今年最後のブログ。ミクロネシアで半世紀活躍して来たイエズス会のフランシス•ヒーゼル神父の事を書きました。
笹川太平洋島嶼国基金が助成し、成功した事業が大きなきっかけとなりニューヨークのイエズス会から召還。現在不幸な立場に追い込まれています。（ただし、イエズス会に属するヒーゼル神父は自らその事をおしゃっていません。）
新たな思想、新たな試みは、特にそれが大きな影響を社会に与えた場合、常に弾圧される運命にあります。これはキリスト教の歴史を見るだけでも明確でしょう。
今年１年、コメントや修正をいただき、ありがとうございます。継続の励みになります。
来年もよろしくお願いします。
Fr Francis Hezel
I joined the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in 1991, since then I have been in charge of the Pacific Islands.
Working for Pacific Islands and with Islanders is not an easy job. There were a few opportunities to quit and/or change direction in my job over the last 23 years. However, I decided to continue and may not quit in the future.
If I am asked why? One of answers is Fr Francis Hezel. He gave me the reasons for working for the Pacific Islands, and the reasons of life.
I met him in Pohnpei in 1991 or following year. At that time the Internet existed but you could not obtain the information from WWW as we can do now.
So when I visited the Pacific Islands I tried to obtain reports as much as I could.
I visited the government in Palikir and asked for statistic reports and whatever. The Government staff told me "You must go to Micronesian Seminar, and see Fr Hezel who has done the statistic survey and has the reports, we do not"
Seeing the library of the Micronesian Seminar and meeting Fr Hezel was kind of discovering a "Treasure mine".
The problem was I could access this treasure only when I visited Pohnpei. I was one of first Internet users, so I started to persuade Fr Hezel to use the Internet to distribute his treasure to all the Micronesian region as well as the World.
In 1997 or 1998, I still clearly remember that when I was visiting Guam, I got a message from Fr Hezel and Dr Liz Rechebei from Saipan. They wanted to talk with me about their new "online" project. They flew to Guam to see me.
From 1999, the Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund started making grants to the Micronesian Seminar to conduct online education through launching their Web Site.
Our grant continued from 1999 to 2004, 6 years with about total 200,000USD.
Web site of Micronesian Seminar is still here, but no more update http://www.micsem.org
In the first year, Fr Hezel used text on the web site, but could not get many to access it and receive feedback. Then as the next step he got an idea to use photos and videos. This made a huge change on his online project.
As a grant maker, we requested Micsem about details of the users, who received the benefit? How many of them? and etc.
Subsequently, Fr Hezel found that there was a huge and increasing access from the mainland of US. Who were they? They were immigrants from Micronesia who had a strong interest in their home country also have a good environment of access to the Internet.
Even after our grant finished, the Micsem web site has been growing and growing and becoming more influential.
I observed empowerment in utilizing the Internet. A power of information and knowledge utilizing the Internet.
Many of us are aware of the current Fr Hezel and Micsem situation. Sometime empowerment and the power of knowledge is oppressed by authority. This is what we can observe from the history of Christianity.
Rieko Hayakawa
Project Coordinator of Sasakawa Peace Foundation
PhD Scholar of Otago University
This site explain about current Fr's situation.
"Petitioning Rev. David S. Ciancimino SJ
Return Rev. Francis X. Hezel, S.J. back to Micronesia where he is needed!"
http://www.change.org/petitions/return-rev-francis-x-hezel-s-j-back-to-micronesia-where-he-is-needed
