The three years that Dan Corrou ’94, S.J., spent in Beirut shaped him – and his vocation – irrevocably. During his time in the Lebanese capital, Corrou encountered thousands of refugees fleeing violence, first from Iraq and later Syria. Many lived under bridges and in abandoned buildings with little, if anything, to eat. Corrou’s role as an administrator with Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) was to help these men, women and children secure basic necessities, including food, clothing and shelter; it was also to recognize and affirm their humanity.
Now that he has returned to the relative safety and security of the U.S., the latter is what resonates most deeply with Corrou.
“I was surrounded by people who, out of tremendous need, had to walk into the unknown, and that meant at some level I also had to walk into the unknown in order to be in solidarity with them,” he recalled. “At the same time, though, I also knew that I had the luxury of being able to return home, which they did not.”
Corrou’s route to Beirut was a circuitous one. When he arrived in the Middle East in 2011, he planned to spend his regency, a period in a Jesuit’s formation in which he becomes immersed in the apostolic and community life of a Jesuit province, in Damascus, Syria. However, when the events now known as the Arab Spring began to unfold, travel to that nation became impossible. Instead Corrou was sent to Lebanon, where he lived with the Jesuits of the Near East Province and studied Arabic at Université Saint-Joseph.
In his first year abroad, Corrou witnessed people flooding into Beirut, seeking refuge from ISIS and the war in Syria. He and others from JRS began to reach out to them on what he called an “ad hoc” basis. They traversed the city, visiting houses and encampments, speaking to whomever they encountered, and offering whatever material, social and emotional support they could. As he worked, Corrou reflected back on his time at Le Moyne. It was on the Heights that he was taught how important it is to be aware of what is happening “on the streets.” Every day he saw people in crisis, separated from nearly everything they had ever known. Yet he also witnessed moments of profound grace and resilience that sustained him in his work.
Now that Corrou has returned to the U.S., the intense work of assisting refugees has given way to the quieter and more solitary task of studying as he pursues a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at Boston College. However, Beirut is never far from his mind. Corrou often thinks of the city and of the people he met there. He especially reflects upon the words of one of his teachers, Stephen Pope, Ph.D., who urged his students to see others not with a “lowercase o,” but with an “uppercase O,” that is, as children of God, worthy of dignity and respect.
Corrou will be ordained a priest in June. He does not yet know where he will be assigned after that, but hopes to return to the Middle East one day. Whatever the future brings, though, Corrou is optimistic. He sees extraordinary opportunities for the next generation of Le Moyne alumni to do good in the world, and to perform what he calls works of “radical solidarity,” particularly with people living at the margins.
“I know this,” he said. “The need for caring, well-educated people who have depth is more profound than ever before.”
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