New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 43
New World Outlook
wages. Mental health may also be a
matter of concern for many working
in the tea plantations.
Davadasan concluded: "A laborer
sacrifices her life and struggles constantly for her daily needs. His or her
struggle should bring holistic liberation as well as a change in lifestyle
and a standard of life for the better."
The estate communities in Sri
Lanka are still struggling to meet their
daily needs even in the modern days
of technology, computers, and weapons. The estate people have been
longing to be a free, dignified, and respected community. They have been
praying to gods and goddesses for
their liberation and justice. As a follower of Jesus, I pray that the God of
liberation and life bestows compassion (Karuna) upon the estate people
in Sri Lanka and liberates them and
all other plantation workers around
the world, especially those on tea,
coffee, and rubber estates. But our
response should not be limited to
prayers. Our hands and hearts too
should move and contribute to the
liberation of the forgotten people of
Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
Devedasan finished his reflection
powerfully by making a theological
and social appeal to the tea drinking community: "Remember behind
your cup of tea there is the spirit, the
sweat, and the blood of my community. The community behind your tea,
the estate peoples-they wait for
their story to be heard and for consumers to change their ways. While
you drink tea, join with the God of
life, hearing their cry, a 'Cry from the
Tea Bushes.' Our spiritual gift is our
brokenness-broken spirits, broken
minds, and broken bodies. Because
we are broken, we dream."
Telling tea drinkers to think of the
struggling communities behind their
cups and bottles of tea is a theological task. Advocacy for ethical tea
SUMMER 2017
Line houses in the estate community slum, typical for workers on the tea estates.
PHOTO: ESTATE COMMUNITIES EMPOWERMENT MISSION
production, fair trade, quality assurance of labor, and social responsibility
for the estate communities are a few
of the prophetic challenges.
Devadasan mentioned in an interview: "What we need to do is to
create possibilities to empower leadership within the estate communities
and to educate young girls and boys.
The church is called to the ministry
of empowerment, to be an incarnated community among these forgotten people."
It is encouraging that the ecumenical study document "Together
Towards Life," released in 2013 by
the World Council of Churches, affirms the church's call to learn from
the margins: "People on the margins have agency, and can often see
what, from the center, is out of view.
People on the margins, living in vulnerable positions, often know what
exclusionary forces are threatening
their survival and can best discern
the urgency of their struggles; people
in positions of power have much to
learn from the daily struggles of people living in marginal conditions."
Sellamma, Sellamma,
You are great! But I do not want
you to be always in the margins.
You are the power of agency in
changing the margins.
In solidarity with you-Sellamma,
As I share the cry from the tea
bushes.
Jerome Sahabandhu, from Sri Lanka,
serves as the Theologian in Residence
at the Mission Theology Desk, General
Board of Global Ministries, Atlanta.
Q U ESTI O N S FO R RE FLEC TI O N
* How does this experience from the margins-"The Cry from the
Tea Bushes"-challenge you and your local church's ministry and
mission?
* What can we do to change the situation of the estate communities
around the world for the better?
* What do we hear the Spirit saying to our social and ecclesial locations
through the "Cry from the Tea Bushes?"
43
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open
Contents
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Intro
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Cover1
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Cover2
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Contents
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 4
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 5
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 6
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 7
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 8
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 9
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