Hungry for Justice

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled"

Earlier this week I spent two days with thirty community nonviolence activists from around Cambodia. In the evening of the first day I sat aside to read some Scripture. The passages I'm meditating on these days are the Sermons on the Mount, in Matthew and Luke, as well as Paul's version in Romans 12. I was surrounded by poor Cambodian farmers, fishing folk, foresters, day labourers, and villagers. Their homes, fishing grounds, forests, lakes and water ways are all under intense risk of destruction or appropriation. If anyone could be described as "poor in spirit", mourners, meek, seekers of righteousness (justice), builders of peace, and persecuted, these folk fit the bill. My eyes grew wide in awe as I sat amongst these blessed ones and watched Scripture come alive.

But how are these folk blessed? Regardless of current advocacy and legal efforts there are no concrete resolutions in sight for activists and their communities. A number of these folk have already lost everything.

What I saw, however, was a spirit of joy and thankfulness amongst them. Joy of being with others who know their struggles, pain, sacrifices and mistakes. Thankfulness that their story was being heard by each other, and one tall white foreign guy with a video camera on a tripod.

There is hope in togetherness. It is a fruit of the kingdom of heaven, it is comforting, it is an acknowledgement of an inheritance worth more than land and economic development. Their time together affirms their struggle for justice and the truth of their cause, an opportunity to show mercy for those in small acts amongst themselves, such as words of encouragement, promises to visit one another's village, and small acts of financial support.

And while I saw this hope, joy and thankfulness I know it is not enough. To stand aside to simply rest in an assurance that God loves these folks is to turn aside from the gospel message of liberation, freedom and concrete hope in a renewed reality. And so myself and many others work in supporting, advising and training in nonviolent tactics and strategies.

Pictures
1. A woman tells her community's story of resistance to economic bullying in Koh Kong province
2. Community activists attempt to "humanize" the military police. The woman said to the soldier, "you can call me Aunty!"