DOMINICAN LAITY Newsletter #6 June 2009 Dear members of the New Zealand Dominican family As winter grips us, it is worth remembering that this is also the time of Matariki, the rising of the stars (sometimes called the Pleiades) that signal a change of season. Matariki can be translated as the Eyes of God. It is also, this week, International Refugee Week. (You may be interested in listening to Mike’s preaching on these two events, on the website http://word.op.org/2009/06/21/whats-important/ for Sunday 21 June. Check out the site – Srs Judith Anne O’Sullivan and Joan Hardiman regularly preach here too!) REFUGEE WEEK The topic was discussed at a recent meeting of the Dominican Family Mission and Formation Committee. Refugees, and migrants in general, enter New Zealand with great hope, and so often that hope withers as they face the realities – the indifference, sometimes the hostility, the misunderstandings, the unfamiliarity. If you wear the hijab or a turban you are likely to be stared at and sometimes abused. Your halting English may be dismissed. Getting a job is often extremely difficult. Fatima is a Palestinian Muslim who wears a headscarf. She has been in New Zealand for 5 years and is a New Zealand citizen – as are all her family. She has a happy smiling face. She has studied hard to learn English and to upskill herself in clerical subjects. She has applied for many, many jobs. But every time she thinks a job is there for her, it vanishes.
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