No Room at the Inn: God & the Refugee

Between 1999 and 2002 the sight of Kosovan Albanians was not unusual in Timperley, Cheshire. A group of 62 of them lived at Meadow Court, on the outskirts of the village, which had become an emergency refugee centre.  The Minister of the local Methodist Church, Rev Bruce Thompson, had pressed Trafford Council to use the facility and became heavily involved in looking after the refugees for the duration of their stay there. Café Sundae sent their intrepid reporter Rob to talk with Bruce and find our more about his experiences.

 

A cold wet Manchester evening forms as I prepare to interview Bruce.  As the distance between Manchester and Taunton (where Bruce is currently based) is too great for our respective diaries to negotiate we meet in 2 places – in my imagination and in my memory of previous meetings with Bruce. We therefore talk via e-mail. I turn my imaginary tape recorder on and the interview begins.

The Balkans have a history of being a tinder box for the start of conflicts. Most famously the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot by a Serb nationalist in Sarajevo thus sparking the beginning of the First World War. After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia – a country created in the wake of that great conflict – broke up and the old nationalist tensions began to arise again. The nineties saw 2 Balkan wars – in Croatia and Bosnia –NATO grew tired of the unrest in the area and sent armed forces to intervene. Then in Kosovo the Serb minority took up arms and waged a bitter and ugly war against the Albanian Kosovar population. Much has been written about the conflict and the allegations of genocide and resulting war crimes trials, and it’s against this background that Rev Bruce Thompson saw a need that he and Timperley Methodist Church could meet.

One of the first things you notice about Bruce as he talks is his quiet enthusiasm. As he explains all that happened there’s an intelligent passion that comes through and leaves you in no doubt about the depth of his convictions and the energy he has at his disposal to complete tasks such as bringing a group of refugees to safety in Timperley. “Oh it was an enormous task,” says Bruce, “We were never without things to do. It took over our lives.” Which begs the question ‘So why get involved in the first place?’ Bruce explains how he had seen the news reports of the NATO airstrikes and heard the stories of thousands of Kosovans massacred. “Someone wrote in a newspaper that ‘our moral imagination had been fuelled by memories of the holocaust.’ The sight of a million people from the poorest region of Europe being forced from their homes, crossing mountains in deep snow, with few possessions and provisions, often separated from the male members of their families meant that we had to do something.

Our 1999 Easter Sunday Service of Holy Communion triggered my own involvement. My congregation and I shared an act of solidarity with the Kosovars fleeing persecution in which the bread and wine of communion were left untouched on the table and we broke off imaginary bread and drank imaginary wine. This was an overwhelming act. Shortly after that we were asked to participate in collecting supplies to be taken to Kosovo by a convoy of lorries. The convoy left Manchester and I felt compelled to watch it leave. I placed my hand on a lorry and prayed and I realised that a convoy like that has no room for passengers; maybe God had something for me and the community I serve to undertake.” Bruce explained to me the complicated processes involved in opening up Meadow Court as a refugee centre, and the ways he worked with Trafford Council and the Altrincham Muslim Association. I am amazed even by the amount of work that needed to be done before a single refugee has even arrived. “Timperley Methodist Church should be very proud of what was achieved by her members during that time,” says Bruce, “The experience not only changed the lives of the Kosovans but also the lives of the helpers. Without the support of the Church it couldn’t have happened.”

This seemed a good point to change tack, so I asked Bruce about the Kosovans. Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he began to answer. “The Kosovans that came to Timperley were the forth flight to come to the UK,” he says, “Most were physically hurt and in need of serious medical treatment. One young woman who came to us had only been married for 6 months, she developed leukaemia and died within 4 months. One man was paralysed from the waist down, underwent a huge number of operations and died just 2 years ago after struggling here for 8 years. One family of five children – 2 brothers, 2 sisters and one cousin – survived a major massacre that claimed almost the rest of their entire family. These teenagers all had severe gunshot wounds and underwent major surgery over many years. Some were completely broken – physically and mentally. Most were terrified and deeply worried for their families left behind or missing. Even now, 10 years on, the wounds still hurt for many of the Kosovans. It takes a lifetime to deal with some issues.” Bruce continued with a heart wrenching account of how most of the refugees had left their homes with nothing, often at gunpoint, and how they had had to be supplied with the most basic things when they arrived in Timperley, “People were very generous to begin with,” continues Bruce, “The manager of a local bed store ordered his staff to strip the display beds and pack as much as possible into the back of one of our volunteers cars. And the owner of a large toiletry company filled the boot and back seat of his car with soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo etc from the staff shop.”

“Was there any opposition?” I asked Bruce.  He replies that there was none while the war was underway, “The images on the TV news highlighted their plight and almost everyone was moved by them. However once the war was over and as time moved on the Kosovans had to endure comments such as, ‘Why are you still here?’ or ‘I thought the war was over’ and so forth. The public’s reaction wasn’t helped by the right wing press, not least the Daily Mail with talk about ‘bogus asylum seekers’. There is no such thing as a ‘bogus’ asylum seeker. If you’re seeking asylum then that is a fact. 2 of our helpers received BNP literature through their letterbox denouncing our work.  To the best of my knowledge the material wasn’t received by anyone else in their street.”
The next question seemed an obvious one – “How did you deal with the opposition?” Bruce’s face develops a look of determination. “We pressed on regardless.” He says. “We tried as best as we could to ignore the ill-informed comments fostered by those with a different agenda and we tried as best we could to promote the frustrations of the Kosovans at not being allowed to work and also the wonderful contribution of the children to local schools.  Over the time the centre was open I learned never to back down when challenging an injustice, it can be done with grace and courtesy but there can come a point when you have to steel your nerves and actually fight for what is right, true and just. When I originally saw the media images of the war I was moved, but I was also deeply concerned about the limited response of the Christian Church to the plight of the Jews and others in the holocaust, yet here was a genocide before our very eyes less than 2 hours flight from Manchester.” I pause to take in the words, but Bruce – it seems – is just getting warmed up, “Jesus invites us to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless etc. and to be able to stand alongside others, whatever their faith, culture or standing in society is an incredible privilege – we all have so much to learn from one another.  As we’re coming up to Christmas we should remember that Jesus was born a refugee, so we can say that God is present in the stranger. You will recall that shortly after his birth the gospel according to Matthew has Jesus and his family fleeing the wrath and forces of Herod and taking up residence in a foreign country. On one occasion in the Old Testament – the Hebrew Scriptures – we are directed to love our neighbours. On no fewer than 24 occasions we are directed to welcome the stranger. Anyone who votes BNP is clearly not fulfilling the Christian obligation to welcome those from another country or culture; nor are they celebrating the rich diversity of humankind granted us by our Creator. As a Christian I rejoice in what I might discern in those who bring a different experience and perspective to my life, community and nation. We are all the better for such input.”

It’s obvious to me by the way Bruce talks that he speaks of a time that is very dear to his heart and I wonder what he hoped to gain from bringing the Kosovans to Timperley. “Nothing,” Says Bruce emphatically, then he adds, “But we got more than we ever could imagine.” My curiosity is pricked however, “Bruce,” I say, “You’re a Methodist Minister bringing a group of Muslims into the community of the Church – Surely you hoped to evangelise”. Bruce shakes his head, “The thought of converting the Kosovan Albanians to Christianity was never in my mind. It would have been an abuse of my position to manipulate or coerce people who were in a most vulnerable state. One local minister went in with that view and got absolutely nowhere. The Good Samaritan didn’t help the guy in the gutter in order to get anything out of him – he did it because the guy was in need!”

Bruce still evidently has a lot to say, but our time draws to a close.  As we bid each other good-bye he reflects. “You know, I learned a lot through all that happened with the Kosovans.“  I am suddenly glad that I’ve forgotten to turn my tape recorder off, “I learned that as good as we may be at raising money to be sent off to worthy causes it can be too much to ask to care for those on our doorsteps. When we pray for an end to oppression and racial tension we presume the transformation of our world will happen somewhere else.”  I add that I agree and that often when we pray God’s answer is, “I could do that, but so could you. So why don’t you tackle this one?” to which Bruce adds, “And we must trust that we’ll be sustained, even when there’s no happy ending (which there can’t be every time) because God will still reveal something of such value that it will always be of benefit, if not at the time then at some point later. I learned to ask for the help of others,” Bruce goes on. “If they decline then it’s their loss but at least they were asked and there’s nothing lost on the part of the one making the request.  And I now know that the Christian Church does not have a monopoly on love, and nor does it have a monopoly on truth.”

As we part I congratulate Bruce on his part in this story, his humility seems almost dismissive, “I said at the time that if I never did anything again then at least I did this, for which I thank God, because without him I could never have kept going.”

I am inspired by the story I’ve heard and I drive home in silent contemplation. “…At least I did this…” I think, ‘how many of us have done nearly that much?’

Here is a man who made a difference, a man who almost certainly saved lives. I get the impression that despite the hardships and exhaustion he faced, if he saw a similar situation arise he’d be hard pressed not to do it all again.

 

Bruce’s book – Shelter From the Storm – is published by Epworth Press( ISBN 07162 0569 6) and is available through all good online bookstores.