Month: March 2019

Robert fled from his home country, Burundi, at age 15 on 21 May, 1997. His father had been killed in the genocide in 1994, and he was living with his mother. One day in May 1997, he returned from school to find that his Mother and sister had disappeared. He was told that they had been killed in the continuous fighting in the area. Robert wandered around not knowing what to do, but a journalist took pity on him and helped.  They left the war zone on 21^st May 1997, and made their way to South Africa. The journalist even paying for his transport.  When they got to Zimbabwe the journalist was held back on account of his documents. He gave Robert the money to come to South Africa alone. So, he arrived in South Africa alone, not knowing anyone, not having a place to stay and not knowing the language! He found a shelter housing 650 refugees in Central Johannesburg, but this was closed down a few months later, in view of the unhygienic conditions. Again, Robert was alone. He slept in the streets.

On Saturday 8 November 1997, a young Mercy House resident asked me for R10.00 to take a sick boy she had met to the hospital. As we had 3 refugee doctors in the house, I told her first to bring him to Mercy House so that they could assess his condition. I met this young boy the following day. He was extremely distressed and would not even look me in the eye. He had no clothing other than the trousers and shirt that he was wearing. Although we had no room, I just could not send such a distressed young man away. So, we took him in, giving him all that he needed by way of clothing, toiletries, bedding, food etc. Soon he was even smiling and could look me in the face. What a reward!

The next year we got Robert into school where he achieved outstanding results. The photo shows him, second from the right, in his uniform on the first day of school, together with 3 other of our young residents. He matriculated, in the year 2000, but at the time, there was no money for further study and he got a job in a shop and moved out. It was 14 years later, in 2014, that he returned to Mercy House for a very emotional visit, so many memories flooding back to him of his sad and difficult past. He had come because he wanted to fulfill his life’s dream to become an engineer. By divine co-incidence our Father Jeremias had had someone in Portugal approach him asking if there would be an engineering student whom his family could support! Two and two made four. He enrolled in 2015 at UNISA, a distance learning university, for a Chemical Engineering (the most difficult) degree. All the way through, studying alone, with no lectures, he managed to get outstanding results in the 80s and 90s for his work. In his 4^th year, the sponsor found that he was unable to continue with his financial support, so our great friends in the UK, St Richards parish stepped and raised the money to see him through to the end. This was just the crowning glory! His graduation will take place in early 2019 – and what a monument that will be to his own endurance and perseverance but also to the truth that: “All things are possible for God!” Mercy House is proud to have been part of this wonderful story.

On Thursday 25 October 2018, Emmanuel Taban received his 3rd degree at Wits University in Johannesburg. Having arrived in Johannesburg as a teenage refugee in 1995, with nothing other than the clothes he was wearing and no place to stay, through his unbelievable faith in life and unstoppable determination, he not only qualified as a medical doctor, but then specialized as a physician and has just completed his second specialization as a pulmonologist – in lung disease! If anything is a tribute to the human spirit, this is, and we congratulate him with all our hearts, we are proud of his achievement and wish him every blessing in his service to humanity in the future. A great life lies ahead.

We invite our readers to read his story, written in his own words, given below.  If anything is, this is enough to restore our hope in life and humanity! Read on!

 

My name is Emmanuel Taban. I was born in South Sudan in 1976 into a Catholic family. My father was a soldier in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. He died in March 1993, during a clash with government soldiers. Shortly after this, these soldiers went to our house, and took my mother away. They put her in prison for two months. I was away at the time, being a boarder at a Catholic school. I went home for the December Holidays. On Christmas Eve I attended the Midnight Mass in our local church, and on my way home afterwards, soldiers arrested me. They took me to prison in Juba and then to Port Sudan.

 

In this prison I was constantly interrogated about my father and brother. They tortured me and beat me. I had to go dig salt in the harbour from morning to evening, with no food all day. It was only at night that I was given some bread to eat. The torture and beatings went on for 3 months. After some time, I was approached by the commander of the prison who said that he would help me, on condition that I become a Muslim. This was my only hope, and I accepted his proposal. They changed my name to Nazir – which means follower of Mohammed. I had to learn the Muslim prayers and the Koran. They then sent me to a centre of instruction for boys in the Muslim way of life, near the border of Eritrea. I was guarded by 3 soldiers. They said that the instructions would last 3 years after which I would be sent to Yemen for further studies.

 

I had not been there long when I was commended for good progress. This entitled me to more freedom – I could move around without soldiers guarding me all the time. I took the very first opportunity to escape. I walked for 3 days until I reached the border of Eritrea, but once there, I was put in jail for 45 days, because I had no documents. I was unable to explain, because no one could speak English. On 15 September they released me and gave me a temporary document, but this was in their language – Tigris – which I could not understand!

 

Soon after that I met a friend of my father. He helped me to get proper documents and helped with some money. It would have been too much of a risk for me to go back to my family, so I made my way to a seaport and got onto a cargo boat to Mozambique. From there I proceeded to South Africa. On 23 November, 1995 I arrived in Johannesburg with no money and no place to go! All I did know was the name of the Comboni Missionaries who work both in South Africa and Sudan. I found their number in the phone book and contacted them. They allowed me to stay with them. Father Henry got me into Jeppe Boys High School where I did matric. Father Joe Sandri did me the very great service of finding a bursary for me to enter Medical School. Thanks to the Comboni Missionaries, I graduated as a medical doctor from Medunsa University, after which I specialized as a physician then completed a second specialization in October 2018 at Wits University as a specialist in lung disease.  Happily, Comboni Brother Peter, who mentored me along my way, was able to attend the graduation and my gratitude is immense.

The photo shows Charlie when he came to us in December 2013.  He is with
Zeng, whom Charlie adopted from the word go.  We purchased Charlie when he
was only a few weeks old from a Rasta man on a corner nearby, who was
selling him. Today he is a mature boy, 5 years old, and much bigger, as can
be seen in the recent photo of him with our Moise. Every Saturday morning, we
take Charlie to the nearby park where he has the time of his life chasing
all the birds, even though they are unreachable. For him it is a good game.
Charlie has his contribution to make to life at Mercy House, making our
community feel more like a family.  We love Charlie. So of course, does Zeng.