Modern Day Lascars - Abandoned and Rejected

I’m a Christian. It may be something that you have noticed about
this blog. I believe God can speak in dreams, words and visions. It doesn’t
happen often, but I do get the odd dream and vision I believe is from God. This
is the story of one of them.



Some months back, I had a vivid dream. In it, I saw an
abandoned ancient city. It was in ruins. But there were still people living
there.



As I approached, these people came out of the ruins. They were
in rags. They looked at me and said ‘We are the Lascars’.



With that, the dream ended.



I didn’t recall ever hearing the word ‘Lascar’ before, so I looked
it up. It turns out that Lascars were early sailors, primarily from India, as
far back as the 1800s. They signed on to ships in the European navies and served
around the world. Many served on British ships and this brought them to the UK.
They settled in London and other ports. Many became lonely and destitute. They had
been abandoned by their own country but not accepted by their new country.



I spent a while praying about this. What was the dream meant
to signify? How was I supposed to respond to it? It struck me that for the last
17 years, I have been working into India each year, taking teams and offering
support to poor communities. So I guessed it was no coincidence that God had
taken me in a dream, to the Lascar people.



As far as I can tell, most if not all of the Lascars are no
more. They died out - as did the term ‘Lascar’- in the 1950s.



But Lascars still exist. Every person who has stepped away
from their childhood faith as a Hindu or Muslim and embraced Christianity is a
modern day Lascar. Many who have simply moved away from the structured society
of their parents into an adopted one of the nation they now live in is a modern
day Lascar.



For the most part, they have been abandoned by their mother
country and their original society, but have not been adopted by their new
culture either. Abandoned and rejected, they live on the outside of both their
original culture and their adopted one. Abandoned by one and rejected by
another.



In my adopted city of Leicester, there are many modern day Lascars.
Of Indian or Middle East origin, often brought up as a Hindu or Muslim. But
now, having left their roots, they find they are rootless. Unable to assimilate
into British culture, more by way of rejection than through an active decision.



The modern day Lascars. The rejected of today’s societies
and cultures.



If the dream was real, then I have a part to play in
reaching out and welcoming such people. My prayer is that, just as in the
dream, I will meet them, and by God’s grace, introduce them to the most
wonderful welcoming, inclusive and generous society of all.



If you get to read this and feel either to join me in this
task, or that you are a modern day Lascar and need help, contact me.