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It seems to me that I live in eternity, as if the time has never existed and we constantly lack it. As a result, we don't have time to Love, to Love without measure...
I would like to share with you my prison experiences from Morocco.
I have just come back from the prison. Derek1 and his friend Adam who have been arrested for having drugs were still there. This time I was accompanied by Mrs. Consul which was a kind of coping stone. Next week Derek is leaving the prison in Morocco in the company of two Polish policemen. He has just got the ticket to Warsaw. Derek's joy has been enormous. I have just received a message from him, written in capital letters. Its content was: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP FATHER. I AM REALLY GRATEFUL. I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU DID FOR ME, MY FAMILY AND MY BELOVED MONICA. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN - DEREK".
This is a short summary of the story. Derek and his fiancée Monica planned their holidays in Agadira on the Atlantic Ocean. He arrived there without further problems but the next day he landed in prison. An international arrest warrant gave the police service from Morocco the possibility to demonstrate the effectiveness of finding wanted people.
After a few days Derek landed in prison in Sale, near the capital city - Rabat. Parting with Monica, his fiancée he has known for 11 years, was the most difficult thing for him. And then THE ODYSSEY started. It was an endless waiting in the Moroccan prison (for extradition). The conditions there are difficult to describe. Corruption rules and money is the most important thing. Moreover, he is a foreigner, with a different denomination than a Muslim one. He often thought about committing suicide - an escape to nowhere... Only a Divine Power can change and guide a person, give him hope and self-confidence...
In November I was asked to become a chaplain of Polish prisoners in Morocco. I accepted the proposal without hesitation but I had no idea how hard it would be. First of all, it was difficult for me to part with the Muslim school for which I had been responsible together with my fellow-brothers and Muslim teachers. The distance from Meknes to Rabat (150 kilometres) is not very far but I need one day to travel there and back by train.
The situation is very difficult. The problems with the Moroccan administration, searching for hope (in situations in which there is often no way out, unintelligible to ordinary people), no answers to our requests, corruption in prison, the lack of respect for human rights... all these things made me realize that I would need help both from people and from God. I did not hesitate. I found people who prayed for Derek, his mother, who was deeply affected by her son's tragedy, and for his fiancée Monica. I called Derek's mother and his fiancée every third day. I often heard them cry. I kept asking God for power and for help...
It lasted for a very long time. And then one of my letters reached my good friend Tom who is a barrister. He acted immediately. He decided to go to Morocco to help Derek. I picked him up at the airport in Feza on New Year's Eve, five minutes to midnight. IT WAS AMAZING. WE SPENT FIVE VERY INTENSIVE DAYS. WE WERE SEARCHING FOR HELP FROM PEOPLE AND FROM GOD. One of the Moroccan barristers, Mrs. Fouzia, agreed to accompany us to the Ministries in Rabat. Her courage and our determination resulted in opening the prison gates for Tom who could finally meet Derek. A sincere conversation and huge expectations... "Please... help me..."
Three days after Tom went back to Poland we got the answer from the Ministry of Justice. They notified us about Derek's extradition. His departure to Poland is only two weeks apart. Then he will be able to take care of the matters which brought him to prison in Morocco.
Today I saw heaven in Derek's eyes. Hope has finally won. The help from people and from heaven has rescued a human life. Today Derek really wants to live, to go back to his family and start everything afresh.
"Let us hurry to Love people, they are near us..."
Fr. Simeon
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