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Some Answers to Questions Frequently Asked in Europe and North America on Africa 2003 and Zimbabwe
by Larry Miller, Executive Secretary, Mennonite World Conference, Strasbourg, France

Is Zimbabwe safe? Should we boycott a country whose government has been cited for human rights abuses by international observers? Should Mennonite World Conference hold a large gathering in a part of the world facing serious food shortages?

With two-thirds of MWC member churches now living in Africa, Asia, and Latin America coupled with the conviction that we need to be able to meet in the normal life circumstances of our members, MWC leaders face questions such as these each time we prepare a world gathering. Africa 2003 is no exception. Even as new strategic and political issues arise on the African continent and elsewhere in the world, MWC continues to affirm its decision to accept the invitation of the African churches to hold its world assembly on that continent for the first time ever. At the same time, we also continue to take seriously the questions that current developments raise:

1. Should MWC hold a large international gathering in a part of the world facing serious food shortages?
     Food shortages currently face much of southern Africa, not just Zimbabwe, where Assembly Gathered is scheduled. Poverty and hunger are constant issues where the majority of our worldwide family now lives. It was the case in India in 1997, when we met there; it is now the case in southern Africa. The MWC-member Brethren in Christ Church in Zimbabwe is currently working with the government, Mennonite Central Committee and other organizations to find ways to meet the most pressing food needs in their area. They do not see preparing to welcome the worldwide family of faith to their table incompatible with working to meet the food needs of their neighbors.
     My colleague Ray Brubacher, Africa 2003 international coordinator, puts it this way: Each of us can support these efforts now and when we are in Africa next year, if the problem continues then. Now we can respond to the appeals for food assistance. By going to Africa in 2003, we can contribute in a small way to the local economy of the communities we visit.
     During Africa 2003, we will all eat the same food at the same table. Indeed, we will make every effort to extend the table as far as possible. We will also make every effort to assure that we do not eat food that otherwise might have gone to relieve hunger victims. This is an important question, one that could be on the agenda wherever a large church gathering is planned, including those held in Europe and North America. Are we eating food that could be shared with those who are hungry?

2. Does holding an assembly in Zimbabwe support those who have engaged in human rights abuses, political violence and intimidation? Should we cancel the assembly because of their acts?
     We are a global church, says Mesach Krisetya, Salatiga, Indonesia, MWC president, and we will get into trouble if we don't hold gatherings because of a country's politics. The bishop of the Brethren in Christ Church in neighboring Zambia says that we go to assembly not in recognition of any governing system, but to identify with the suffering church.
     MWC tries to operate according to the logic of the body of Christ. Our first question in situations like these is: what does it mean to stand with the members of the body of Christ, the church, resident in any particular country? We go to Zimbabwe, at the invitation of the church there, to stand with them and to worship God with them.
     A next question concerns the political implications of taking that stand and worshipping together in that place. After all, the body of Christ does live in the real world. In this context, human rights issues are important and universal issues. I note that the current Amnesty International report documents human rights abuses of various sorts in 152 countries and territories around the world, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. Nearly every MWC member church lives in a country on the list. How do we respond as national churches to the situations in our own countries? How do we respond as a global family to the situations in the other countries where our siblings in the faith live?
     The international political community is not boycotting the country or the people of Zimbabwe. The Commonwealth and the United States have aimed their sanctions directly at the leaders of the country. They generally note that the people of Zimbabwe went to great pains to exercise their democratic rights in the recent elections and should be supported, not sanctioned, for it.

3. Is Zimbabwe safe?
     Elections in March 2002 left the country divided, but generalized violence has not broken out as many predicted. While there continue to be travel advisories in some western countries about specific situations to avoid in Zimbabwe, safety is a relative term in today's world. But I can tell you that I wouldn't hesitate to take my 18-month-old grandson to Zimbabwe with me, says colleague Ray.
     Holding a large gathering like Africa 2003 anywhere in the world today involves some risk. Most Anabaptist Christians today live in places where there is risk in daily living in respect to health and security. I just heard on the news that few French tourists are planning travel to the U.S. this summer because they consider it to be a risky place. MWC believes that risks for international visitors are no more pronounced in Zimbabwe than most other places. If that changes, we’ll let you know.
     In any case, we would not recommend holding an Assembly in a dangerous setting. Assembly Gathered participants will discover Bulawayo to be not only a safe but also a pleasant city. Most will find it much easier to live for a week in Bulawayo than in Calcutta, where we met in 1997.
     As a global church, Ray reminds us, we need to be ready to enter into each other's realities, pleasant or unpleasant. That's a major point of being global: Come, enter into my setting and experience both its joys and its pain with me. We are called to be faithful together, and that may involve some risk. While we acknowledge that acceptable risk varies considerably from person to person, we will guard against recklessness and cheap heroics.
     Our coming together as MWC at this hour of our history will be an expression of the deep cry and longing of most Zimbabweans, and a true demonstration of what it means to be salt and light in the world, says the host BIC church. Like those we read about in the book of Nehemiah, let us zealously continue to plan, work and pray for a successful MWC 2003 conference.
     MWC is also working closely with Zimbabwean churches and medical personnel to provide good medical care for participants in Africa 2003 while they are in the country.