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Fr. John K. Guiney, SJ
A Conversation With John K. Guiney, SJ
 Fr. John K. Guiney Until recently, Fr. Guiney was the Regional Director of Jesuit Refugee Service in Eastern Africa, which includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Eastern Africa became a Jesuit Province in the 1980s and has almost 120 men in formation. Giving an overview of the region, he explains that the administration of such a vast province is challenging because of the physical distance spreading from Khartoum in N. Sudan to Dar-es Salaam in Tanzania – a region that is almost the size of Europe- with a tremendous cultural and religious diversity. Kenya and Tanzania stand out in comparison to Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda in terms of long-term peace and development. Tanzania, for example, maintains a great sense of unity and nationhood because of its linguistic policy and the values of its founding father Julius Nyrere. As a whole, Fr. Guiney notes that in Africa there are great political and cultural challenges in negotiating multipartyism and democratization and in marrying traditional and modern culture. The international community unreasonably expects Africa to become in decades what it took themselves centuries to grow into. "The task is massive", he emphasizes, but he firmly believes that this generation can do it in solidarity with the international community.
Kenya had in December 07 their third election since multiparty democracy was introduced. They have been always marked by the exploitation by politicians of tribal differences. However, ethnic conflict is often a mask for deeper issues of historical injustices. "It is easy to pull the ethnic card, but we must ask ourselves who's got access to land and resources which instigates conflict in the first place". He explains that in Kenya there is a historical issue of land, which the international community ignores, mainly because the media is too simplistic in its analysis and presentation of African issues. Nevertheless, Kenya has from its foundation focused on development and has a very robust civil society. Women's empowerment has been remarkable in Kenya compared to some of its neighbors. "Many Kenyan women not only work in the humanitarian field internationally but are leaders of these organizations." says Fr. Guiney, "which is a resource to the region”. Now Fr. Guiney will assume the position of Director of the mission Office in the Irish Province. Feeling like a stranger in his homeland, he chuckles and says, "Ireland is a new country for me now and I have so much to learn". But he has a very clear idea of the work he needs to do in this new role, stressing the need to have "a solidarity of sharing rather than just giving" in terms of not only of finance but also of issues. He believes that Mission offices need to do information and advocacy work to include issues on migration policy, understanding how poverty and the AIDS pandemic are related, also encouraging Governments to link aid to human rights. He stresses the need to get more people involved from different sectors within a Province, giving them "a taste of what is happening". To illustrate his point, he praises the Educators Study Tour to Zambia, which is being organized by Canadian Jesuits International this summer.
On the topic of migration, Fr. Guiney explains that more work needs to be done in order to have a real input in immigration policy, which he describes as "dehumanizing". "In Europe we are building walls to keep out people from Eastern Europe and the South"; he notes reflecting on how we see others who are trying to enter our country. Facing alarming environmental issues, we now have "ecological refugees", states Fr. Guiney, referring to the wave of migrants arriving in Europe from North Africa and risking their lives in the process. "They are dispossessed of a livelihood through poverty and the desertification of their homelands. They are so desperate they are ready to die in the water, and they see Europe as the place to go". Fr. Guiney assumes the position of Director of the Mission Office in the Irish Province in July 2008. May 22, 2008 |
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