INTERVIEW

"A SEED GROWN OUTSIDE THE
VISIBLE CHURCH BECAUSE GOD
IS GREATER THAN ITS WORK"
From the collapse of the regime to the Libyan exodus, the Archbishop of Tunis explains why "we must open ourselves" to history.

History has not given it time, not even to lay the basis for a new state after the overthrow of the dictator. Tunisia had not yet recovered from her own insurrection, when the tremors of the world outside sent 300,000 refugees pouring across the Libyan border. And it is on that border that the country is putting to the test the change brought by the January revolution.
"Even today, in the refugee camps there are 4,000–5,000 African refugees, apart from the thousands of Libyans. They speak of 50,000 people, living in tents or in quarters provided by the city of Tataouine. The Ministry of Education has ordered the schools in the south to integrate the Libyan children into the regional schools." Rather than focusing on all the analyses and previsions regarding what will become of the country that was the detonator of the Arab spring, Archbishop Maroun Lahham of Tunis fixes every word and thought on what the present indicates forcibly: "We need to open ourselves to this history."
It is this history that filled the Tunisian streets, that against all expectations led to the overthrow of Ben Ali, and to the fears of the transition, to the growing consensus in the Islamist party Al-Nadha, as well as to the unexpected demonstrations after the killing of the Polish priest Fr. Marek Rybinski. The insurrection in nearby Libya followed. This is the history of a people. "If we don't understand what this history has to do with Christ crucified and risen, then we are sitting on a large cloud and we are living a fleeting illusion. But if there is a relationship between the Mystery of Christ and this history, then we have to open ourselves to it."

What does it mean for you to recognize this link?
Christ came to bring freedom. This is a fact; and he didn't come only for Catholics… When you hear the cry and the questions of the Tunisian population, you cannot but think of the speech Jesus gave in the synagogue in Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord sent Me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and to free the oppressed" (Lk 4:19). In all this, there is a great lesson of humility for us: it is the cry of the poor that gives new hope to a whole people and invites us to pay attention to God's signs that reveal His presence.

You speak of "a lesson of humility." In your report to the Scientific Committee of Oasis, you said that these facts "ask us to review aspects of the Church's presence in service and witness."
That desire, that seed of freedom that led the insurrection, grew outside the visible boundaries of the Church. This happens because God is much greater than the Church's work. God has a sacred history for every people, He has a history of salvation for every country, and this history, which God writes in every people for every people, in every nation and for every nation, does not necessarily coincide with the history of the Church in that country, and in that people. Moreover, the Church in Tunisia is a stranger, a "foreign body."

What change is asked of the Christians? What does it mean to "open ourselves to this history"?
The Church has as its vocation to accompany the people among which it lives, humanly and spiritually. We have to read what happens. Faced with this search for freedom, we cannot close ourselves in the sacristy and wait to see what happens. In this way, I would betray my mission. I always think of the Acts of Apostles [Chapters 27 and 28]. On the ship in which he traveled to Rome, St. Paul was surrounded by people; they were in danger of sinking, and he shared the history of those people. He spoke with them; they were not Christians, but he spoke with them and prayed with them. They broke bread, and Paul took the bread that they ate and blessed it. This is the presence of Christ in a people that does not know Him. We in Tunisia are in the same boat, in the same waters, and we share the same sacred history that God is writing for that people. We have the task of accompanying this people in the search for democracy and freedom.

How are you helping the refugees on the Libyan border?
The exodus from Libya was of considerable dimensions, and it questions the inhospitable reaction of Europe toward 20,000 Tunisians; Europe may be in crisis, but it is rich all the same. From our point of view, it is inexplicable. Now, at the border, there are two priests and three nuns, who for months have been preparing meals for 10,000 people a day, helped by mere volunteers, much earlier than the interventions of the NGOs, Caritas, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and all the international associations, who arrived when water and food were already reaching the people in the nearby villages. It's the same help we received from the Tunisian people during the revolution. Unimaginable things happened. A parish priest of the Tunis diocese saw his neighbors arriving. They knew he had no wife, so they took care of him. He told me, "I never thought that they would have identified with me." In Biserta, in the north, the guard of the convent went with his wife to stay with the sisters, so as to protect them.

Has life in Tunisia really changed since the revolution?
It's changed completely. If you had seen Tunisia six months ago, you would not recognize it now. Not that the buildings have changed in appearance, but people's faces have changed. People talk, the press is free, political parties are forming, there are debates on television. I am Palestinian and I've been living in Tunisia for six years. I have seen a radical change.

Is it irreversible?
Yes. It will no longer be possible to live as we did before the14th of January. Because the dictator has gone, this is an irreversible passage. A return to those conditions is inconceivable. No one is willing to be ordered about as before.

Why was the insurrection in Tunisia different from those of the other countries that followed?
It was the country best prepared for such a change. First of all, because of the homogeneity of the population; they are all Arabs, all Tunisians, all Muslims. Then, the level of cultural preparation and the quality of life are the highest in the North African world. This last aspect is also the most surprising, because the revolution had a moral and political rather than economic character. In Tunisia what was most lacking was not bread, but freedom.

In view of the elections that will follow the vote on the new Constitution, the polls in recent months have seen the Islamic party growing (from 10% to 26%). Is the fear of Islamization a real threat for Tunisia, too?
Yes. The young people, especially the Tunisians, do not seem too enthusiastic about the Islamic ideal. In the revolutions, there have never been religious demands, but it is certain that Islam is an incontrovertible reality in the Arab world. It would be absurd to think that it does not play a role in political pluralism. However, Christians are optimistic by nature, by vocation, and above all by grace, precisely because it is God who leads history, and leads it for the best.

But fear is present even in the Christian communities, who generally did not support the revolts.
There is a common trait to the insurrections: youth—men and women who will no longer put up with a dictator. From Mauritania to Iraq, there are 23 "Emperors" who succeed each other from father to son; whether they are called kings, presidents, emirs, or sultans, they are all dictators. Arab youth will no longer put up with this. It is true that every country has its characteristics, but all that gives rise to this has to be taken into consideration. In this sense, I think that even we Christians—for whom the situation is very different from one country to another—must, before the unknowns of the post-revolution, take the risk. What did Jesus do? He risked and He paid the price. Can we just keep still?
A.S.