The Child In The Dungeon
Document Title: The Child In The Dungeon
Document Ref No: R9107291
First Published: Reflections - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Publication Date: July 29th 1991
Author's Name: Father Shay Cullen SSC
Can we be happy while other suffer?
It is a dark and filthy dungeon where the small child is imprisoned and
chained to the walls alone, abandoned and unloved.
The child lives in fear and constant threats and cries day and night because
of hunger and the running sores that cover's the child's body. The flies
fester and the insects bite constantly.
The child does not die but is chained to suffering. There is no one who
dares to go to the rescue, no one who can help.
Outside the dungeon is a city of bright lights, the people are "happy"
in having a job, caring for their families, feeling secure and in a word
think themselves to be "happy".
But under the edict of the Lord of the castle their "happiness"
depends on the imprisonment and the torture of the child in the castle dungeon.
There is no compromise possible. The child must suffer so that "happiness"
in the city is maintained.
This is the substance of a short story by Ursula Le Guin in a book called
"The Sind's Twelve Quater's" (Bantam Books,1976)
The story raises the moral question; can anyone accept "happiness"
under such a condition?
This is a question that challenges all of us who have come to accept the
poverty and the suffering of others in the whole of Philippine society as
a condition of our prosperity and security.
Would you be willing to sacrifice the so called "happiness" and
risk your financial security to free the child in the dungeon?
You have to accept and act on the belief that such a condition of "security
and happiness" is unacceptable and the castle should be shut down and
the child freed.
That is an individual challenge and it is the same for society.
But when it is proposed the proponents are called terrible names, anarchists,
troublemakers, revolutionaries and even communists.
After some people see the child they are outraged and angered and demand
the child be released but are told that they must sacrifice their "happiness
and security".
That is when they re-think their position and begin to make up explanations
why the child would be worse off if taken out of the dungeon and in the
end they conclude better that the child stays there after all, their anger
and outrage now tempered by sober "reality", which translates
into the loss of their business interests, jobs, luxury, creature comforts
and perhaps surrender of privilege and pride.
"Happiness" and security achieved at the cost of another human's
suffering and misery is a very real issue today when it comes to the issue
of the military bases.
There is much suffering and exploitation that is condoned in the name of
jobs and happiness of others.
How about the happiness of the thousands of women and children imprisoned
in the dungeon of prostitution and exploitation?
The U.S. authorities deserve due credit for the investigation and recent
trial of a US serviceman paedophile who was found guilty of sexually molesting
three Filipino children.
The children live in a real life dungeon that is Olongapo slums and side-streets
where they are pimped to tourists that flock to the bright lights.
Navy investigators working undercover have confirmed that children as young
as six years old are offered to them for sex.
We rationalize by saying prostitution, even child prostitution is everywhere,
it's in Manila, it's in Bangkok and New York. It follows the Navy everywhere,
the pragmatists say.
The proliferation of the evil does not make it right or more acceptable,
rather it makes it more objectionable and reprehensible.
But most shrug and condone it by indifference.
The small child stays in the dungeon. How true the saying; "It is only
sufficient for good people to do nothing so evil can triumph.
If the same non-caring attitude was taken to the AIDS pandemic as happens
in some countries then the killer virus will continue to spread like wildfire,
unseen and unknown - until one of our friends or relatives becomes a person
with AIDS, through blood transfusion, contaminated needles or other mis-adventure
no fault of their own.
For some this will be more serious than enjoying "happiness" at
the expense of others because it is a direct threat to their "happiness"
We may talk ourselves out of our moral outrage about the child in the dungeon
but we can't dismiss AIDS so lightly or can we?
Yes, definitely.
Some governments, nations and individuals have refused to take action to
acknowledge and respond to the HIV Virus. They say that like the the child
in the dungeon it doesn't disturb their "Happiness"
Thousands now pay dearly in human suffering as the pandemic is wiping out
the best and brightest.
What was thought to be an act of love becomes an act of death.
Many people avoid facing up to the morality of their actions. National leaders
announce a war of national salvation for example, a war for freedom and
peace, and target thousands of nuclear weapons on other nations to keep
the peace by threatening total earthly annihilation.
If this is peace can war be any worse?
In a previous article I wrote about the US Air Force nuclear handlers being
detailed to "rescue" nuclear warheads from Clark after the volcanic
eruption and shipped out through Subic.
This was based on a much quoted report in the Guardian June 23 written by
Malou Mangahas and Paul Brown.
This has since been answered by Stanley N. Schrange, Counselor for Public
Affairs at the US Embassy, Manila. He says the report is inaccurate. The
ship that was reported to be carrying the nuclear warheads left Subic before
the alleged convoy went to Clark to get the warheads, he said and pointed
out other small inaccuracies.
But he neither confirmed or denied that the warheads were in Clark.
Robert S. Norris, Senior Staff Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council,
based in Washington also writes in the letter section of the Guardian last
July 7 arguing about the implausibility of the Guardian report.
It seems the US authorities have made a serious effort to cast aspersions
on the story in effect to negate what seems likely - that the US does have
nuclear weapons in the Philippines.
So we are all like children in a castle dungeon.
