Social Justice Blog

Fiumicino airport at 4.30 in the morning was empty as was the road that took us from the Curia. The KLM flight to Amsterdam was leaving at 6 am. There were few passengers but I could guess that a group of Italians was travelling all the way to the World Social Forum at Nairobi. At the counter, checking in before me, was my Dominican counterpart in Rome. He is an Indian from Maharashtra, the Indian state that has Mumbai as its capital. He has been in charge for a couple of years. When I told him about the Ignatian Family Seminar planned before the Forum he was amazed. It has been difficult for them getting their act together in Africa. He is luckier than I. He shares the job of being a Justice and Peace promoter with another sister who represents all the female Dominican branches that form an apostolic federation with the male branch.

The Dutch have kept up the good old custom of providing a substantial breakfast on the plane. Modern flying, bent on cutting costs, has done away with practically all the culinary frills that they used to offer passengers.

As I lay back in my seat next to a family from England with two small kids, my thoughts hovered over the 3-day seminar and the way everything has been finally arranged. The preparations so far have been excellent and the team at Nairobi ably, headed by Clemencia and Elias Omondi SJ, have done a very good job. I firmly believe it is an opportunity for all of us to recognise the capacities of Africa and Madagascar and to increase our personal and institutional confidence in these regions.

The reception committee at the airport was working in full swing. There were participants that came on a SN flight from Brussels (Miguel from ALBOAN), others came by British Airways (Jim Stormes), and I and another US participant came by the KLM flight. I heard that the contribution from Hekima College has been very good. The Minister was there on the reception committee. I went to sleep, tired after the long day and happy to be in Nairobi.

Fernando Franco SJ, Social Justice Secretariat (Rome), 15 January 2007