"Dignity for the Afflicted Person"
The New Webinar Organized by MECC
Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: We live daily the tragedy of the afflicted person until it has become a natural part of our daily scene
As part of its series of monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches held a new webinar entitled "Dignity for the Afflicted People", on Thursday 30 March 2023, with the participation of specialists, academics, and attendees interested in the topic. Noting that this webinar is organized within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is implementing consecutively.
The webinar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook page (Part 1 - Part 2), included three interventions on the topic at hand. It was moderated by Dr. Chawki Attieh who described in his opening note the moments of terror that people witnessed following the earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, focusing on the importance of human dignity and how to preserve it, especially after disasters and in times of trouble.
The webinar began with a speech delivered by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, in which he spoke about human dignity and the vulnerable people. He said, “We live daily the tragedy of the afflicted person until it has become a natural part of our daily scene. You find him in the camps of misery, in the neighborhoods of asylum, in the belts of misery, the slums, and around the cities where the luxurious life deafens the ears to the screams and pains of the miserable.”
He added, “Because of his misery, the arrogant think that they can insult his dignity, as they see his need in his face, in his clothes, and in his behavior and reactions. We cannot deny that his poverty has made him a weak, defenseless person, who often practices tolerance in the face of bullying, but we do not know how much attacks to his dignity and feelings digs into his soul and how painful these actions are.”
He continued, “Our daily prayer, which I repeat in front of my colleagues, and which accompanies us in our diaries is: “The Lord has placed in our hands many resources – or talents – including reason, health, money, and decision-making power, may He enable us to use them well for the benefit of His servants, our brothers in humanity. This is our motto, and it is Equivalent to the Islamic saying, "As for the orphan, do not oppress, and as for the beggar, do not rebuke, and as for the grace of your Lord, speak.”
Dr. Abs concluded “In our history in relief and social service, as in development, as in other fields, since the programs of service to the afflicted in Palestine, to the afflicted in Lebanon, in Syria, and in Iraq, we envelop our services with dignity, and we present them full of love to our “family”, our people and our brothers in humanity. This approach is the cornerstone of our institutional culture, as we are on the verge of our fifty-year jubilee, and we do not intend to change that for the next fifty years. Rather, we will be more rooted in our work on human dignity…”.
Then, the first intervention started under the title "Preserving Dignity Through Service", with Eng. Samer Laham, Director of the Diakonia Department at the Middle East Council of Churches”. He highlighted the relief work that MECC is implementing since the first moments of the earthquake that hit the North of the Antiochian Levant, in order to support the afflicted and affected people. Laham also spoke about the Ecumenical committee launched by MECC and which aims to coordinate the relief work between Churches in Syria, highlighting the MECC’s project of restoring damaged and destroyed buildings due to the earthquake.
The second intervention focused on the title "People Facing Disasters: Programs and Information", with Dr. Rudolf El-Kareh, General Coordinator of the First National Conference on Disaster Response. He presented a definition of human dignity, mentioning that it is a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations... in addition to a definition about natural disasters. As well as, El-Kareh discussed ways of facing disasters, alongside the shocks’ power.
The third intervention was entitled "Psychological and Spiritual Healing of the Afflicted People and Those Who Support Them: Two Inseparable Paths", with Sister Emilie Tannous, Former Director and the person in charge of implementing the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” program at the Middle East Council of Churches. She underlined this program and its purpose, which lies in the restoration of feelings through a re-reading of the occurred events, with the help of spiritual and psychological specialists. In addition, Sister Emily talked about the program’s objectives and its beneficiaries, as well as the experiences resulted from it.
The webinar ended with a session for questions and discussion between the participants. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs stressed the importance of working to preserve human dignity, and highlighted the future relief projects that MECC intends to implement in Syria.
