OBLATES IN BANGLADESH : 25 YEARS
Last October 19, the Superior General received a fax from Sylhet, Bangladesh, signed by the Delegation Superior, Fr Angelo MARTYN. "In the past two months, the media has highlighted the terrible calamity and the devastating catastrophe caused by the recent floods in Bangladesh, the worst in history, that have left millions of people homeless, depriving them of their livelihood, destroying crops and setting the economy of the country back to zero."
"In the face of this national crisis, as a sign of solidarity with the suffering masses, we the Oblates of Bangladesh Delegation have decided to cancel the Jubilee Celebration that had been originally scheduled to take place on the 8th December 1998 and to contribute the money to the rehabilitation projects of the flood victims. The celebration will be limited to a thanksgiving Eucharistic Celebration with the parishioners."
This letter draws us closer to a country and a Church where the Oblates were called to work just a little more than 25 years ago. We might add that during the floods, the scholasticate provided shelter for about sixty families. They helped close to one thousand other families to put up small temporary shelters of plastic sheets....
Bangladesh: the country
The independence of Bangladesh is the result of two break-ups. In 1947, the Indies, under English domination for almost two centuries, gave birth to two independent States, India and Pakistan. The latter, predominantly Muslim, was divided into West Pakistan and East Pakistan, separated by more than 2,000 km of Indian territory. In 1971, East Pakistan broke away in turn and proclaimed its independence under the name of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is a small but heavily populated country. Its surface area of 147,570 sq km is equal to a bit less than Illinois or about half of Italy. Its population – 130 million? – makes it the seventh or eighth largest in the world. The population density – about 880 people per sq km – is the highest in the world.
Except for an area of hills to the East the greater part of Bangladesh is made up of the joint deltas of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers. It is therefore easily affected by the seasonal rains and floods. The July-August 1998 floods covered more than half of the country, devastating the houses and crops of countless millions of Bangladeshis, and damaging thousands of schools.... Despite all the efforts for development, Bangladesh remains one of the poorest countries in the world. 50% of the people live below the poverty line.
Bangladesh is predominantly Muslim (88.3% of the population) and Islam is the State religion. Slightly more than 10% are Hindus. Christians are a very small minority: 3 per 1000 inhabitants. Catholicism is the more important of the Christian denominations.
Some Christians for more than 480 years
As for most of Southeast Asia, it was the Portuguese who brought Christianity to what is now Bangladesh. Its presence is noted at Chittagong as early as 1517. The first 300 years were difficult. The missionaries were mostly Jesuits and Augustinians. Baptisms were among the métis, slaves, and sometimes there were a few converts from Islam.... In 1836 the area had four missions with about 9,200 Christians. The Apostolic Vicariate of East Bengal was established at Dhaka in 1847. Some years later, the Congregation of the Holy Cross – at first French, then later Canadians and Americans – took charge of the mission. In 1939 there were about 28,000 Catholics. It is true that some of these migrated to Calcutta, then part of the same country. The first native bishop was Theotonius Ganguly, appointed Auxiliary of Dhaka in 1960, and its Archbishop in 1967.
Statistics published last year for the Asian Synod show 275,000 Catholics (about two per thousand inhabitants). There are six dioceses, 331 priests, of whom 120 are Religious, 52 brothers and 604 sisters. The proportion of native priests is very high.
During his apostolic visit to Dhaka in 1986, John Paul II, addressing especially members of the Catholic Church and referring to the Pastoral Plan for the Church in Bangladesh said: "You feel the need for the specific role of the laity in the life and work of the Church to be fully recognized and brought into play. You also want to be close to all the people of Bangladesh, to the cultural and social conditions of your compatriots. You are concerned, and rightly so, to be present with them in all their struggles...."
In his intervention at the Synod for Asia last year, Bishop Moses Costa of Dinajpur said: "Economically, there is widespread poverty compounded by the geography of the country subject to frequent natural disasters.... There are significant and effective efforts to form and strengthen the local Church and to promote vocations to the priesthood and to religious life. There are remarkable efforts taking place through the work and dedication of catechists.... The Church in Bangladesh is becoming increasingly local through its ministers and inculturation. But it needs to change from being a Church that receives to a Church that gives."
The Oblates' first years
It was in 1973 in response to a request from Archbishop Ganguly of Dhaka that the Superior General agreed to send some Oblates to Bangladesh. The purpose was double: "to furnish personnel to help get the major seminary in Dhaka going, and to form a missionary team for work in this city." The General Council made a Congregation-wide appeal for volunteers and entrusted Fr Lucien Schmitt, then Provincial of Sri Lanka, with the task of organizing this mission. Ten Oblates were chosen.
The first years saw an early completion of the task entrusted to the Oblates at the major seminary, but they were marked by an enthusiasm that did not become commitment and patient fidelity, by various incidents and even accidents, and possibly also by misunderstandings about the definition of the mission. Thus, after five or six years Fr Henry Van Hoof was the only Oblate remaining from the first team. He was happy when Frs André Charvet and Angelo Martyn joined him. By then there were also the first two Bangladeshi Oblates: Henry Rebeiro, a scholastic who had made first vows on May 31, 1977, and a young priest from Dhaka, Monohor Corraya, who made them on September 8, 1979. These five men deserve to be considered as the founders of the mission.
Henry Van Hoof (1921-1989), from the Belgium North Province, had worked in Texas and Mexico for 17 years when, at the age of 52, he volunteered for Bangladesh and began to study Bengali. André Charvet (1922-1988), a Frenchman, had gone to Jaffna in 1948. He worked in Malaysia from 1967 to 1978 until his residency permit could no longer be extended. Angelo Martyn, a Sri Lankan, was ordained in 1973. After a stint in a parish, he joined the formation team of that Province, and was later made Superior of the formation house in Dhaka.
And today...
The Oblate Delegation of Bangladesh, a part of the Province of Sri Lanka (Colombo), now has 23 Oblates 10 of whom are scholastics. Of the 13 priests, four are from Sri Lanka, the nine others are from Bangladesh. The impressive number of local Oblates is the fruit of an effort undertaken right from the Oblates' arrival and pursued with perseverance. The juniorate at Dhaka has forty or so juniors in the care of Henry Rebeiro, who is also vocation director, and Antony Rex Kulas. Fr Emilianus Moraes is the superior of the scholasticate which is also in Dhaka. This year, the Delegation has two novices at the novitiate in Bandarawela, Sri Lanka. Fr Angelo Martyn has been superior of the Delegation since last September, and was just elected president of the Major Superiors' Conference of Bangladesh.
As early as 1974, under the initiative of Fr Henry Van Hoof, the Oblates began their work in the Sylhet region in northeast Bangladesh, mainly among the ethnic minorities, known as "tribals," of the Khasi, Garos, etc. Sylhet, which is part of the Diocese of Dhaka, is the center of a hill country which cultivates tea and betel. The region borders the Indian States of Assam and Maghalaya.
In 1974 the Oblates were given the mission of Sylhet, formerly in the care of the Holy Cross Fathers. There were already some small Christian communities in the area. Soon Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity arrived to bolster the missionary team. In 1982 the mission was transferred to Kadimnagar which became the center of the Oblate Delegation. From there the apostolic work spread out to other tea estates and to the tribal villages of Khasis. Today there are about 500 Catholics in four tea estates and five Khasi villages. The Missionaries of Charity run a home for many of the destitute, orphans, old and sick. A few months ago, Fr Angelo Martyn, the Delegation Superior, assumed the care of this mission.
Mugaipar, 75 km West of Sylhet, is the mission of the Sunamganj district. Founded in 1951, it was entrusted to the Oblates in 1979. Frs Robi Rozairo and Dilip Sarkar are serving this mission. Priority is given to the Basic Christian Communities in six sub-centers covering over nine villages, to the formation of lay leaders and to the training of catechists. With the help of the Salesian Sisters, the education of tribal children is also receiving special attention. In an attempt to defend the rights of the tribals, the Oblates have launched cooperatives to recover lost lands and regain mortgage properties. Thanks to the generosity of the Holy Father, the John Paul II Center was opened in Mugaipar in 1994. It includes a hostel, a formation center for girls, a maternity home and a clinic.... The mission has also built and manages primary and secondary schools. The parish now has about 2,500 Catholics.
What was formerly the Lokhipur Tea Estate has been turned into the Lokhipur Mission. It is in the Moulvibazar district, about a hundred kilometers South of Sylhet. This mission, founded by the Oblates in 1981, serves the Hindu community working on the tea estates, as well as the tribal communities. Frs Subash Costa and Alphonse Jengcham are in charge. They point out the important work done by the religious communities: Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Missionaries of Charity, and for the past five years a local Congregation, the Associates of Mary Queen of the Apostles, who are called the Sisters of Toomilia. "They do grass-root level evangelization by living with the people, sharing in their life struggle and thus bearing witness to Christ's love and concern for the poor." There are presently close to 2200 Catholics attached to Lokhipur.
Fr Emilianus Moraes, while Delegation Superior, presented the main lines of Oblate ministry in a 1996 number of The Missionary Oblate published by Sri Lanka: parish ministry with an insistence on Basic Christian Communities and the formation of catechists; social work and justice ministry; interreligious dialogue; communication and mass media; ministry to youth and children; ministry to the sick; preaching; formation of priests.
In his recent Christmas letter he wrote: "The flood has also brought in good luck. The alluvial soil and silts brought in with the flood will increase the fertility of the soil. There will be a better crop next year. Thousands of children have been saved from the terrible waters like Moses from the Nile. Hundreds of children have been born in the flood shelters like Jesus in the stable. No amount of water could quench their thirst for education; they braved the floods to attend school. Neither floods, nor cyclones can extinguish their hope for a better future. Let us give them a bright future through education."
