Sr. Prema is now in her new mission in Germany since one year.

                     She shares her life spent in the previous mission. 

1. Sent from the Province of Chennai
2. She was missioned in Polish – Ukraine, Europe
3. Engaged in – Main mission among refugees, teach catechism on Sundays in the International Church for English speaking community of Warsaw – people from all continents ( diplomats, business men and those working in banks and companies)
4. I am a teacher by profession. Here I do socio-pastoral ministry
5. Struggles and challenges – Climate is very cold, hard realities glare at me when I find myself helpless amidst the sufferings of the refugees, no financial support for the mission.

Poland is in the central Europe, in the year 2004 it has entered the European Union. Until 1989 it was a communist country under the strict rule of Russia. It has suffered throughout history by various invasions and regimes. The worst ones were Hitler’s Nazi Regime(1935 – 1949) and Socialist Regime of USSR (1939 – 1989). From 1939 – 1949 it had been divided between Germany and Russia. Hitler used this land as a crematorium to burn alive some millions of Jews who were transported from all over Europe. We can still find the concentration camps throughout the country including the well known OSWICZ in Krakow. Poland also is the birth place of many world famous people like Copernicus, Chopin – the music composer, Joseph Conrad –English Novelist, Mary Currie- the inventor of radium, Lech Wales- the Nobel Peace prize awarder and of course our late Pope John Paul II. It is also the land of music, art and sports. It is an agricultural country, 85 % of land is cultivated. It is one of the coldest part of the world with heavy snow falls and long hard winter.

It is a Catholic country with a population of three million people. The belong to Slavonic race. It is a developing country, 30% of people are unemployed. People are very hospitable and charitable by nature. We are about 260 FMMs belonging to Polish – Ukraine Province. There are 4 sisters from Ukraine but they are migrated Polish from Ukraine. In fact I am the only foreigner living with our sisters.

Most of the sisters are involved in pastoral works , apart from that there are three Govt. mentally retarded homes cared under our management with the collaboration with the lay people. We own a nursery school close to our convent.

My Mission in the refugee centers     

I have been working here almost 5 years with the refugees in one of the centers in Poland. It is about 30 Km away from my community – Piastow. It is the main center where the refugees are sheltered until they are permitted for their permanent stay. Meanwhile most of them try to escape to other parts of Europe. Though this center exists from 1992, I am the first missionary as well as a foreigner who works here. I go there for two days, two days I go to different places in order to arrange for their material needs and other legal issues. A SVD priest (Polish) used to come on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist for the people since there were many Catholics. Recently he too stopped coming.

This center accommodates 1000 people, and the people are mainly from the war-torn countries namely Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya and Africa: Zaire, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Angola and a few from Sri Lanka. From time to time we do get people from India, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Ukraine etc. who come to Europe either seeking for good pasture or because of dangerous threat that they face in their own country. People are brought here either by police or by the border security. Local Mafias play a great role in their exile. It costs 1000 US $ to cross Berlin (it takes 6 hours by car from Warsaw to Berlin). The facts of a great number of heart breaking, dangerous and fatal stories remain unrevealed of the refugees illegally crossing the border at the cost of their lives. Three fourth of the people who came to Poland have already managed to escape to other countries for better prospects.

Majority of people who arrive here are Muslims. They are the innocent victims of war, religious conflicts, ethnical fights, violence and victims of exploitation and manipulation. They generally go through tremendous struggles: insecurity, fear and threat , uprooted ness, alienation etc. Some are sick due to psychological trauma or the struggle they go through in order to get adjusted to the cold, hard climate, food, language, culture etc. Some are affected with TB during their stay in prisons due to poor nourishment and some become insane. I had been helping two boys who suffered were TB patients, (one suffered from TB of the Kidney and the other of the brain) they were almost dying, but the Divine Healer healed them both.