The
Divide:
“There’s no me and no you, it’s just us.”
Brother Ali -
Us
Due to our extensive layover in Atlanta , Georgia ,
on our way to Brazil ,
we took a train into the city. The penury that seemed to permeate from the
broken down buildings spoke to me. It made something I knew even clearer, and
painfully unavoidable. There is poverty in the United States , too.
While in Atlanta ,
we visited the Coca Cola Museum because we had so much time. While there, I
struggled with the idea that superfluous tours and museums exist while places
like the outskirts of Atlanta
exist, too. How can they both be so real? And although I don’t deny the
fun that can be had in museums and aquariums, or the benefit of having fun with
people you love, there is a vast divide between the two worlds.
Metro ride
to the city
steel doors, impassive windows
$16
World of Coca Cola
$31.95
$25.95
+ tax
tickets
to the Georgia Aquarium
$16
get your own glass bottle of Coke, too!
buildings with scattered broken glass
layers of graffiti,
barbed wire
tumbling plastic bags.
$31.95
visit the sharks, jellies, and fishes
A dark woman,
walking down the center of a crumbling, austere road
the sun’s heavy haze beating down
A woman
on stage, thick velvety curtains rippling
the heavily choreographed lighting
as she speaks to a crowded auditorium...
“Enjoy the show!”
The dark woman
Walking only where it is deserted and desolate,
Passing old prison walls
Barricaded and decaying.
These questions forced me to
reconsider my motives for going to Brazil . Was I going with a sense of
superiority over the poor, heightening the current divide between people in our
world? Was I going for the glorious side of things, to feel good about myself
and then move on? Why are mission trips so often in different countries, far
away? Why not organize a trip somewhere in the US ? Is it harder to see so close to
home? Is it easier to visit, think highly of ourselves for helping, for
sacrificing ourselves for the poor, to feel like heroes, and never look back?
If I’ve learned anything from my experience in Brazil ,
it is that a pilgrimage is not meant to be a glamorous vacation, nor simply an
excuse to travel to interesting or exotic places. There is poverty and need
close to home. There are lives of sorrow and loss less than two days of air
travel away. But I’ve come to the conclusion that the location of the pilgrimage
doesn’t matter, as there is need in every corner of the world. What matters is
that there are not feelings of superiority over the poor. During our trip we
faced many challenges that helped us to avoid falling into that huge divide. We
were forced to be needy, to think about our motives and forced to reconsider our
lives and the people that we met. We had travel delays, no clothing or supplies
but what we had in our carry-on bags for five whole days. All of this broke
down the walls between us (people of privilege) and the people we thought
needed our help.
In the same way, the mindset that
people experience challenges and hardships due to God’s anger or due to bad
behavior also heightens the divide. What happens in our world isn’t all about
good and bad and the consequences. We all start with equal access to God’s
wealth and life, the things that matter. The separation and perceived
superiority of those with material riches over the less fortunate (whether
conscious or subconscious) must be shattered.
A
Seed Sown:
Upon our arrival to Nova Vicosa, we
read the day’s Gospel to the houses that we visited with food baskets. On
Thursday, the reading told us that although we have eyes, we do not often see
the truth. Although we have ears we do not always listen. Along with this, we
do not use our hearts to understand and to love fully. From this, I took the
idea that on our journey and on other pilgrimages, it is important to fully use
our eyes and ears to learn what God wants us to learn from our experiences. We
must be open to these experiences and to God’s ways. We must not live blindly,
but see God where he is and learn from him. It was a good starting message for
the pilgrimage.
On Friday, the Gospel spoke about the
parable of the seeds. The seed sown on the path hears the words of God without
understanding and nothing is born of what he heard. The seed on rocky ground hears the word and
even receives it with joy, yet his passion is not long lived, he is uprooted
when persecuted or troubled by the world. The third seed is sown among thorns,
worldly anxieties and riches lure him away from the word of God. Finally, there
is a seed in rich soil; he hears the word, understands it, and bears much
fruit.
Chris
Dawson, our trip leader, pointed out that, as people, we fluctuate between these
stages throughout our lives. We are all of these seeds at some point. In order to commit to such a journey, we were the fruit
bearing seed. More fruit will come if we return home, share our journey, learn
from it,
and make changes to our lives. If we let our journey be forgotten, stolen by
the world, or if we don’t pay attention and try to understand it, it will have
been wasted, the seed washed away. We have the capacity to forget, for our
knowledge to be ripped away by the temptations and worries of the world, for what
we have learned and seen to fade away. It is scary that we can do that. It is
scary that we can move on from the wonders and miracles we discover about God.
Corruption:
While in Nova Vicosa, I came upon
two questions: Why is there so much poverty? What is being done to change it on
a local level? Our hostess made clear that due to corruption in the local
government, the poverty continues despite a few people, including her, that
make food baskets every month or so. There is only so much that one civilian
can do. Every four years there are elections for mayor. The politicians bribe
the poor people for their votes with a little bit of money, and because the
uneducated poor need the money, they are forced to accept the bribes. The
politicians build things or provide some service to the poor during the
election, but it is all a show for more votes. As soon as the elections are
over, all the money from the Federal Government goes to wealthy neighborhoods,
a sad and vicious cycle.
Another story of disregard for those
in poverty by those in institutional power came from the rural communities we
visited on Sunday. A group of families used to make charcoal from wood; they
sold it. However, the city said that they could not sell the charcoal any
longer. According to our hostess, their livelihood was taken away for no reason
at all.
On Poverty:
“I don’t wanna stand for justice if I’m not among the
poor.”
Matt Maher - Heaven Help Me
Even
in Nova Vicosa there is a heavy contrast between the rich and poor, evident through
summer tourism and by the large mansions stationed above the beaches while many
are still in need of basic necessities, like food. Here too, there is a wide
gap between the two groups of people, made clear by the way the poor are
treated by the rich politicians.
The meager bribes for votes and
frivolous attempts at aiding the poor do nothing to close the divide. If one
has the means to help others, taking advantage of them or giving a little money
isn’t acceptable. One must fully invest with their roots like the fruit bearing
plant from Friday’s Gospel. It is a challenge, but one must go to those in need,
even live like them so as to understand and also to give love and to share
faith. This investment to bring together people, as a community united under
God, is why we had to go to Brazil, why we actually went to the rural homes
instead of simply sending money from the safety of VT and of our privileged
lives. We went to help them as much as to receive a new way of seeing the world
and of seeing God in the world. To learn that in the Kingdom of God ,
“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”
By
experiencing the poverty and need of others, I have been considering what I previously
thought of poverty versus what I saw. I thought of the type of people that can
be seen at Soup Kitchens in the US ,
those in need of food aid. The people there range from well-dressed with cell
phones to people who seem to only own what they are carrying. Who are we,
really, to judge by appearance? In Brazil ,
too, there seemed to be a range of poverty. There were people with old TV’s,
phones, refrigerators, and electricity; there were large families with the bare
minimum, living in windowless shacks. But what do we expect to see when we
think of poverty? For some reason, having electricity, running water, or even
simply having the means of keeping ones food cold is thought of as privilege,
but those things are necessary for survival. I feel that at first glance it is
easy to pass those people by with claims that they are living fine, but
compared to our homes, every family we went too needed our help, having a
refrigerator does not mean they are living a life of privilege.
Environmental Concerns:
“We are a part of all
there is and ever is to be.”
Matthew Witten -
Connections
I recently discovered a passion for environmental issues
and how they affect both minority groups and those in poverty. I learned about
a phenomenon where uneducated poor people, often oppressed and disrespected due
to race, are the ones who are forced to live near toxic industries or areas
that affect their health. From what I saw during the trip to Brazil I have learned more about how our actions
toward those with limited power and money affect how their homes end up in
environmentally unsafe areas. People that are poor, uneducated, unaided by the
government, and often minorities, are left to deal with their own trash and
refuse in addition to often being left with waste from near-by cities and polluting
industries. They are given no money or aid and so the resulting consequences
are waterborne diseases, mosquitoes, air pollution from burning trash, and
large garbage dumps. These problems seem to stem from how the people are
treated in the first place.
From this realization, if there is
one thing you take away, let it be this. Everything in our world is interconnected.
All of the problems that we face relate to each other, and you cannot solve one
without considering the others. The pope mentioned this in his encyclical.
Vermont Catholic Magazine paraphrased, “The
encyclical presents the vision of an ‘integral ecology’ that highlights not
only the interconnectedness of all created life, but recognizes how political,
economic, social and religious values and decisions are interrelated and impact
the way people live with one another on the planet and use its resources.”
Scientists
can’t simply focus on climate change and on how we treat the earth and cause
pollution separately from those who concern themselves with social justice. One
issue cannot be address and another forsaken. And though now we are faced with
so many complicated and seemingly separate issues, they must be addressed
together, as the connected issues they are, issues that stem from a lack of
respect for our earth and its people.
“Come dance with me
Over heartache and rage
Come set us free
Over panic and strange.”
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Man on Fire
~Audrey
Junior Essex High School
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