CHENNAI, INDIA, April 30, 2006: Last week, Chennai port welcomed MV Doulos, the world’s largest floating book fair, which has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest, active ocean-going passenger ship. Stocked with more than five hundred thousand books, the book fair was inaugurated by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala recently. The book fair had occupied a major space in almost all the newspapers. And it was also said that the book fair would give an ultimate experience to book worms. While all of us were thinking that the ship had brought a lot of cheer, it had also brought some controversies. Some visitors who had been to the ship said that the vessel is owned by Christian missionaries. “The crew was trying to spread Christianity among the visitors rather than promoting reading habit,” said a visitor who had been aboard the ship. “Everyone who visits the ship is given a cassette which has messages of Christianity in it. Apart from that, most of the books in the ship are about Christianity. I had been with my family to the ship by paying US$1.14 for every person, thinking that we might get a good variety of books. On seeing this, all of us were very disappointed,” said another visitor. “The only thing in which the crew members of the ship are keen on is spreading Christianity. Majority of books here are with Christianity content and the response from these people is also not good when we ask for something,” says Sekar, a bank employee.
Another shocking thing, which came to be known, is that one among the crew-members of the ship had used insulting words to a visitor, calling him a “nasty” Indian. Immediately, the visitor had complained to the police but the police had reportedly said that they could not do anything as it is election time and a complaint might create some unnecessary problems. However, the police made the crewman apologise to the visitor, it is said. When contacted, Emilie Noteboom, project coordinator of MV Doulous, denied all the charges and said they had come here only to serve the people. “We have all kinds of books here including medical and children’s books. We are here to spread hope and happiness among people. It is ridiculous to hear the charges against one of our crew-members,” she said.
HPI adds:
A Christian website, AsiaNews.it, ran a story, here, dismissing the criticisms of the above Organizer article. They say, “The Doulos ship travels around the world with thousands of books about diverse subjects on board. Now it is in Chennai, and some Hindus who went have dismissed it as a mere ‘bible fair.’ Organizers and the Catholic community say the accusations are unfounded, motivated only by ideological fanaticism.”
However, HPI found on the United Bible Societies website, here, a glowing report on the ship’s visit to Thailand in which its evangelical purpose is clearly stated. It reads in part:
“Thailand — An international mobile floating Christian community docked in Thailand to bring aid to the children of Bangkok, and to work with the Thailand Bible Society (TBS) to distribute and communicate God’s Word. The high-profile arrival of the MV Doulos, which was welcomed into port by Princess Siriwanwaree Mahidol – the 13-year-old daughter of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Thailand – marked the end of a great deal of planning and preparation on the part of the TBS. Yet the welcoming ceremony was only the beginning of the Bible Society’s involvement with the Christian ship. The TBS provided Scripture Portions for the Doulos crew to distribute, and crew members also accompanied the TBSs mobile distribution units to schools and on social engagements. Meanwhile, the crew visited Bangkoks slums to give children packs of soap, toothpaste and Scriptures. The Doulos is crewed by more than 300 people from over 35 different countries, and carries a stock of about 500,000 books. Their aim is to share the Gospel around the world. ‘The aid that we give at various ports is normal behavior for Christians, as outlined in Scripture,’ said Lloyd Nicholas, Director of the Doulos. The ships crew is also able to offer primary healthcare courses, provide tools, and teach people how to use them. The MV Doulos is responsible for building training centers in conjunction with local Christian groups, and helping to get many projects off the ground before leaving local communities to maintain and develop them.”