Columban Fr Patrick (Pat) Colgan has made a trip to Colombia to spread the message that drug smuggling into Hong Kong is a no brainer and dispels the myth that chances of being caught are remote and jail sentences short.
February 11 to 14 was a rather unusual and challenging time in my life.
I had embarked on a journey to the city of Pereira as a result of meeting so many men and women from the Central Colombian town in our Hong Kong prisons and hearing their cry for someone from the chaplaincy, of which I am part, to go and meet their families.
It was a type of drug run in reverse, as I traversed the same territory, but with an entirely different cargo in my bag.
My plan was not to bring drugs, but an appeal to the civic and Church authorities in Pereira to be pro-active in warning people not to follow their fellow townsfolk on the drug trail.
My message was simple, “Never bring drugs to Hong Kong because detection rates are high, sentences are long and while prison conditions are not draconian, the dislocation and loneliness of living amidst a culture and language so foreign and far from home is a big cross to carry.”
It was almost midnight when I got off the plane at the small airport, but I was touched at the reception committee waiting for me, a large gathering of families holding banners (image above) and singing a cheerful welcome.
One of the priests in the city, Fr Oscar, welcomed me and I stayed with the family of a man who is currently doing time in Stanley Prison.
The next four days were a whirlwind of radio and television interviews on both secular and Catholic stations, all of course in Spanish, a language I have never formally learned.
I was in constant and desperate prayer to the Holy Spirit to give me the right words!
But while it was not exactly the gift of tongues, by the fourth or fifth interview the words were beginning to flow and the Colombian people were, to a fault, gracious and patient with me.
They were so happy to know that the Diocese of Hong Kong, despite its limitations of language and culture, is doing what it can to bring spiritual and emotional support to these, our Catholic brothers and sisters. Permanent deacons, Filipino migrant workers on their Sundays off, Spanish-speaking communities like the San Francisco Javier and many others, make the sacrifice to go and visit these often forgotten people.
I learned that the families in Colombia already have a well organised campaign to spread information through flyers and banners carrying a warning about the risks of being a drug mule. They are distributing them in markets and airport departure lounges.
The Colombian government is being lobbied to consider the repatriation of a number of their own citizens from Hong Kong prisons, so they can serve their sentences at home. This is a particularly acute need for those who are old and sick. In fact, the Hong Kong authorities have already given the go ahead for a small number of repatriations for humanitarian reasons, but the intergovernmental logistics have yet to be worked out.
I was much encouraged by the support of Bishop Rigoberto Corredor, from Pereira, in offering the use of his curial offices for my first press conference, where I was accompanied by local priests, Frs Oscar and Pacho, as well as the governor of Pereira-Risaralda, Sigifredo Salazar Osorio, who met us in his chambers, and, of course, some of the families.
Incarceration affects not only the person concerned, but the whole network of family and the community. I saw many spouses struggling to put bread on the table and send their children to school.
I met others with illnesses that cannot be treated due to lack of funds. Thanks to a kind Mexican friend in Hong Kong, I was able to offer a little financial relief, but the needs grow in tandem with their loved ones’ imprisonment.
Although in many ways a drop in the ocean, I felt privileged to be the link between the Hong Kong and Colombian Churches.
As Pope Francis prepares to visit Colombia in September, we pray that it may bolster not only the peace process there, but also our awareness of the evils of the drug industry and the victims it continues to produce, both at home and in countries far away.
Columban Fr Patrick Colgan has been a member of the General Council in Hong Kong since 2012.
LISTEN TO: Priest on reverse drug run
(Duration: 5:25mins, MP3: 2.48MB)
Related Links
- Read more from The Far East - August 2017
