Vol. XVI
No. 6
JULY 2004
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by Corrado De Robertis
In the past months in Asia, between India and the Philippines nearly one billion people engaged in democratic elections - an event of some significance not only because of the number of people involved in the process, but also because of the issues that characterized the election campaigns. There is no doubt that in these two populous Asian countries the millions of voters went to the polls with hope and expectation of positive change in favor of the poor. They expect and demand from their newly-elected leaders decisive action and all it takes to achieve better social and economic conditions.
The eradication of poverty and all the evils attached to it, in India as well as in the Philippines, is an urgent priority which must be addressed concretely, effectively and immediately and not remain just another electoral promise.
This month World Mission calls your attention to an evil that is far too widespread in our world, and particularly in Asia. Recent estimates put at 400 million the number of children that are abused, exploited and enslaved in the world, and of these, 4 million at least are in the Philippines. Against such background we may not be surprised any more if the future reserves for us more misery and terror, since bad seed yields a bad crop.
Children are indeed our future, and we may never disregard the call for joint action to stamp out this modern day vicious circle of slavery. Steps have been taken in this regard by, for example, the ‘Convention on the Right of the Child’ signed by all recognized countries in the world, except for the United States and Somalia, and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, but more needs to be done. If on one side the future needs to be nurtured through a systematic plan of action that privileges education above all other things together with strong legislation against all forms of abuse, on the other hand our personal attitudes are also fundamental in view of a lasting solution.
Many of the products which we commonly buy and use - from carpets to computer parts, from toys to sport shoes, from clothing to bricks and even chocolate - are often the work of exploited underage workers. An unbridled market-driven society may well be a major culprit, and to this we need to respond with a values-driven lifestyle that extends to constantly questioning our consumption practices and business dealings. We cannot take lightly the fact that lack of attention to, and control of, our selfish compulsions can and indeed does send the social evils which we are so often obliged to report spiraling to worrisome new heights.<WM
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Fr Corrado De Robertis
Comboni Mission Center
7885 Segundo Mendoza St.
Sucat,
1715 Parañaque City, MM
Philippines.
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