The poor are God's saving presence for us
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By: Father Shay Cullen
For good people the poor are friends to be helped, for those indifferent they are embarrassments to be ignored, for the greedy rich they are cheap labour to be exploited for the politicians, they are the masses to be manipulated but for Christians they are God's saving presence calling us to repentance, generosity and justice.
Eradicating poverty is on the lips of every politician but getting rich is in their minds. Temptation is what most strives to resist but for the corrupt it is what they embrace. So poverty it seems will always be with us as Jesus Christ said. Not because of his saving presence is insufficient to overcome it but because too many refuse to avail of it. There are those who will never repent or give up the pursuit of power and money.
A Newspaper article reported recently that up to 70% of all local health funds is lost to corruption among the officials managing the services that are supposed to help keep the poor alive. Medicines are supplied by cronies of the officials and are grossly overpriced. "While there are some bright spots", the report says, "evidence suggests that a culture of waste, corruption and patronage pervades the health care system in many local governments".
The Philippines is wealthy but only a few have it all. Those blessed with prosperity are challenged to use their education, skills, position and abilities to bring others to a more dignified life. We see this in the Generous and caring nature of the Filipino family.
Brothers and sisters sacrifice themselves to educate their siblings and get them good jobs. Survival and progress is more the work of people helping people rather than government.
Development work that is changing people's lives is the result of individuals getting together through their belief in the goodness of every human person no matter how sick, poor or disadvantaged. Millions of dedicated people are sacrificing themselves and sharing the little they have to help someone else. How do so many poor people survive to haunt us with their shrunken eye sockets and corrugated ribs? We don't see the billion acts of kindness that keep the human race human every day.
We may rightly express frustration, anger and even totter to the brink of despair when we see the sumptuous living of the vastly wealthy and then switch the channel to the one billion very hungry people.
The problem is at the top of the social ladder not at the bottom. The pyramid of wealth in the Philippines shows the peak 2 percent owns about 70 percent of the wealth but it is supported on a broad base of the poor and middle class. It is amazing how the wealthy few dominate the many who's labour and spending keeps them at the top.
This is true of other wealthy nations that have risen from dire poverty and social injustice. Despite centuries of struggle for human and labour rights few countries have fairness and equality for all. In the United States for example 38 percent of the nations wealth is in the hands of only the 1 percent of population. That is a very rich 1 percent.
They say, that building new infrastructure projects is the way to end poverty. Big time investors and the World Bank insist on them but the roads and bridges must lead to their factories and ware houses. They will arrange big loans and create a crippling debt burden. Government officials with much to gain themselves are in cahoots with the foreign corporations and pass laws to force the nation to pay the debt no matter how fraudulent or unjust. 33 years after the Westinghouse nuclear power reactor in Bataan was scrapped, the nation still pays interest at more than $150,000 a day.
When socially aware Filipinos stay at home and try to challenge and change the unjust structure of society with non-violent strategies, they are called the enemies of the state and marked for execution by government tolerated death squads. The killing of social protesters by motorcycle riding killers is rampant. Outspoken journalists and radio commentators are meeting a similar death in increasing numbers. Their only fault is they dared to speak the truth about corruption and wrongdoing. Priests and church workers are among the victims.
The Catholic bishops conference was even tagged as an enemy of the state in an army propaganda power point presentation. This is because of its strong social message to end corruption and establish a nation based on social justice. One thing we cannot ignore and that is the simple message of Jesus Christ -"Blessed are the Poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven", and that begins here on earth. [End]
