Daily reflection from the CPLO and the Jesuit Institute for 14 March 2022

Published: Mon, 03/14/22

Monday, 14 March 2022

“Nowhere does the silence of the infinite lean so intensely as around the form of a newly born infant. Once we arrive, we enter into the inheritance of everything that has preceded us; we become heirs to the world. To be born is to be chosen. To be created and come to birth is to be blessed. Some primal kindness chose us and brought us through the forest of dreaming until we could emerge into the clearance of individuality, with a path of life opening before us through the world. The beginning often holds the clue to everything that follows. Given the nature of our beginning, it is no wonder that our hearts are imbued with longing for beauty, meaning, order, creativity, compassion, and love.”

~ John O'Donahue ~

A newborn baby symbolises vulnerability and wonder in this world—a representation of creation in its most pure and fragile state. How we welcome the new into this world reflects much of how we treat the most vulnerable in our world.

For many, the welcoming of a child into the world is filled with expectancy and joy, albeit the unknown. However, for many refugee and migrant women in South Africa, bringing life into this world means confronting debt, fear and uncertainty. Giving birth in South Africa’s public health system for refugee and migrant women has become increasingly extracting. Free healthcare services are guaranteed in the Constitution to all pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of six. However, since 2020 Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) became aware of public hospitals in Gauteng, requesting mothers who are not South African to pay for ante-natal and maternal health care services. JRS has had reports of mothers being told to pay between R250-R400 for their ante-natal check-ups. The cost of natural delivery has ranged between R5000-R8000 and up to R25000 for a Caesarian-section. A price which for most in South Africa is inconceivable.

Giving birth is a debt, creating compounding fears and barriers to access health and their children’s futures. The clients that JRS have assisted express their fear of accessing further healthcare because of their debt at hospitals and worry they will be denied further access to health. Hospitals in Gauteng have denied notice of birth documents for mothers who have not paid these fees. Notice of birth is a document essential for registering a child’s birth with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

Imagine having your baby's name, with all its meaning and presence in this world, and nowhere for their name to be legally recognised.

During this week of reflections, you will be invited to read and have a glimpse into the experiences of refugee and migrant women. As you read these stories, think about how these stories link to other people you know? What in each story has touched you or stayed with you? Are you called to respond in some way?

How might these stories move us to revise the world God imagined for us?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Reflection prepared by Abigail Dawson