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.
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.
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