The Divine Word Missionaries have farewelled the group of young asylum seekers who had been living at the Janssen Spirituality Centre in Boronia, after the federal government chose not to renew the contract for their care.

Director of the JSC, Fr Nick de Groot (pictured, left) says the government’s decision not to renew the contract, and to remove the young men was a shock.

“The day before the new contract was due to be finalised, we instead received a phone call to say it would be finished,” Fr Nick says. “Only four weeks before, we had been given an assurance that it would be continued, so it was a very abrupt end.”

The young men, mostly of Afghan and Hazara ethnicity, arrived in Australia as boat people, and initially spent up to two years in Immigration Detention before being released into the community, to live at the Janssen Centre while their asylum claims were processed.

The Society of the Divine Word AUS Province worked with Jesuit Refugee Services and CatholicCare Melbourne to accommodate the men and to meet their varied needs while they awaited either a Protection Visa or a Bridging Visa.

Fr Nick says the JSC community was sad to see the group leave, but thankful for the experiences they shared over the past year.

“I didn’t do much myself. I only came to the Centre in October,” he says. “But Fr Michael Hardie, (pictured below with Sr Matthias and some of the young men) and others spent a lot of time with them.

“And what we did notice over the time was that when they came to us they were very depressed and did not look happy. They had endured terrible experiences in getting to Australia and now having arrived, their future was filled with uncertainty.

“But here, they came to a quiet place and they could reach out from here into the community to their friends and community members. They learned to do things like the shopping, they went for a swim and they felt safe and were able to recoup their energy and spirits. And you could see that in their faces.”

Fr Nick says the JSC community learned a lot and received many insights and blessings from the ministry during the year.

“It was a ministry, definitely, of hospitality,” he says. “But also of the ability to listen and to allow them to tell their stories.

“They had all come with horrendous stories of what had happened at home and how they had to get out. Then when they arrived here, they were initially enclosed by barbed wire and weren’t allowed to work. Their hopes were dashed. Nothing was definite for them.

“So for us, the priority was to spend time with them, and to encourage them.

“We had hoped to continue on with that ministry, so this change of direction from the government was very unexpected.”

With the last of the young men having been moved into another community house in the Dandenong area in February, Fr Nick says the JSC will now concentrate fully again on its core ministry.

“We will make the Centre again a welcoming place for discussion about different faiths and different religiosity and spirituality,” he says.

That will include a return to hosting retreats, as well as the ongoing regular activities (picture below) such as contemplative prayer, meditation, Lectio Divina and interfaith sharing. Fr Michael will continue with pastoral outreach to young Afghani refugees, in cooperation with Catholic Care.

To find out more about what’s on offer at the Janssen Spirituality Centre, visit www.janssencentre.org.