Indian Jesuits in Afghanistan are not sure what is in store for them as the strife-torn nation slips into conflict as the United States winds down operations after almost 20 years of war.
“We will continue to accompany and give hope to the suffering people in whatever way is possible for us,” Father Jerome Sequeira, country head of the Jesuit mission in Afghanistan, told.
But with the Taliban making sweeping gains, fears of human rights and cultural abuses loom large.
Father Sequeira said “uncertainty and nervousness are very much palpable in the country” but we “are committed to our cause.” The Jesuits came to Afghanistan in 2004 to join hands with the Afghans in rebuilding the war-ravaged nation through education.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) stepped in to educate the youth, focusing on internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees from neighbouring countries and other vulnerable sections of the host society.
In collaboration with local staff, the Jesuits trained more than 300 budding young teachers and through them were educating more than 25,000 young boys and girls in four provinces.