Fr. Richard Ho Lung - Diary Of A Ghetto Priest THAT'S WHAT I mean when I speak about culture. We were the first to open arms to our brothers and sisters in distress. The Prime Minister and Jamaicans must be congratulated in this gesture of love and friendship to our Haitian neighbours. It issues from the heart of Christ and His Beatitudes.
Welcoming the poorest of peoples in the Western hemisphere in their time of great distress is proof of our deep-seated Christianity. It is faith bound to works without which there is no true religion. Jamaica has proven itself to be big-hearted and big-minded. Despite our great struggles and personal problems, in spite of our poverty and violence, we open our arms to the forgotten ones. Other countries and islands of great wealth have not welcomed the Haitian boat people.
The Beatitudes are foundation to Jamaicans. It is within the heart of our people to welcome strangers in distress. This is what, I believe, created the yard system. We cannot say "no" to those who have nowhere to live or who need a place to kotch. It is our culture. It is our humanity and it is our spirituality. It comes from our Christian faith, which is the heart of civilisation in the West.
It is so complex, this culture of ours. When I speak of cultures, I do not speak of style but content. Whereas our island is known to be violent - and it is - nevertheless there is that kindness and warmth that is most unusual in its excessiveness. It's really rooted in an altruism born out of our centuries of practice: "Welcome the stranger. Feed the hungry. Give water to the thirsty. Clothe the naked". Aside from our Jamaican accent in speech, our Creole, our foods (yam, cocoa, cho-cho, etc.) our way of walking, our jokes, there is that Jamaican soul: our attitude of life. Aside from our kindness, there is the readiness to forgive.
LOVELY PEOPLE TO KNOW
In this modern age, drugs, the media and guns have become major commodities in our nation. These threaten our peace-loving and forgiving nature. Even in the ghetto there is still kindness but it is erratic. When life was gentler, and the severity of modernism and consumeristic capitalism was less, our people, barring very few, were the loveliest people to know. We are still full of humour, we still give thanks, and we still desire to serve. There are heated arguments, but on the next day, for the most part, it's over and done with.
Our Prime Minister has set a good example for the world to see. I hope, however, there is follow through and care for the people, including programmes of education, housing, and jobs. We must take seriously the needs of the Haitian refugees.
Our Jamaican Brothers in Cap-Haitien have continued their fight for survival. On Thursday, I received a two-minute telephone call. Quickly I mentioned that Food for the Poor, guided by Robin Mahfood, will be sending a 20-feet container of rice and beans. Another container would be sent on the 23rd of March. Again, it is of rice and beans.
Brother Louima Israel, the Local Superior of the Missionaries of the Poor in Haiti, mentioned that the nation is in total confusion. Gunshots are heard continuously in Cap-Haitien. There are no police their station was burnt down. The prisoners at the prison were let loose and joined the rebels. Houses were burnt down. Roads were blocked. Food cannot be bought easily. The Brothers, known as the "Jamaican Brothers", have some leftovers from Steve Gebhart of New Jersey who sent a 40-feet container of food last December. They are rationing it very carefully among our homeless and destitute. They also give out in scarce amounts to the many beggars who come to us. It's going down fast, but the rice and beans will be a great relief.
SPIRIT
The spirit of our Jamaican Brothers is still high. They pray. They work. They encourage. The poor people are very appreciative. Our Brothers speak the Creole with a thick accent. Our homeless residents laugh at them. Even with hungry bellies everyone is full of hope. Brother Louima reminds them of God's love and to have patience.
When we spoke on the phone, Brother Louima sensed that I was quite anxious. Oddly, he reassured me they are at peace although it was he and the Brothers who were struggling and suffering from hunger and ongoing threats of violence.
The greatest problem now, as I see it, is the terrible tragedy of lack of leadership. The brain drain is extremely dramatic in Haiti. Professionals and intellectuals have fled the country over the last four or five decades. The few rich for the most part are not interested in social justice. New leadership, therefore, is scarce or altogether absent. Alternative leadership is not plentiful. Whether it be Mr. Aristide or Mr. Phillipe, Haiti's terrible problems of thoroughgoing and comprehensive poverty will take many generations of good, strong leadership to solve. Even if there is a starting point, I must ask what is it. Who will lead without self-interest? Who will care for the people?
The principle of selflessness and service in political leadership is fast disappearing as Satan's onslaught against the nations continues. Materialism, consumerism, selfishness wedded to that ideological pretence called globalisation is trotting all over the world. But the heart of man is still desirous of peace and harmony and justice for all. It will take a long time to reverse the order of things but it will happen.
We can't go on like this. We all desire happiness, and happiness comes only when we are selfless and seek to serve one another. No other God demands that more than our one true God.
Father Ho Lung is Founder and leader of the Missionaries of the Poor.
