Seeking Justice

Learn to do right, seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Isaiah 1:17

On a hike in MA this week

We are to seek justice. We are not told just once, but again and again as individuals and as a society. We are called upon to walk justly ourselves and seek justice for others.

I have often wondered about our role in justice on the islands. We want to see not only individual islanders but the whole society transformed by truth and justice and we pray for that so much.

In the past few weeks I have noted more articles talking about the political undercurrents on the islands. As many of you know there have been some contested island elections in the past few years, with obvious corruption. One of the elections changed the constitution to allow the current president to stay in power longer and got rid of a rotation of power that has arguably been the source of stability for a nation whose past is riddled with coups. Political opponents have been imprisoned without trials. One main opponent (a former president) has been under house arrest for over two years without trial. Many islanders don’t trust their government. Some are apathetic and don’t see a way toward change. Others are upset but are also afraid to vocally oppose the standing government for fear of what could happen to them. Distrust and fear replace justice and peace.

Islanders often don’t trust the courts to provide justice for crimes either. If the defendant is rich and the victim is poor then no one is surprised if the offender doesn’t go to prison or only goes for a few days before being quietly released. That’s the privilege of the rich on the islands.

On the islands there is a case right now of two young girls who were violated and then killed. Will there be justice for them? We hear about more and more arrests of people speaking out about the current island president and being put in prison without charges. Will this kind of corruption and abuse of power end?

When islanders get really upset about a particular injustice, there is often mob violence. If the government is the target then there will be clashes with soldiers, until eventually people scatter for fear of getting injured or arrested. In the case of a crime, the criminal will be on the receiving end of mob justice until they are severely beaten, if not killed and mutilated. We try to be steady voices for both justice and for non-violence among our island friends, but we know on the islands that this kind of violent reaction is always under the surface, always a possibility. 

It’s always a possibility because things aren’t right.  There isn’t justice.  Our hearts call out for justice but when it doesn’t exist and when we are confronted with multiple examples of what is wrong and unjust being flaunted, we can either become apathetic, fearful or respond.  But how to respond? One way to bring powerful, needed change is through violence.  But we pray for justice to come peacefully.

One of many finds on the trail

This week we’ve been watching America erupt into violence.  As protests and riots grip America, we pray and cry out with the protesters for justice both here, on the islands, and everywhere.  At the same time, we pray and plead for the needed changes to happen non-violently.

May we all learn to do right, understand what it looks like to seek justice and at all times defend the oppressed in our midst. I know I fail in this so often, may we all do better.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our little holiday greeting has topped 63K views and over 1K shares— may this brief popularity among islanders lead to warm reception for our work on the islands. Our teammate who is serving as interim-team leader in our absence just turned 30! We praise God for her life and are so thankful to have been able to call her friend and teammate for the last 7 years! Some friends blessed us with some time at their lake house this week— it was a wonderful chance to get away for a short while and to give the kids some new experiences.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
We continue to pray for the need for justice and peace. One of our island sisters, who we call Dunga, lost her father this past week to COVID. He had pre-existing conditions and died on the French Island. Pray for Dunga and her family as they grieve, especially as distancing means they can’t do the traditional funeral observances. Pray that her island brothers and sisters would come around her and be a comfort. Several of our colleagues on the islands were supposed to be returning to their home countries this spring/summer and one family that was supposed to have already come back. This includes two couples that are expecting babies. One couple only has a few weeks before she will be too far along to fly, so the likelihood that she will have to give birth on the islands is increasing. Pray for all our colleagues, that they would have peace, patience and wisdom about how to move forward when their original plans have been disrupted. Pray for the work on the islands that continues in spite of restrictions. They are trying to test translation drafts over the phone/zoom, pray that it would go well and that people could find new ways to thrive at this time. We travel to CA on Saturday- pray for smooth travels, for a not overly packed plane and for the kids as they will have to stay masked for the whole flight!