Dear All,
Sunday 29 September is the date set for the 155th Missionary Expedition send-off from the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. But hang on, you say, isn't next year just the 150th anniversary of the first expedition? Indeed it is, but in some years there was more than one expedition, so yes, this year the total number of expeditions arrives at 155.
Our Region is also giving and receiving missionaries. Think of the language challenges. For example, a Congolese learning Chinese; a Burundian and a Croatian learning Korean; a Vietnamese learning Spanish; a Timorese learning French or a Bantu language...
Indeed, it would seem that there is a ‘chapter’ still to be written in Salesian historiography where language is concerned. We have little snippets of information here and there, but it has never been put together. And I think it is also true that our missionary tales, and even our missionary hagiography (think of the Servants of God and Saints in the EAO Region) sometimes place minimal focus on language and its role in their endeavours.
It would seem an appropriate moment to invite a contribution from you: is there some information you can provide regarding the Salesian contribution to language (including your local language)? By ‘Salesian’ I mean the broader family of Don Bosco, so FMA, Cooperator or other Group as well as SDB. And while the interest is particularly in the missionary contribution, that does not rule out the ‘local’ contribution either, especially if someone from your province or vice-province or delegation has been active, say, in translating the Scriptures... Nor should we ignore those who simply went to extraordinary lengths to learn local languages in order to spread the kingdom and the Salesian charism.
Given that translators are naturally the people who are interested in language, and dealing with it on a regular basis, you are the people who could be a starting point for a better ‘picture’ of Salesian language activity, be it translation or some other contribution to the local language. Please consult the Best Practice for a list of language areas that someone may have contributed to... it is not an exhaustive list so you might think of others. Your yourself might even be one of those contributors (Cambodia, maybe? Thailand?, Timor-Leste...?) so don't be shy! And please, don't just leave this to someone else. If you are reading this newsletter and have got as far as this paragraph, consider offering a reply, no matter how brief.
The focus for this newsletter is the EAO Region, but there is a growing number of readers from other parts of the world, so please do not feel excluded from this invitation! For example, there are outstanding examples of Salesian language activity in India, Africa, the Americas... And I will be happy to cobble together any contributions you can make, send or point to (e.g. if already available in some documentation, digital or otherwise). It may be that the people you have in mind did not contribute to the language per se, but the very fact that they had learned local languages (if they were missionaries) and then used that knowledge in their educational and pastoral work, is enough.
Here are just a couple of little hints from the EAO Region:
Fr Dupont, a French Salesian missionary who started out in Japan, but then ended up in Vietnam. During the Sino-Japanese War he was invited to be an interpreter for French Admiral Decoux, Governor of Indochina, in dealings with the Japanese commander Odagiri, due to his knowledge of Japanese. Fr Dupont was assassinated just 5 days before the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. His killers accused him of liaison with the Japanese.
Servant of God Fr Andrej Majcen, Slovenian, who had learned Chinese, Vietnamese, but interestingly, was on one occasion appointed to teach Russian! That was because he was familiar with Cyrillic script from his school days back in Slovenia. Not that he knew much Russian as such.
Please read the Best Practice, but more importantly still, do not ignore the invitation, which is to send me, in writing, some responses, as brief or as long as you wish, to any or all of the 'General questions' you will see listed in this Best Practice.
best_practice_34-missions and language.docx