Living with our neighbours
An annual sports festival for the Thai and Filipino communities in Gimpo began on June 5 with the opening festival day at Gimpo YIUTSARI. YIUTSARI, which translates to “living with the neighbours”, is the Jesuit Centre for Migrant Workers.
The two communities have enjoyed the Gimpo Migrant Workers’ Sports Festival every year since the first event in 2006. This year, after the opening festival day, the Thai community will play soccer for eight weeks while the Filipinos will play basketball for 12 weeks.
After nearly eight months of planning and work, JRS Asia Pacific launched its new website, 
With rising distribution cost, Jesuit Refugee Service-Asia Pacific has decided to make their magazine, Diakonia, be available online only. If you would like to receive a copy of Diakonia electronically, please email 
Sad, shocked eyes looked at us from the hospital bed. Earlier in the week Sam Ren had driven the “iron buffalo”, a type of village tractor which carries goods and people across the field to tend the chilli plants. The villagers had been planting this field for some years and used the path across the fields regularly. At night they set out to return home on the same route.
On November 9, Fr Mark Raper spoke at a conference held at the Pontifical Gregorian University to mark 30 years of Jesuit service to refugees. The conference was organised by three Jesuit organisations, Jesuit Refugee Service International, Centro Astalli and Magis as a part of a calendar of events held in Rome between November 9 – 14.
Bangkok, 11 November 2010 – An estimated 20,000 people have fled to Thailand since conflict broke out between government forces and the fifth brigade of the ethnic Karen rebel group, the DKBA. Fighting began on Monday morning 8 November in the southeastern border town of Myawaddy, less than a day after election polls opened in the military controlled region.