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[ Back to index of September articles ] Reaching out to the people of Swaziland By Bishop John Bryson Chane
Swaziland is one of the few places on the globe that exists as an absolute monarchy with no constitution. King Mswati III rules with undisputed authority. He has 11 wives and shares much of his power with the Queen Mother. Our delegation was being pulled together because the situation in the county was becoming intolerable on several fronts. Human rights violations were rampant, unemployment had reached 35 percent, and 34 percent of the population was infected with HIV - the highest ratio in the world. In addition, AIDS had produced 70,000 orphans in Swaziland. Projections are that by 2010, one of every 10 people in this nation of 1.2 million will be an AIDS orphan. Our delegation was kept extremely busy during our three-day visit. Most days began at 8 a.m. and ended after 11 p.m. We met with the current United States Ambassador to Swaziland, the High Commissioner of Mozambique to Swaziland, the High Commissioner of Great Britain to Swaziland, the South African Ambassador to Swaziland, the Prime Minister of Swaziland and members of his cabinet, the Queen Mother, the Anglican clergy of the Diocese of Swaziland and their HIV/AIDS coordinator, representatives of the Council of Churches, women's and children's rights advocates, labor, business and trade representatives and groups actively pursuing democratic, constitutional reform in the country. While the Swazi people are amazing for their patience and faith, especially considering that they have been without a constitution since 1973, our delegation was reminded by everyone we spoke to that unless a new constitution is speedily drafted, and elections held, the nation will become vulnerable to the possibility of violent confrontation precipitated by people hungry for basic human rights. At the same time the Swazi culture has deep respect for the monarchy and wants to work to preserve it as a connection with their past history. The desire of most people we talked with was to establish a constitutional monarchy, modeled after those of Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden. A bright spot in our frank discussions with the Swazi government were several meetings with the Prime Minister, Themba Dlamini, who has only been in office for eight months. It was the delegation's consensus that he has the vision, the courage and the knowledge to bring about the changes so necessary for Swaziland if the country is not to erupt in violence. It is clear that he understands the impact that HIV/AIDS has on the economy and morale of his country and he is willing to work directly with the Anglican Church to seek more effective ways of educating, treating the infected and preventing the future infection of another generation of Swazis. He is a fine statesman and asked us to pray for him daily for what he says on some days seems to be an overwhelming challenge. For me, the trip reaffirmed the importance of our diocesan partnership with the Province of Southern Africa, which was formalized at our diocesan convention in January. This relationship is just one more example of the strength and unity of the Anglican Communion as it works together to address conditions that threaten the life and future of God's people. It also intensified my desire to move our diocese, our church and our communion beyond the bitter disagreements and embarrassing disputes that currently claim far too much of our time, our energy and our material resources. Disease, violence, and illiteracy threaten the very future of the human race and as the children of God we must be an active part of the solution rather than being a passive part of the problem. The Diocese of Washington, through its South African Partnership Committee, will be working with the Province of Southern Africa to schedule a 12-day pilgrimage to Lesotho, Swaziland and the Highveld of South Africa in August 2005. I hope as many of you as possible can join my wife Karen and me on this mission. Prior to that we will begin to develop parish-to-parish relationships, women's and children's networking and continue our work of advocacy with our own government here in the United States and with the Anglican Church of Swaziland. In addition, the diocesan Web site (www.edow.org) will soon offer a means for individuals to contribute to the Anglican Malaria Project, an innovative grass roots effort to combat that deadly disease in Swaziland and nearby Mozambique. Someone asked me recently why Africa is so important. My answer is simple. If the Anglican Church, including the Episcopal Church USA, does not respond with the best it has to the needs of God's people who are dying daily at a frightening rate in Africa through illness, inadequate food supplies and violence, how can we who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, live with ourselves? I am always caught short when I read the teachings of Jesus when he reminds his followers that; "as you have done it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, so you have done it to me." If we believe that the Gospel contains the basic strategy for the mission of the church, then we need to live radically into that mission. [ Back to index of September articles ]
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In June, I received an urgent e-mail from the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, requesting that I join a delegation of Anglican Church leaders on a visit to Swaziland, in the Province of Southern Africa, July 6-11. 
The new bishop of Swaziland, The Right Rev. Meshack Mabuza, has become a leader in addressing issues that threaten the future of his country. He and Archbishop Ndungane developed the agenda for the delegation and secured the support of the Anglican Communion. Other members of the delegation were the Right Rev. David Beetge, bishop of the Diocese of the Highveld and dean of the Province of Southern Africa; the Right Rev. Brian Smith, bishop of Edinburgh, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Right Rev. Dinis Sengulane, bishop of the Diocese of Mozambique, the Rev. Canon John Peterson, secretary general of the Anglican Communion and Canon James Rosenthal, communications director for the Anglican Communion.
We were deeply moved during one late afternoon visit to a small rural church, literally built single-handedly by the first woman deacon ordained in the Diocese of Swaziland. There at St. Margaret's we attended an early evening prayer service and shared time with more than 20 AIDS orphans who come to the church for daily schooling, lunch and dinner. There they are loved, cared for and fed by the rector and a small group of grandmothers who claim this as their ministry. And what a ministry it is! As we were about to leave, each bishop received a gift from the children. The children had decided to forgo one meal and with the money saved, bought small gifts and presented them to each of the bishops with gratitude for our visit. The church, located in a region of great poverty and just a five minute drive from the wealth of the Swaziland Royal Palace, defines the stubborn hopefulness of a country in which 10 percent of the population controls 70 percent of the financial resources and where the monarchy owns 60 percent of the land.