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Kaduna, in northern Nigeria, the International Day for Tolerance [
Read more on the International Day of Tolerance ] called today by the UNESCO reflected an atmosphere of normality: the clashes of November 2002, sparked by the violent reaction of extremist wings of the Islamic community, are merely a distant memory to be forgotten. “The situation was settled and now relations between the Christian and Muslim communities are optimum: the Governor, a Muslim, worked well in favouring reconciliation and is well liked also by Christians”, explained to MISNA Father Micheal Mc Grath of the SMA (Society of Missions of Africa), contacted by telephone in the Nigerian city.
The local radio marked this international day today, underlining that the local Church has always shown tolerance for all communities
“Tolerance? Means mutual understanding and comprehension: it appears to me that the two communities have learned this well”, added the missionary. Toleration also means bearing hardships and sufferance: the people of Sudan are well aware of this. “In this nation the people patiently accept the lack of potable water or electric power, they are accustomed to desert and privations”, explained to MISNA Fr. Carmine Calvesi, over the phone from El Obeid, whose diocese comprehends the strife-ridden region of Darfur.
“The problem in the region is that some Sudanese representatives of Darfur decided to declare war against the government to give voice to their claims: but it is a ‘voice’ imposed with arms and this undoubtedly goes against the principle of mutual tolerance”, continued the Comboni missionary, a math's teacher in Sudan for over 40 years. “As far as I have seen, war is always a defeat of tolerance: some here call it a ‘holy war’, but it instead only brings death and destruction”, he concluded.
Also at other latitudes tolerance – “one of those subtle symbols that affect people’s awareness”, as defined in a message by UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura – is often invoked: “Here all speak about it, but then encounter difficulty in actually applying it”, explained Father Luigi Lo Stocco, a Xaverian contacted by MISNA in Bukavu, in the east Democratic Republic of Congo, among the most devastated areas by the wars of the Great Lakes.
“The local radio marked this international day today, underlining that the local Church has always shown tolerance for all communities”, added the missionary, referring to the difficult relations between Congolese and Rwandans, ably exploited by the local leaderships that stir ethnic diversity to their own advantage. A more peaceful signal instead arrives from Ethiopia, second nation of Africa for the number of inhabitants (nearly 70-million) and melting pot of peoples and cultures with 83 different communities.
“Tolerance is still a solid principle and a model that works in Ethiopia, where Orthodox and Muslims cohabitate peacefully for centuries”, stated to MISNA the Salesian Don Dino Viviani from Addis Ababa. The missionary warns, some concerns “derive from the signs of integralism, that are cause for reflection”. The formula of tolerance of the Ethiopian melting pot finds space also in the values that Don Dino and the lay volunteers use to build the future of the street children housed in their community: “Here we make no religious distinction, but we try to transmit a message of mutual respect, in the diversity of traditions that each has inherited”, often after a life spent on the sidewalks of Addis Ababa.
(From MISNA)