(2008/01/08) The members of the Regional Synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland gave 2,308.74 euros in support of the refugee work of the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka, being carried out in co-operation with the United Evangelical Mission (UEM). This was the amount raised from the collection at the late afternoon service which opened the synod.

The words from Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” were used by the UEM as a reminder of the hopeless situation of many refugees. The pictures of the boat refugees, who fail or even drown in their attempt to gain entry to Europe, are well known. Yet, the number of refugees who want to enter the European Union is negligible in comparison with those in the countries of the South, who are caught between the front lines of conflicts or are forced as a result of drought or poor harvests to leave their homelands and forced to live there as internally displaced persons.

These include more than 230,000 people in Sri Lanka, who have had to flee the fighting between Government troops and the fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Many are forced by the warring factions to remain either on the fringes of, or even within, the combat zones, where they often live in inhumane and extremely dangerous conditions.

The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka is working on behalf of these internally placed persons in various parts of the country, providing them with everyday necessities. In doing so, the Methodist Church works closely with representatives of other religions as a means of fostering trust between the different ethnic groups and religions.