(ANS - Ulaan Baatar) - The journey to discover Mongolia continues today with an insight into the country's culture and youth situation. Our storyteller, once again, is the pioneer missionary Fr Carlos Villegas.

Descended from Genghis Khan, the Mongolian people greatly admire the value of loyalty. This feeling is reflected in their sense of belonging to family and country, and their attitude to the elderly. The Mongolian language, for example, distinguishes two personal pronouns when speaking to someone, one for the elderly or people to whom you want to show respect, the other for your equals.

As regards religion, the Mongolian Constitution recognises religious freedom. But its exercise and practice are limited to citizens of the country. This means that foreign missionaries are quite restricted in their activities, but also that the Mongols can become the most effective missionaries and evangelisers, given that the law favours them. In this sense, the role of the Salesian Cooperators is decisive.

Catholicism is, however, still little rooted and known and most of the population identifies Christians with Protestants. There is also a small percentage of Muslims, especially in the north-west of the country, and most of these are ethnic Kazakhs. For the rest, Mongolia proclaims itself a Buddhist country, even if religious indifference abounds and people turn to shamans or animist rites in the most important or difficult times in life.

Among the elements of the Mongolian culture, two traits that blend very well with Salesian missionary work are worthy of mention: the characteristic, typical of a nomadic people, of openness to foreign people and new ideas - even if on the other hand, this sometimes leads to excessive volatility of spirit; and that of filial love towards the figure of the Mother, so the devotion to Mary Help of Christians finds a fertile ground in the hearts of the Mongols and is often a key that unlocks the door to a first catechetical approach.

Speaking of Mongolian youth, Fr Villegas says: "After 7 years in Papua New Guinea, 13 here in Mongolia, and many others before that in the Philippines, I have come to realise that differences in humanity are only a millimeter thick. The young people of Mongolia, just like all other young people, have their potential and their weaknesses. They share the same aspirations for humanity and youthfulness, the same courage and fear, the desire to be pleasant ... "

And he continues: "They want a friend who is faithful and constant in days of need, an educator who can help them understand the beauty of life and the reality of pain, a father and a mother who protect them and accept them. Over the years I have asked young people several times what kind of people they want to be. The three replies that most impressed me were: I want to be a joyful person, I want to be a sincere and honest person, I want to be one of those who doesn't get drunk, doesn't steal and doesn't beat up others."

"However, if there is an image that represents the youth of Mongolia, it is what I see when they arrive at school early in the morning: it's still dark, the air is not fresh and it's not only cold, it's really freezing, and they could just as well have stayed in their warm beds, yet they come back again each day to learn something new."

Published on 04/07/2013