[imc-qc] News - Reflections from PREDA and Fr. Shay Cullen, Philippines # 168

[PREDA Information Office]

Some thoughts of a young volunteer
By: Jonas Nakonz - PREDA Volunteer

Come here and see. This is no TV show. Come see the children in Manila's 
jails and take a breath of that mephitic air. Come see the girls in the 
clubs in Subic and listen to the voices of the foreign clients. Come see 
the street kids living under the bridge in Olongapo and feel the mud 
they're living in. And then think.

I come from the economic capital of the country famous for its many banks. 
I enjoyed an elitist education, a perfectly caring mother and a wonderful 
house. My biggest problem is deciding between the many opportunities. 
Living in Switzerland has many advantages. But there is a strong tension 
between the humanistic views people use to preach and the lifestyle I see 
us having. I remember a reggae concert in Switzerland: Max Romeo was 
singing about the hardships of life in Jamaican ghettos. But the people on 
the dance floor didn't listen; they never saw a ghetto, never felt hunger, 
never had sorrow. For them, that music was just amusement, a good reason to 
dance, drink and smoke. Too far from reality is our life, the life of the 
rich and wealthy. Let's move out of that created paradise we do not 
deserve, and see what the world is really like.

We are in the Philippines. You can read about the painful history of 
colonization. Read about globalization and its impact on national 
economies. Read about corruption, political dynasties and their dirty 
businesses. Read statistics on child sex workers, on rape, on imprisoned 
minors. You can read it all in the books, and it'll give you the creeps. 
Black ink on white paper. What impact do you think will reality have on you?

I hear all these sad stories. One kid living under the bridge tells me he 
ran away from his stepfather five years ago. With the age of ten he took a 
bus from Manila to Olongapo, an unfamiliar place with no one he knew. Since 
then he tries to somehow survive and get some money for glue to inhale. 
Whenever he's caught by the police, he gets beaten up and is forced to 
clean the toilets in the jail.

Just recently, two twin brothers came here. Their dad raped their older 
sister in front of their eyes. Not long after, they did the same thing to 
their younger sister, inspired by their father. Imagine that family now. 
Another boy got chained in the toilet by his father for three days, another 
girl had to dance naked in a bar to support her family. In Preda Center are 
about seventy boys and girls, seventy faces with seventy stories. Each of 
these children has lived that story, as you live your own.

So much to learn. What the hell is poverty? This is an enormous question. 
It's not just about starving bellies. It is a lifetime struggle against 
overpowering obstacles. The poor is the most defenseless element of 
society. Whatever the crisis is, the poor are the first to suffer it. They 
have no money, no insurance, no medicine, not even a proper roof. The slum 
is the incarnation of the whole wickedness of mankind. And there is no way out.

I don't know in what you believe, but isn't it possible that fortune could 
as well have chosen you to be born there? In a small cardboard hut? As the 
seventh child of a jobless man? You'd never have been to school. Instead, 
you'd be sent to the streets at the age of five, to find money for your 
family. Imagine you walking with no slippers through the wastes of your 
overcrowded neighborhood. Imagine seeing your father drunk everyday, 
pulling your sister by her hair, beating your brother with belts and sticks 
and forcing your mother to have sex with him even if she refuses. It would 
never be quiet at home.

Soon you'd run away, to your barkada, your gang, to those who share your 
fate. You'd be smoking and sniffing 'rugby', industrial glue, before you 
turn ten years old. Police would sometimes catch you during the curfew and 
prove to you once more that you are nothing but a piece of shit. You'd know 
the cells in jail, its smell, its toilet hole, and its big boss. What will 
you think in those nights when your are sleeping on a wet concrete floor ? 
What will you become? What will you offer to your children?

What makes it difficult for us to understand poverty is that we never 
experienced the feeling of being powerless. We can not imagine feelings we 
don't know.

Facing all that misery and exhaustion, we must also see the good side. 
Working in Preda shows me that changes are possible. There are so many 
intelligent and dedicated people working hard for solutions, and more and 
more they unite. I see activist youth in AKBAY, creating a movement within 
the coming generation. I see all our seminars and campaigns, spreading 
information and inspiration to people varying from discriminated Aeta 
farmers to city Mayors and multinational companies. I see the networking, 
the fair trade, the educational theater, the street work. And of course I 
see the progress of the individuals, of the children living in our center. 
It is so satisfying to see how a sickly and anxious child coming straight 
from jail becomes a humorous and activist companion within weeks! Many of 
them did not know how to write and count before coming here. Many of them 
did not experience acceptance and appreciation in their lives before, or 
real joy, trust, structure, safety and all these core values in human life. 
Now, they can grow.

So, what is the role of a spoiled kid like me? Maybe it is listening to the 
voices of our brothers in the south, to make sure they don't remain 
unheard. Maybe it is trying to break the circle by providing education and 
values to the young deprived generation. Maybe it is writing down these 
thoughts, because nothing will ever change without communication. But 
surely, it is learning and growing that some day my action is for the 
benefit of the world and not for my own conscience. (End)

Jonas Nakonz

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