Payatas tragedy reminds us to renew our justice mission 
The Universe
(July 23, 2006)
Two weeks ago saw the sixth anniversary of the one of the most tragic events in recent Philippine history. On July 10 in the great garbage dump of Payatas, just on the outskirts of Manila, a mountain of compressed methane filled rubbish began to move.
The rains had been torrential for a week and the mountain of garbage was saturated. Tragedy was inevitable. Hundreds of huts where the scavengers and rubbish pickers lived were at the base of the giant pile that towered into the sky and smoldered like a volcano.
Without warning, the mountain began to slide; it developed into an avalanche, so powerful nothing could stand in its way. The people didn't have a chance. At least 500 were buried alive in an instant.
Now, six years later, it is off limits to scavengers but rubbish is still being dumped there and if it continues, another terrible tragedy could happen.
The survivors still wage a campaign for safe housing, compensation and a work with dignity. What they earn is not enough to give them a decent life. They recycle plastics, make candles and soap but still live in poverty.
The government is threatening to relocate them to a distant part of the countryside where there is no work and a long expensive trip to the city.
Three years before the avalanche that engulfed the entire village and killed most of the people, I went to ‘Payatas’ dump with Alex Corpus Hermoso, the Preda Foundation Programme Director for livelihoods, and my friend Martin Sheen, to campaign for redevelopment of the area.
Martin is a staunch Catholic, best known for his role in The West Wing Television series, and his Christian activism for justice in the US.
Payatas was then, much as it is now - a giant heap of stinking rubbish where the poor suffer. Acrid smoke is given off by the toxic waste, causing lung diseases and asthma.
When we were there, Martin showed only compassion - no revulsion at the nauseating stench that clung to our hair and clothes, and to all Payatas’ people. He embraced an old woman, and held children’s hands. He called them God's people and asked me to pass on his apologies for intruding on their lives.
There were positive changes brought by the visit and the activities of the dedicated social workers, but the great landslide came and killed many of those whom we had held and embraced.
After his visit, Martin never forgot the experience and joined more campaigns for human rights and social justice.
We too could be one with the poor and make Jesus Christ present through our work for justice. [End]
