities throughout the country.  These makeshift accommodations offer rudimentary living conditions that are deficient in space, water, sanitation, electricity and protection from the elements.  Many other refugees have sought refuge in urban centers where provisions and security are often elusive and sparse.  To experience the challenges of forced displacement is to experience a very real and pungent form of suffering.  Yet for some outsiders, an experience is exactly what they want.

Many are mobilizing to help the victims of the Syrian Civil War, the greatest humanitarian disaster of the 21^st century.  Individuals, organizations and churches throughout the world are eager to be part of the response, and foreigners frequently travel to Lebanon to see the situation firsthand.  Oftentimes these outsiders are connected to local aid and relief organizations that are involved in various forms of relief and development initiatives among refugees.  These hosts, or guides, escort the visitors around the country and often budget time in the itinerary for a visit to refugee settlements and families.  I have begun calling this particular encounter a ‘Sufferari’ because of the way it bears a disturbingly similar resemblance to a Safari.  Here is how I (tongue firmly in cheek) see it playing out:

A group of foreigners and their local guide navigate the rugged landscapes in large vehicles to experience an ‘authentic’ encounter with refugees in their natural habitat (rural tent settlement communities are widely considered prime locale). Sometimes participants are content to merely observe from a safe distance; others prefer to personally engage with the refugee and experience the ‘real deal’ of displacement.  This usually involves entering a refugee family’s home and sitting on the floor while drinking small glasses of sweetened tea.  The guide will help navigate communication between the parties so that refugees can express in their own words how terrible it is to flee war and take refuge in another country. The foreigners may try to offer some uplifting words or simply sit quietly, listen and observe.   Oftentimes the displaced young will put on a lively display of energy, youthfulness and warmth, much to the delight of the tourists who find these little faces especially charming objects of photography.  After a short time, Sufferari participants return to their comfortable accommodations feeling as though they have tasted the bitterness of displacement misery.  Thoughts will be shared in emails and status updates, pictures will be posted abundantly on social media, and financial ties will be strengthened between outside parties and local organizations.  Meanwhile the refugees remain. Their suffering drags on.

The Sufferari is by no means limited to visiting displaced Syrians; one can travel the world in search of casual encounters with suffering.  Such recreation can take place in urban slums and shanty towns, official refugee camps, impoverished rural communities and many other areas of marginalization.  Celebrities, dignitaries and common-folk alike have found such excursions edifying.   I personally have been part of a number of Sufferari-like experiences, sometimes as a paying tourist, sometimes as a student and sometimes as a guide. 

One must ask, “Is such an activity wrong?”  I would not say so.  There is an unrelenting amount of suffering in this world; it is proper to be aware and exposed to the needs of others.  While one can learn much from news reports or correspondences with others involved in the situation, a personal experience continues to be the most powerful way of wrapping one’s mind around the realities facing the poor, the displaced and the oppressed.  Additionally, many relief, aid, and development organizations are dependent on outsider funding in order to provide support to those in need.  Arranging personal experiences is an effective way to profile services and engage donors.  Such activities often happen with good intentions, yet we must all look critically at our practices and examine their implications.

The question of a Sufferari is not “is this right or wrong?” but rather “is this consistent with how we normally approach another’s suffering?”  I strongly believe that we would never think of engaging with other forms of suffering the way we engage with displacement.  Could you imagine taking a guided tour of a cancer ward at a children’s hospital in order see for yourself the situation of children and their families fighting cancer?  How would feel about a group visiting a shelter for battered women and then posting pictures online of the people they met?  Would you ever be comfortable visiting a tornado-ravaged town in order to share a fifteen minute conversation and Coke with a family whose home lies in wreckage?  Clearly we would consider all these to be insensitive to individuals enduring very severe forms of suffering and loss.  Yet when it comes to the refugee, many do not seem to have an issue with casually approaching and displaying another’s traumatic form of suffering.

I am by no means advocating that we keep our distance from those in need.  We should not turn our eyes away from those who suffer; scripture is very clear that true faith requires an active concern for the poor and oppressed.  The more I personally engage with the phenomenon of displacement the more I see that this is a matter that God cares about, and so should His people.  Our challenge is then engaging with refugees in ways that do not ‘package’ their experience but rather uphold individual dignity.  The following are points to keep in mind to guard against Sufferari operations.

-          Do not objectify the refugee.  Yes, refugee status is a particular classification that denotes a specific situation, but we are all first and foremost individual people.  We should never present or define others by their current statuses.

-          Keep the individual, rather than the situation or circumstance, at the center of the relationship. This means we must ask the questions, “If this person were not a refugee, would I still care for her?  Would I still give her of my time, attention and resources?  Would I still be interested in visiting or bringing visitors to this home?”  If the question is no then we need to examine our own hearts and motivations.

-          Never include the distribution of money or aid with personal visits.  This sets an unhealthy precedent that can create many complications on various levels.

-          Avoid short in-and-out visits.  Do not make a refugee settlement or family simply another stop on a tour; be prepared to spend considerable time.  The purpose for such visits must be to make real, human connections with others, which cannot be achieved in a mere 30 minutes or less.  If you cannot afford to give quality time then it is probably better that you not go at all. 

-          Be very careful about posting pictures of refugee people and places on social media.  Never objectify suffering by making it a background for self-presentation and display.

-          Conduct visits only within the context of consistent, ongoing relationship.  For me this means only taking visitors to refugee families that I know personally.  These are individuals with whom I frequently share my life and occasionally take visitors to meet.  If we are not spending time with displaced individuals on our own then we should not spend time with these individuals while hosting visitors.

-          Finally, always consider how you would want others to interact with you if you were enduring an extreme type of suffering.  If you are not comfortable with having your own personal suffering on display then do not seek to display the personal suffering of others.

I cannot overstate the current need for healthy, holistic care for the many millions suffering displacement in Lebanon, the Middle East and throughout the world.  Each one must ask what role he or she can play in addressing this enormous need.  Nonetheless, we must be mindful of the implications our actions have on those we seek to help.  Do not allow the work of serving the poor, distressed and oppressed turn into a type of industry and never use another’s suffering as strategic means to professional ends.  All interaction with refugees must navigate complicated sensitivities in order to forge healthy, balanced relationships between individuals.  In summary, let us experience more than a Sufferari; let us experience authentic opportunities to honor others and uphold their God-given dignity in and through all situations.

Family Wedding

Last weekend we celebrated my cousin Ahmad’s marriage.  There is a lot I could say about a Bedouin Wedding, but it's better if I just show you.

The feast starts its preparations the night when the sheep and goats are slaughtered.

Cooking the lunch that will feed hundreds.

Signature Platters come with fully cooked sheep heads.  

Convoy of servers.

Special guests eat in the salon

The Bride and Groom

I guess we can call this the wedding party.

Father of the Groom.  He only has one son left to marry off.

Uncle Jed is in town to enjoy the celebration

A mother's joy

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The dancing goes on for hours.

Not all marriages start in the fast lane.

Sometimes Teaching...Always Learning

It is not uncommon to be taught by the children; quite often it is the younger showing the older what belief and faith truly looks like.  This has certainly been the case this past month. One of the boys I supervise faced a very challenging situation at the start of the new school year. He is born and been raised in Lebanon but is not Lebanese, which proved problematic as we (DEA administration) attempted to enroll him in secondary school. After taking into account a number of considerations, including finances, location, and academic performance, it was decided to place him in a nearby public school. Unfortunately that was not easy. As is well known, Lebanon has experienced unprecedented influx of foreigners in the past few years.  This increase has added to the already high rates of foreign residents in this little nation.  The impact of these developments is massive; institutions and services across the country are overwhelmed, including the public schools.  This year the government took a necessary step of restricting non-Lebanese from enrolling in public schools due to its inability to meet the high demand for classroom places.  That left our boy stuck.  I visited the public school no less than five times hoping to make an enrollment, and each time I was told, "it's not possible now, check back in a few days and we'll see if the government has changed the order." Each rejection brought the realization that the door may never open and we needed make other arrangements or else risk real possibility of losing a year of school.

The best solution seemed to be enrolling in a private school though this presented some complications as we struggled to find a school that met  our criteria.  Naturally geography limited our options as did the need for an English curriculum rather than French.  Unfortunately our budget cannot afford what most private schools charge and our boy did not meet the academic standards that many required.  The school search runaround was difficult for all, especially our boy as he watched doors close and prospects fade.  Being in limbo is hard for anyone, especially a young man who simply wants to continue his education and reach for his dreams.

I was personally quite pessimistic.  This nation is experiencing some big challenges and the little lives at DEA are quite insignificant in light of it all the big problems.  I understand that tough times call for tough measures; our boy isn't a refugee but he is a foreigner and that has significant ramifications in Lebanon at the present.  We care a lot for this boys regardless of their status, but I didn't expect others to.  I mistook being pessimistic with being realistic, and it took a young man to show me otherwise.

Throughout the whole experience our boy never lost hope. Yes, his spirits did drop at times, but then they would rise and he'd continue to talk about plans, ideas and aspirations for the year ahead in the yet-to-be-determined school.  He kept saying that thing we teach our boys over and over again, "God cares about me and I know He'll work everything out somehow." I didn't doubt this, but I did doubt it would work out the way we wished. In the end doubt is doubt.

Fortunately we have a director who isn't like me and who simply reminded our young man, "we don't give up on our boys."  The school search eventually led to a small and reputable evangelical school in Beirut.  Our case was shared and received favorably, but the principal was concerned about past academic performance and needed to do some inquiry about our young man to see if indeed the grades do not tell the whole story.  If our young man was to be accepted then he would be accepted on the account of grace.  A week went by until we heard the good news: Accepted!  Within minutes we were on our way down to the school (already two weeks in session) to register and buy uniforms and books.  Within moments the situation changed dramatically. Our boy now has a fine school that provides an ideal learning environment at a generously discounted tuition rate.

He never said it to me, but our young man would have been justified in telling me "I told you so."  It turns out that we at DEA aren't the only ones who care about little lives who need extra support in this country.  There are others too who put compassion above expectations and extend mercy rather than judgment. We are thankful for this particular school and the many others who support us as we support our children.  In this I’m reminded that we have a God who cares with a fatherly heart of mercy, compassion and love.  There is a big story being written, and it is a story of good.  His promises are not simply encouraging and sentimental, they are Truth.  Sometimes we need unlikely teachers to remind us of this hope.  Yes, our boys need to learn many, many things from this ministry, but so do I.

New School Year, New Students, Same Goal

This week kicked off another year at the New Horizons Center literacy program with a group of new students.  These children come from Lebanon’s most marginalized Gypsy and Bedouin communities.  Each of them faces extreme challenges that prevent an opportunity to experience formal learning; our program is perhaps their last chance to receive a basic education.  And basic it is.  The first week has been spent with practical lessons on washing hands, brushing teeth, sitting properly at a table, holding a pencil, walking in lines, understanding basic classroom rules, and other general items that are new to this group of first-time students.  By all measures it has been a great start with the children showing real excitement for their teachers and school.  We’re blessed to have such a committed and caring staff who truly love these young lives.

Our experience is revealing the impact the New Horizons Center has been making these past four years.  The new students are all relatives and fellow community members of former or continuing students, and it is easy to see positive influences have rubbed off on their conduct and attitude towards school.   Ultimately this is the goal of the center: to impact a few individuals so that they can rub off a positive impact on their community.  Through practical teaching and nurturing in Christ’s love we aim to see lives and communities transformed.  This year we hope to take the literacy program forward in different ways and implement initiatives that will work towards this goal.  It’s been a good start and we anticipate good things to come, not just for the year ahead but the generations ahead as well.

Sports Camp: Learning for the big and then the small

We are extremely blessed this week to have some excellent individuals join us at Dar El Awlad for a sports camp.  The heart and mind behind the program has been Alan and Tim from Northern Ireland and Charlie from Egypt.  They have helped coordinate clinics and activities for DEA home and school children as well as dozens of refugee children from the surrounding areas.  Overall, over 60 children have received top-notch coaching on football and, most importantly, living a life with God.  As valuable as the experience has been on the children, it has been even more helpful for staff and volunteers who are gaining firsthand experience on how simple sports camps and sessions can be to develop character in youth.  I’m confident that the training we are receiving will help us build on this camp long after our guests have gone.  It is encouraging to see how dynamic yet straightforward children’s ministry can be.  No doubt this week will continue to have meaningful impact on the ministry in the times ahead.  We’re so thankful for people who have passion to share their gifts with us here at DEA, and we thank God for friends like Alan, Tim and Charlie.

The Sports Camp Team

Getting coaching about what matters most

Volunteers like these guys demonstrated how much potential we have around us.

Camp Season Comes to a Close

Our summer camping season has come to a close.  Last weekend Ruth and I wrapped up the Christian Missionary Alliance Church teens camp after enjoying a great week of fellowship, teaching, and activities together.  This is the second camp I helped direct this summer and once again I was surrounded by a great team of leaders and campers.  The camp was held in the pristine Qadisha Valley of the north Lebanese, a mountain setting that has boasts some of the oldest churches and monasteries in the world.  It is the kind of scenery that alone can minister to our hearts in powerful ways.  We’re blessed to have such environments accessible. 

Throughout the week of camp we explored the theme of “Selfie.”  First we looked at God’s Selfie; how He is beyond our knowing and comprehension, yet in Jesus we have a selfie of what God ‘looks’ like. (Col. 1:15)  Secondly we discussed our Old Selfie and New Selfie and the transformation we experience in Christ’s redemption. (2 Cor. 5:17).  Then we thought about the Group Selfie, how God desires us to be part of His community of believers and agents of love to a hurting world.  (Mat. 5:13-16)  The camp was wrapped up with a reflection of how we can balance our Selfies by placing Christ in the center of all we are and do.  Hopefully the campers walked away with a whole new concept of the Selfie as they pondered the living God and experienced His love and grace.  We pray that the camp sustains the teens and the church youth ministry in their journeys of faith.  

The Camp Team

The view of the campsite at the appropriately named Beit Monzer 

Holding meetings under the tent.

Eggs breaking on heads...just has to be done in some way or form.


I recommend every camp include devotions at a 1600+ year old monastery.

 You cannot have a Selfie camp theme without having loads of Selfies!

The First Graduate

We experienced a milestone among relatives this past week; my cousin Ahmad became the first of our extended relatives to complete a university education.  The achievement is a result of significant endurance, devotion, and support from him and many others who help make this possible.  Ahmad’s Bedouin community in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon suffers from severely low rates of education that have contributed to a cycle of poverty.  I recently did an ethnographic study on his particular community and found that of the estimated 800 individuals in the area only five have completed a Grade 9 education.   You can imagine how few university graduates the community boasts.  As a young boy Ahmad showed the desire and potential to continue in his studies, and my father committed to support him in his academic pursuits.  It was a long journey that had many bumps in the road, but he maintained on course until finally arriving a graduate.  The accomplishment is more than one young man receiving the tools to build a better future; it is about a marginalized community producing an example of the value and possibility of education.  I’m proud of my cousin and privileged to have journeyed with him on this road through university.  Unfortunately I could not attend the graduation ceremony, but I know the achievement will require more than a onetime celebration.  It’s a lift to my spirits to hear Ahmad with such thankfulness and gratefulness of the many people who have helped him reach his dreams.  Success is rarely an individual thing, and many of us are feeling good about this milestone! 

My Cousin Ahmad and Aunt Hamda.  She never had the chance to learn to read and write but now she can at least say she's the mother of a university graduate.