Overview of our update…
- We are now on facebook – profile Jeremy Simons; jasimons@gmail.com
- New blog - http://immersionjournal.blogspot.com/
- Visit to overcrowded Davao city jail
- International solidarity activity
- We welcome your feedback and suggestions
Dear Friends,
In our last update, we ran out of space to provide some stories of what Jeremy has been involved in, as of late, so we’ll pick up with that…
Since February I have been visiting the Davao City Jail once a week with a group of Filipino Catholic volunteers that bring a meal to one “unit” or group of prisoners on Fridays. This involves about 300 meals packed into brown paper bags consisting of a cup of rice and a plastic bag of “sudan” (any of several meat dishes). “Why do we bring this food,” you might ask, “are not meals served in the Davao City jail?” The reality of the Davao city jail is that there are nearly 1,000 inmates packed into a space built for 300. Like the physical space, the food that is supplied is inadequate (funded at 75cents per inmate per day). So, although we must rotate through 4 units per month (including the much smaller women’s facility) in order to serve everyone, we at least provide a regular supplement to what the inmates receive from the jail. Though it may seem small, one prisoner commented, “the meals are a big help.” The importance may also derive from the fact that though there are many religious ministries that do outreach in the jail, most target their own people (evangelicals, Muslims, etc). However, the meals are provided to all regardless and are a reminder that they are not forgotten by those on the outside. In the mean time, I will also be exploring how my experience in restorative justice fits into a system that everyone acknowledges is broken (more on this in future updates).
Two weeks ago, I participated in a 2-day International Solidarity Conference on Mindanao that concluded with what was called Peace Power Day. Peace Power Day involved a huge non-violent community organizing effort in Central Mindanao (2 hours from where we live) that rallied an estimate of 100,000 mostly Muslim people affected by the 40 year civil war in Mindanao. It was a stunning experience at many levels: the size of the area covered, diversity of people involved, the turnout itself, the involvement of refugees coming from refugee camps. To read more about this….go to my new blog at http://immersionjournal.blogspot.com/
You can also now meet us on facebook (“Jeremy Simons” profile or jasimons@gmail.com).
We hope you all are doing well and look forward to hearing how you are doing in whatever part of the world you happen to be. Please also let us know how we are doing or if you have suggestions or critiques in our new electronic efforts at staying connected.
Peace,
Jeremy and Amy Simons
Linea, Madeline and Isaac
