Headlines Tháng 6 – 2013 Đăng bởi thanhminh | 17/06/2013 | Số lần xem: 2 | 0 | Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat of the Society of Jesus Headlines 2013-06 ENG 14 June 2013 …to exchange social justice and ecology news, stimulate contacts, share spirituality and promote networking… Narrative Adivasis of Assam – From bondage to liberation! It was the 24th of November 2007. The Adivasis (indigenous/tribals) from every corner of Assam reached Guwahati, the capital city of the north eastern state of Assam, India, at the invitation of the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA). The crowd at the government school compound in Beltola began to swell and slowly started moving towards the deputy commissioner’s office to submit a memorandum demandingScheduled Tribe (ST) status (a constitutional privilege granted to the indigenous) for the migrant adivasis living in Assam. As they neared the commissioner’s office, a truck loaded with young people, armed with sticks, stones and brick pieces suddenly appeared, and began attacking the peaceful marchers. The indigenous people in the rally, knowing nothing of what was happening, started running helter-skelter to protect themselves. Many innocent women and children were mercilessly attacked and beaten. A young adivasi girl was stripped naked, kicked, beaten and chased, while cameras kept clicking photos. Around 20 people were brutally killed including some who died in the stampede. The police force was present but were motionless lookers-on. Later, not the perpetrators of violence, but the leaders of the adivasis were arrested and harassed. This was one of the many barbaric attacks that occur regularly against the adivasis in India. The ethnic clash between adivasis and the Bodo tribe in 1996, many other minor clashes that followed, killings, destruction of houses and property, displacement of people-these can never be forgotten. In 1996, hundreds of people were killed during the clash, and over 70,000 people, including Bodos, Santhals and Oraons, took shelter in 28 relief camps. In 2010 there was illegal and inhuman eviction of people in Lungsung in Kokrajhar district, an incident that paralyzed the life of the people there. All of this happens because theadivasis have started demanding their right to life and livelihood. From 1831 onwards these adivasis were brought by the British into Assam from Chotanagpur plateau in central India to work as indentured labourers in their Tea estates, as local inhabitants were unwilling to work in the tea gardens. Impoverished adivasis, struck by famine, were recruited and brought in batches of thousands to work on the tea estates of Assam. Though they contribute 20% of the world’s tea production, they get little in return; their lives are marked by suffering and misery. Down the centuries adivasis who were retrenched due to a surplus labour force, or those fleeing unable to bear the exploitative and oppressive treatment meted out by the managers, settled outside the tea gardens, now referred to as ‘Bastis’ (villages). More than a hundred years have passed since they left the tea gardens but their situation has not improved much. To make matters worse, the State government of Assam has not yet recognized them as Scheduled Tribes; hence they cannot take advantage of the affirmative action programmes to which they are entitled. Gana Chetana Samaj (GCS) meaning ‘People’s Awareness Society‘ was founded by the Jesuits on 1st September 1999 to reach out to theseadivasis and tribals in Assam. GCS is committed to the empowerment and emancipation of women, children, youth, farmers, tea garden workers, and the desolate and needy rural poor. GCS has sensitized poor and marginalized women to form self help groups and become self- reliant. Till date more than one thousand women self help groups have been formed. With their savings and other group activities organized by GCS, the families are free from the clutches of money lenders and have reclaimed their mortgaged land. They are linked with financial Institutions such as Banks, and the Block & District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) for different loans. Many women have taken to income-generation activities to raise the per capita income of their families. Farmer’s clubs have been formed to train them in modern agricultural methods such as systematic rice intensification (SRI). One of the farmers says, “This year I have enough to eat and I can even sell some paddy because I got a good crop.” Through Right Based Approach (RBA), GCS has trained the villagers to demand their right to food, right to work, right to credit, and right to information under Pachayati Raj These training programmes raise awareness among the people regarding the Government’s different welfare schemes and enable them to stand up and demand their rights. For example, the villagers of Rabhabasti in Assam’s Kokrajhar district were not getting their rations to which they are entitled from the fair price ration shop. So the villagers submitted a written application to the Director of the Food and Civil supply department. Immediate action was taken by the authorities and the villagers started receiving their rations. Mekerethy Hasda, a Santhal girl, says boldly and with determination, “I am very happy because after training as a beautician and in tailoring, I have started working in a beauty parlor, and I stitch dresses while at home. Now I earn Rs. 1,200/= per month and I don’t have to depend on anyone.” When I see the entire process of Gana Chetana Samaj for the development of the poor people I personally feel proud that socio-economic change has already taken place in the village. People have become assertive. They can raise their voices against injustices done to them. The unity of the adivasis is growing stronger and stronger. They know how to put pressure on the government and obtain their rights, including the long standing Scheduled Tribe status (ST). Challenges remain, the biggest being changing the mindsets of people. I find my work meaningful because I live among the oppressed people, and work for and with them for their liberation from the bondage of poverty, oppression, injustice and illiteracy. Wasn’t this what Jesus did and what he calls us to do even today? George Soreng, SJ Flashnews SJES – PJ 111 on ‘A spirituality that reconciles us with creation In this issue of Promotio Iustitiae the authors help us find in Ignatian spirituality, and in Christian theology more generally, the inspiration we need to develop new and better ways of relating to the natural world so that we are able to love, respect, and protect its integrity more effectively. We present five different perspectives which explore the spiritual roots of or commitment to the environment. This exploration will hopefully stimulate us to become more decisively involved in the human task of “reconciliation with creation.” We hope that reading these pages will assist us in this undertaking. Read more… Asia Pacific – Fight against human trafficking Jesuits in Asia Pacific will be taking a more active role in the fight against human trafficking, which Pope Francis recently called “a despicable activity, a disgrace for our societies, while describe themselves as civilized”. This statement of intent was made at the XV Southeast Asia Major Superiors Congress held in Singapore on April 15-19, 2013. Read more… Burundi – Jesuit project director delivers NGO address to UNAIDS chief The director of Service Yezu Mwiza (SYM), an AIDS project run by the Jesuits in Burundi, has urged UNAIDS and other partners to step up advocacy for universal access to treatment and for better management of the Global Fund, so that services will be more easily available to those who need them. Fr Désiré Yamuremye, SJ was addressing UNAIDS chief, Michel Sidibé on behalf of civil society representatives during a meeting in Bujumbura on 9 May. Read more… USA – Jesuits speak out on comprehensive immigration reform “The immigration debate provokes emotion on both sides of the aisle and we hope that our elected officials can rise above partisan politics,” said Jesuit Father Thomas Smolich, president of the Jesuit Conference. “Because of our commitment to educating the children of migrants in our schools, serving migrant communities in our parishes and offering men, women and children food and shelter on the border, we see firsthand the costs of current immigration laws. We’ve been calling for reform for many years, and we’ve never been closer. We pray that Congress considers the future of 11 million people hanging in the balance.”Read more… Canada – English and French Provinces gather to reflect on the promotion of justice From the 30th of May till the 2nd of June, both English and French provinces of Canada gathered together to reflect about the promotion of justice and look for areas of future collaboration. The meeting took place at the Villa Saint-Martin, in Montreal, calling 60 people among Jesuits and lay collaborators, 30 of them coming from each one of the two provinces. The first evening they presented the past of the Jesuits’ involvement in the promotion of justice. The following day they focused on present activities comprising the areas of migrants and refugees, ecology and integrity of creation, and closeness to the poor. Being Haiti part of the French Canada province, the perspective of this country was also included by Haitian Jesuits. They also had time to deepen in the challenges the Society faces at the global level. The whole meeting was organized in an atmosphere of discernment. A prayer to give thanks God for creation played a significant role in the meeting. At the end of the meeting they identified some concrete areas for future collaboration that will require some concrete planning. Spain – Ecological concerns challenge our faith today The Institute for faith and development and the Inea foundation of the Castilian Province organized a one week event on Spirituality and Ecology from the 7th to the 9th of May. They called three scholars that reflected on the challenges that Christian faith has to face when confronted to the present ecological crisis. The three of them referred to the narrative of creation in the Bible. They said that Genesis offers a narrative of six days of work by the Creator. It seems that believers consider important only the sixth day, when man and woman are created. But there is only one creation which is called to be saved integrally. They also linked faith, justice and the care for creation in their talks. Audio, videos and documents can be found here… Rome – Pope Francis speaks about the need for financial reform On the 16th of May Pope Francis addressed the new new non-resident ambassadors to the Holy See from Kyrgyzstan, Antigua and Barbuda, Luxembourg and Botswana. He spoke about the worldwide financial and economic crisis saying that this crisis highlights “the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started a throw-away culture. This tendency is seen on the level of individuals and whole societies; and it is being promoted!” He also said that there is a need for financial reform along ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit everyone, something that would require a courageous change of attitude on the part of political leaders. Full text can be found here… To read documents published in other languages, go totranslate.google/ and insert the link to the document. Then choose the languages (From: and To:) and click Translate.If you want HEADLINES delivered straight to your e-mail box, go to the Headlines Subscription Form:. HEADLINES is available in English, French, Italian and Spanish and is sent to 8,000 addresses in 130 countries. Please let us know when you change your e-mail address by sending an email to [email protected]. Thank you! Visit our website:sjweb.info/sjs. Patxi Álvarez SJ, Publisher Xavier Jeyaraj SJ, Editor Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, Borgo S. Spirito 4, 00193 Rome, Italy If you are having problems with the new format of Headlines, please reply to this email to let us know.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:40:25 +0000
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