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Courier-Journal Thursday, January 28, 1986 3 Sanctuary leadersfocus on resettlement efforts By Lee Strong ln-1984, the Rochester Sanctuary Movement leaped into the headlines when several local . congregations committed themselves to. shelter- ing illegal aliens from the war-torn country of El Salvador. The movement remained in the news as more congregations and .groups declared themselves sanctuaries, or pledged support for the movement. And the wave of momentum crested when Rochester's City Council declared Rochester-\a city of sanc- tuaries?' Public awareness of the movement reached its height while Alejandro Gomez and his fa- mily lived in sanctuary provided by two sanc- tuary congregations — Corpus Christi Church and Downtown United Presbyterian Church — and while Gomez contended with U.S. Im- migration and Naturalization Service attempts to deport the family to their native El Salvador. Since the Gomez family fled to Canada in July, 1986, little has been heard from the local sanctuary movement. Recent and upcoming events, however, reveal that the movement is very much alive in Rochester. On January 4, the Sisters of Mercy of Roch- ester declared their support of sanctuary, pledging to provide Financial support, to work for legislative change and even to send avail- able sisters to El Salvador to help with reset- tlement efforts there. Approximately 30 sanctuary leaders from Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Buffalo met at Colgate Rochester Divinity School on Janu- ary 23 to discuss new directions the movement is taking and to learn about current conditions in El Salvador. This weekend, Kathleen Ken- ney of the Salvadoran Humanitarian Aid, Re- search and Education (SHARE) Foundation i- a Washington-based group supporting reset- tlement efforts in El Salvador and working to- ward changes in U.S. policies toward that nation —• will speak to Corpus Christi parishioners, who are moving toward a deci- sion on becoming a sister parish to a Salvado- ran faith community. Meanwhile, the Rochester Sanctuary Com- mittee is planning an auction for Saturday, March 5, at Temple BlftithT^esh — one pf Rochester's seven sanctuary congregations — to raise funds for refugee-resettlement efforts Oscar Chacon in El Salvador. According to leaders of the local sanctuary movement, the evolution of Rochester's sanc- tuary efforts parallels a national trend away from immediate humanitarian concern for Sal- vadoran refugees in the United States and to- ward to a broader concern for Salvadoran refugees everywhere. Rochester Sanctuary Steering Committee member Marilyn Mould noted, however, that the movement's \overall goal has always been that people could live in (EI Salvador) peacefully:' This shift in focus comes in response to several factors, noted Sister Kathleen Weider, SSJ, assistant chapfain at Nazareth College. Sister Weider, who has visited refugee settle- ments in Honduras and El Salvad&r, explained that the situations in the United States and El Salvador have changed considerably since the movement began. \Fewer pgcjpjje are coming through seeking sanctuary?' she observed, adding that the cli- mate for refugees has tightened up in this coun- It's a boy!! Bonnie TraM«t/Couriar-Joufnal The Courier-Journal staff wishes to congratulate associate-editor Teresa A. Parsons and her husband, Jim Parson* of WROC-TV8, on the birth of their, first child.. Joseph. The handsome baby Was born early Saturday morning, Jan. 16, 1988. Here's to the happy family! try. Many of the refugees coming to the United States are simply passing through to Canada. Rather than seeking long-term shelter, these refugees frequently require transportation and help with food and clothing. Recent tightening of immigration laws in Canada, however, has forced the movement to assist refugees held up on the American side of the. border waiting for permission to cross. The sanctuary groups in such cities as Buffalo and Pittsburgh have struggled to feed and house these refugees while they wait — and such groups as Rochester's have been supply- ing financial and material support. A more important reason for the shift is the refugees' desire to return to El Salvador, Sis- ter Weider said. One of the new focuses of the sanctuary movement has been supporting the refugees in these efforts, particulary through the Going Home Campaign; a SHARE Foun- dation project that provides financial and ma- terial support for resettlement efforts, and sends volunteers to travel with the returning refugees in a process called \accompaniment;' In October, Sister Weider accompanied a group of refugees moving from the Mesa Grande Refugee Camlp in Honduras back to El Salvador. Returning refugees, she noted, are harrassed by Salvadoran government forces who fear the refugees will help the guerillas — or that they are guerillas themselves. In addi- tion to attacks by the army, the returning groups frequently find their food and medi- cal supplies cut off. The presence of Americans makes attacks on returning groups less likely, because \kill- ing ah American would be bad publicity!' Mould noted. In addition, troops are less likely to harrass refugees while Americans are in the camps. The Saivadorans return to their homes despite the dangers, Mould said, because con- ditions in the Honduran refugees camps have deteriorated since the United Nations relin- quished control of the camps to the Hondu- ran government, and because the Saivadorans believe El Salvador \will have a better chance to get back to normal with them there.\ The Sister Parish PJan — an outgrqwth of the Going Home;£ampaign — is,one,at|;emp i t to provide support for the newly created reset- tled communities in El Salvador. The plan calls for parishes and church groups in the United States to establish bonds with communities in El Salvador. The North American parishes send delegations to their sister parishes on a regular basis to study conditions there and to learn what the people need. The delegations report back to their home parishes, which then attempt to fill the needs of the Salvadoran co nmunities. This aid might include money or such specific items as medical or agricultural equipment. More important than the material aid is the person-to-person contact, noted SHARE'S Kathleen Kenney. This contact enables Ameri- cans to attach names and faces to the churches in El Salvador they are supporting. Through personal contact, the Americans are also \en- riched by the deep faith of the people in El Sal- vador;' she said. In addition to fostering sister parishes, SHARE arranges for groups traveling *o El Salvador to deliver supplies and contribu.ions. If efforts are successful, a delegation going to El Salvador March 12 will carry with them the proceeds of the Rochester Sanctuary Commit- tee's March 5 auction. The need for funds to assist with resettle- ment efforts and other sanctuary activities- is something sanctuary leaders realized more clearly as a result of the January 23 retreat at the Divinity School. The retreat was designed to discuss resettlement efforts, current activi- ties of local sanctuary groups and conditions in El Salvador. During the event, area sanctu- ary leaders reported the status of the sanctu- ary movement in their respective cities, viewed slides from Honduras and El Salvador, and listened to a talk given by Oscar Chacon, a Sal- vadoran who works with Boston's Interfaith Office on Accompaniment. Chacon, who visited El Salvador in March and December of 1987, told the assembly that conditions in El Salvador are growing worse. The army is unable to defeat guerilla forces, popular dissent against the current government is growing, and the death squads are once again in action. Yet, \people would not De returning and we wouldn't have a repopulation movement if the situation was hopeless,\ he noted. For repopulation to succeed, Saivadorans will need help from the U.S. sanctuary move- ment, because Salvadoran people believe that \nothing goes on in EI Salvador without the consent, or approval of the United States;' Cha- con said. They need to see U.S. support for their activities to encourage them to continue. In assessing the retreat, Sister Weider noted that the gathering was important for the local sanctuary movement because it gave the mem- bers \a chance to reflect on where we are, and to get a sense of new directions!' Basically, she concluded, the retreat rein- ' forced the continuing need for the movement to respond \to much broader needs than the more immediate need of shelter!' The new directions discussed at the retreat, she added, are simply responses \to (the Saivadorans own) requests and needs.\ TAX PREPARATION Joseph D. 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