Justice for the victims

'I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
Upright and just is he.'
(Deuteronomy 32.3-4)

Our God is a God of justice. Justice is not simply something God executes but, more importantly, who he is. And yet this fundamental aspect of God's character is something that we as Western Christians have a tendency to forget.

Or worse, we avoid it to the extent that we have too often ignored the biblical command to 'seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow' (Isaiah 1.17). This is putting Jesus's love into action, and we do not need to be reminded of the desperate need to spread the aroma of Christ into a world full of pain and injustice.

And so it was that, with thoughts such as this poignantly in my mind and a heart burdened with passion and expectation, if not a little trepidation, I set off to Uganda and Rwanda this summer for an adventure that will remain with me forever. As part of a group of 11 20-something lawyers and law students, I took part in a summer team organised by the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and Tearfund. Each member of the team had a strong desire to demonstrate God's heart of love, compassion and justice, and to use the legal skills and knowledge we had developed to serve God and others in a practical way.

Acid attacks

In Uganda, we were privileged with the opportunity to do just this, working alongside Mark Barrell, a British legal missionary working with the Ugandan Christian Lawyers' Fraternity, in his involvement with the Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF-U). ASF-U supports the victims of acid attacks. Acid attacks are a misunderstood and particularly vicious form of premeditated violence, where acid is thrown at the face and body of a victim, causing immediate catastrophic effects (dissolving the skin, killing underlying tissue and even exposing the bone). The long-term effect is usually permanent disfigurement, resulting in the victim becoming ostracised from family and community, and having to undergo a series of painful and expensive reconstructive surgery. It is a growing phenomenon in Uganda, the motives behind the attacks (which are aimed at both women and men) ranging from jealousy and greed to land disputes, distraction for a robbery and revenge for a jilted lover. Currently acid is widely available and cheap, with agents hired for as little as Ug. shs. 30,000 (approximately ten pounds) to carry out an act which may maim a life forever, or even result in death.

Helping survivors

We were involved in interviewing survivors, establishing the facts of their cases, and explaining the legal process involved in bringing their case before the courts. Self-esteem is an area that is often hardest hit in the aftermath of an acid attack, so a big part of our role was simply to listen and, where appropriate, pray with them. We attended court and also put together a research paper addressing the issues of acid attacks, evaluating the capability of Uganda's Penal Code to protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice, and providing recommendations for law reform, community education, and practical provisions to enable survivors to rebuild their lives.

John (pictured) will forever bear the scars of his attack; however, with the assistance of ASF-U and his personal faith and courage, he now faces the future with hope. I interviewed another man, Patrick, who had been horrifically attacked with acid by his cousin over a land dispute. During the course of the interview, I asked him how he felt towards his cousin now and he replied that in his heart he has handed him over to God and bears no ill feeling towards him. The bravery, dignity and capacity for forgiveness of the survivors we met are characteristics that will permanently remain etched in my memory.

Forgiveness

Indeed, one thing about which God has spoken very clearly to me during this trip is the overwhelming and indisputable importance of forgiveness. It is often said that grace is the concept that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. In the same way, the exercising of forgiveness is, and should be, one of the characteristics that sets Christians apart and attracts others towards the salvation and freedom that is only to be found in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is not an optional extra for a Christian. C.S. Lewis famously said that everyone thinks forgiveness is a wonderful idea until they have something to forgive. And I have found this to be true in my own life.

We undertook a weekend of orientation before leaving for Africa and during this time we looked into the issue of forgiveness and what the Bible has to say on the matter. This was incredibly challenging; however, like most things of importance in this life, I found that only by practising and living it could forgiveness truly be learnt. I realised that I had people that I needed to forgive before I could become effective in serving God in this way. I was reminded, once more, that before we look at the issues that need God's loving and healing touch, whether in this country or abroad, we must always look to ourselves first, and face up honestly to the sin and weakness in our own lives, and humbly come before God to receive his free and full forgiveness, and his equipping for what he has called us to do.

Challenge

Once in Africa, I found myself incredibly challenged and inspired by the level of faith, the demonstration of forgiveness and the overflowing of joy that I witnessed among African believers. At the mention of Rwanda, the first thing that springs to most people's minds is genocide, followed closely by the horrific images from 1994 that we all saw on our TV screens. I would like to take this opportunity to share the experience I had of this amazingly beautiful land. Rwanda is known as the 'land of a thousand hills', and the rolling greenery of Rwanda's undulating countryside is simply breathtaking. It is now 2004, ten years on from the tragic events of 1994, which left the very fabric of Rwandan society, including the entire judicial system, in complete devastation. Statistics state that 97.7% of children witnessed violence. No one in the country was unaffected. And yet my experience of Rwanda, through building precious friendships with the staff at Scripture Union and participating in their projects, is that Rwanda is a land of hope, where Almighty God is at work restoring his people and his church, binding up the broken-hearted, and bringing healing through the power of his Holy Spirit.

Rwanda is a land where the gospel of Christ is being preached, and where pastors proclaim that in Christ Jesus, 'here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, [Hutu or Tutsi], slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all' (Colossians 3.11). Ethnic identity cards (which in 1994 spelt out a death sentence for those bearing the word 'Tutsi') have been abolished, and the church is preaching reconciliation and love.

Broad smiles

One weekend during the trip, we visited a town called Gahini, which was one of the first places where violence first broke out on April 7 1994. On the Saturday evening the team split up and three of us visited a group meeting to read the Bible using Scripture Union notes. Over 50 people from that village community had gathered together outside around a couple of paraffin lamps and were singing praises to God in Kinyarwanda, the local language. We were greeted with a heartfelt welcome and warmly encouraged to join in the singing, with a local believer helping us to pronounce the unfamiliar words. Accompanied by the sounds of goats and cows in the neighbouring pen, the leader of the meeting welcomed us by saying that we may all be of different coloured skin, from different ethnic backgrounds, different cultures and speaking different languages, but that in Christ Jesus we are all one, brothers and sisters, and that this is a glimpse of what heaven will be like, where people from every 'nation, tribe, language and tongue' will join together in proclaiming the glory of God. We looked around and were greeted with broad smiles from people of all ages, shapes and sizes, male and female, and encouraged to testify to the goodness of God in our lives and share an encouragement from his word. I truly count this one of the greatest privileges I have ever been given in my life, and I will never forget that evening.

Share your lives

They in turn shared with us what God is doing in their lives, demonstrating to me what Paul talks about when he says we should be 'overflowing with thankfulness' (Colossians 2.7). I know I will see these people again, and that we will spend all of eternity together. They taught me what it means to live in community, to truly share your lives with one another, to wait upon God and trust him for your every need and thank him for his every provision. They gather together faithfully every evening to worship and to come under the authority of God's word. Everyone is included, from nursing babies to 90-year-olds.

In the face of unimaginable suffering, many have chosen (and it is a choice) not to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, nor to harbour bitterness, but to forgive, and to allow God to be God, knowing that it is his place to judge, and trusting that he will not let evil go unpunished. 'God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled' (Thessalonians 1.6). This is the Rwanda I experienced. This is the church God is building.

Justice for the victims

A Lawyers' Christian Fellowship mission to Rwanda and Uganda

Acid attacks

Helping survivors

Forgiveness

Challenge

Broad smiles

Share your lives

(Names have been changed to protect identity)

Hana Ghosh

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