Undeserving Overbreeding...

Talk of overpopulation has been with us for some time. In 1798 (when there where only 978 million people in the world) a Church of England curate and mathematician, Thomas Malthus, argued that, if unchecked population would grow exponentially and outstrip growth in food production, leading to famine and poverty. Initially he was wrong, population grew, but so did the capacity to produce food thanks to agricultural advances.

Today there are around 6.8 billion people occupying the planet. That's up almost 1 billion people in ten years. Estimates suggest that by 2050 there will be more than 9 billion.

There are a number of concerns about these facts; amongst them the apparent reality that Malthus may well now be right. This planet cannot sustain the current population - let alone another 2.5 billion people. Famine and poverty already mark our world. However, I would suggest that it's not because we don't have the resources, but rather because of selfish greed and inequity in distribution of available resources.

The UK based Optimum Population Trust suggests that the only way to attain sustainability is to 'reduce global population by at least 1.7 billion people.

Often the cause of concern is leveled at the speed at which 'others' - maybe people of other races, religions or social classes - are reproducing, threatening, presumably, the status quo of whatever the dominant group the commentator belongs to.

This was shockingly betrayed in the suggestion of Michael Laws, (Mayor of Wanganui, New Zealand) who proposed that in order to tackle the problems of child abuse and murder, members of the 'appalling underclass' should be paid not to have children. 'If we gave $10,000.00 to certain people and said "we'll voluntarily sterilize you" then all of society would be better off,' he told the Dominion Post newspaper.

Social (and population) engineering is not a new concept. In early 20th Century racial and Darwinian thinking encouraged the idea that the presumed 'superior' and 'fittest' would flourish, but the British upper class notice, and became concerned that the 'unfit' and 'undeserving' lower classes seemed to be 'overbreeding', or reproducing faster than they were. American sociologist Edward Ross, (1907) recommended policies that would encourage 'capable' people to heave children.

In 1938 the British Eugenics Society set up a Committee with the aim to control fertility; rather than accepting random results, they would, 'improve reproductive power of the eugenically good'. (Perhaps the most famous result of this thesis was the Nazi erradication of the 'eugenically bad'.)

Today, the fear of overpopulation continues to raise up social and racial engineers, but maybe the most insidious and covert response today is seen in the unwillingness of the minority, 'priveleged' world to share the abundant resources that already exist. Through the complex decisions of market monopolisation, withholding funds that could assist in mitigation responses and lending money at 'unbelievably unfair conditions', we have found a way of wiping out the 1.7 billion people that through lottery of birth apparently do not deserve to.

Vindaloo Against Violence

Dine at your local Indian restaurant Tomorrow, Wednesday 24 February 2010.

Let’s find a way to show support for the Indian community and signal that we will not turn a blind eye to violence in our city. This violence threatens all Melburnians’ sense of safety and pride in their home. I want the Melbourne Indian community -and all immigrant communities – to know that they are welcome and entitled to feel safe here.

How cool would it be if Melbourne displayed a show of force by all going out and eating Indian food on a certain night, to embrace and show solidarity with our local Indian community?
Let’s do it!

If you don't like Vindaloo, maybe you could do: Papadums for Peace, or, Korma for Karma, or Dosais against Disunity, or Idlis against Intolerance, or... get the point. Support a marginalised, voiceless person tomorrow.

Miracle: 28 Days On

Major Ced's Deployment Diary, Day 22: Monday 8 February

It's not often that I can use my blog for a real news scoop but I can today. This morning something of a miracle happened. Here's our official news release:

Evans Ocinia, a 28 year old man, was brought to The Salvation Army clinic after being miraculously pulled from the rubble in the Lionshead marketplace this morning. Two men, digging through the rubble, heard Evans begin to talk and call to them. He had been in the rubble for 28 days following the earthquake. The marketplace is located near The Salvation Army compound in Delmas 2 and the men knew we had a “hospital” nearby.

Evan was extremely dehydrated and has skin wounds but he didn’t appear to have any critical wounds or broken bones. He was able to hold his head up on his own and take some small sips of water from the doctor who accompanied the transport. Salvation Army personnel transported Evan to the University of Miami Hospital which is located adjacent to the airport in Port au Prince.

That's some story, eh? And it also testifies powerfully to the importance of hope, the resilience of the human spirit and the value of not giving in. It must also have some of the search and rescue teams shaking their heads in disbelief - and no small measure of reflection that the official rescue operation was brought to and end over 2 weeks ago.

The story is also another tribute to the work of our clinic and the medical teams deployed there. The lead doctor, at the moment Major (Dr. ) Ted Mahr, attends our daily morning staff briefings. Earlier this morning he had proudly reported that the clinic has delivered 8 babies since the earthquake. He told us at the end of this day that today they treated over 270 patients - and that it had been a 'hard day'.

Ted is supported by a team of doctors from an organisation called 'In His image'. Since the early days of the response this group has deployed medical teams of 12 - 14 people - rotating them in and out every 7 days. We could not have managed without them. Today I honour this fine team - the miracle of this mornings' 'find' is a fitting tribute for their commitment and dedication.

Haiti Earthquake Response

A Report from Major Ced Hills, Incident Command (Programme)

The work of The Salvation Army in Haiti in response to the earthquake of 12th January is proving to be historic for the International Emergency Services and for The Salvation Army. For the first time, the United Nations coordination group has requested that The Salvation Army Emergency team become the lead agency in managing a camp for Internally Displaced People.

The camp concerned is in the area of St. Martin in Port-Au-Prince, and accounts for more than 20,000 people, which is more than half of the total number of people made homeless in this area of Haiti according to statistics provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The camp comprises 2 areas - the soccer pitch and the adjacent Place de le Paix. These communities are regarded as one entity for the purposes of the current relief programme. The Place de la Paix is a hard standing, concrete floored area - the soccer pitch is grass. Registration of the families was undertaken using a team of 40 Haitian young people who were briefed and trained by Salvation Army emergency experts prior to being deployed in pairs to the camp. This same team are also being used as the labour force for distributions. It is recognised by the emergency team that the area comprising the camp is severely overcrowded, but as the families had already 'set up home' in this area immediately after the earthquake, it is believed to be in their best interests, not to insist on moving them to new camps at this time, in the hope that temporary shelters can be arranged for them some time in the next weeks and months.

Two other Non-Government Organisations are already working in the area with the Army; Concern Worldwide (CW) and Viva Rio (VR). Both were operating in a developmental way prior to the earthquake as were The Salvation Army personnel in Haiti, and it is believed that the 'local' community wish this support to continue. As soon as the Salvation Army were confirmed as the lead agency for the camp management, they met with both the other NGO groups who agreed to work with the Army and provide whatever services they could. Both NGOs are water and sanitation specialists and so, will install latrines and wash stand areas. In addition, Concern Worldwide have teams trained in hygiene promotion, nutritional targeting and therapeutic feeding. A positive partnership is now operating between the 3 groups and Damaris Frick of The Salvation Army International Emergency Services has established a weekly meeting of the three parties.

The role of the camp management is to register all those in the camp and ensure that all the services required to meet the needs of the community are in place and to act as interface between the community and other agencies. Advocacy is a large component of the role. Damaris Frick now has an office within the camp and meets each day with the camp executive committee. This group of 11 persons were chosen from the total committee of 75 people. It is believed that the Camp Management role currently being undertaken by The Salvation Army personnel could develop into an extended one as it may be many months before sufficient redevelopment has been undertaken in order to support a movement back to more permanent housing for those who have lost their property and belongings in Port-Au-Prince.

When Words Don't Match the Actions

I had the privilege of attending a Citizenship Ceremony a few weeks ago (on Australia Day) and there I listened to a member of parliament tell of his belief that all Australians, "even you new Australians" [his words] are equal.

With what to me seemed very little conviction, and even less passion, he announced that he existed only at the pleasure of the citizens, before he went on to reiterate that as Australian Citizens they were entitled to all the same benefits as he and they were his equal.

I might have believed him if I hadn't watched him! The very next morning I saw him on the street of his electorate - I watched as he brushed aside one of these "new Australian citizens" because he was obviously in a hurry to be somewhere else.

The experience once again reminded me that it is better not to announce what you stand for unless you intend to stand!

I'm Not THAT Special

A young woman of Asian appearance was browsing through the bargain bin at her local Christian bookstore when suddenly and rudely she was pushed aside by a 'white' woman who obviously believed her needs were more urgent and important. Assisted by a young sales assistant the woman, who looked like she had stepped out of a fashion magazine, pushed the other aside with apparently no comprehension of what she had done; and the other simply smiled at me and moved further into the shop to continue her browsing.

As she walked passed a mountain of books that proclaimed how special she was - she was a princess, she was loved, she was accepted and she was valuable - I wondered if that was how she really felt!

It's just as well God thinks so because it was pretty obvious that not all the Christians fighting for their bargains felt the same way. Maybe the problem is that one woman believed the message - she was special and she knew it! But in her self-belief she seems to have missed the point. It appears to me that 'specialness' in our context is not a given. Sure God loves and accepts, but that doesn't make me special. God wants to use me, and sometimes I let him, but that doesn't make me special either.

Some churches teach, and some people believe that 'specialness' is a right, a byproduct of membership in the church. And many Christians live their lives acting as if this specialness makes them better, more important than others. I know, I may be being very harsh on the lady in the shop, maybe she just didn't notice the other woman, the one she physically pushed aside. But that would make it even worse wouldn't it?

The paradox for me was the place in which this drama was played out. Surrounded by books calling for a priority for 'our neighbour', 10 steps to being a better person, 'how to' hear from God and numerous other pleas to know that I am special. And here in this vault of Christian teaching a person was rejected (and by her reaction of resignation it would seem that not only was it not the first time but it was no more than she was used too.

Perhaps no more obvious was the lesson for me. Believe what you like and say what you want - but your actions will always say more about your priorities.

MORE Obscene Spending?

We all know that the Leaders of the World couldn't put aside their personal, national and selfish agendas to take advantage of "the last best chance" the world had to address the serious issues of ecological concern that we face. Whether you believe that the threat of global warming caused by human greed and "advancement" is real or not you would have to agree that the cost of the Copenhagen Conference was obscene.

Australia's announcement today that 'we', the government of the people, spent almost $1,500,000.00 to send the largest delegation to the Conference seems to me to be another example of obscene economics - and that's not taking into account the 'carbon cost' to the environment. And that's just for our little country!

In the shadow of the GFC, when welfare agencies are seeing an unprecedented increase in the demand for assistance it appears that not only is the government able to afford a fireworks party 'bigger than ever' but they also have no problem flying almost 100 people to a conference that was never going to deliver a result - and even those of us that do not understand all the intricacies of the argument knew that.

Obscene Spending

Happy New Year! Last night the Victorian Government set fire to $1,500,000.00. Every year we are told that this year the New Year fireworks and celebration will be the biggest ever. Every year it get's bigger, better, more expensive.

I don't know what other states spend, but I imagine that a conservative estimate could be that the governments of Australia will spend close on $10,000,000.00 on fireworks and celebrations this year.

I may be way out of line and out of touch with reality, but I just wonder if this expense is not just a little obscene. In a country where thousands of people cannot afford health care and adequate housing; in a world where millions of people (1.4Billion) live below the poverty line (US$1.25 per day) we are OK with spending more and more on entertainment - because we can!

(I guess at the least the homeless people in Melbourne could watch the fireworks free of charge, in the rain, wind and lightening. Or maybe they couldn't access their usual 'safe places', which last night became prime property for watching their government set fire to money they don't have to address social issues.)

COMMUNITY ARTS PROJECT – PRESTON

On Saturday (8 November) The Preston Corps, in Partnership with Crossroads and the City of Darebin, launched our latest community integration and support program. This Art Project will continue over 8 weeks as up to 15 people, new immigrants and their mentors, join together to learn how to create a sculptural masterpiece.

Under the direction of internationally acclaimed artist Conrad Clark (www.conradclark.com.au) the participants are encouraged to design or adopt a bold and striking image that symbolises their life journey. After sketching this design each participant will learn how to carve the image from Hebel brick. At the end of the program we will exhibit the masterpieces in the foyer of The Salvation Army in Preston.

This mission initiative of The Salvation Army’s Northern Mentoring Support Program (Jeremiah Temple) is another opportunity for new Australians and their mentors to build relationships and to be introduced to the Corps in a non-threatening and empowering environment.

S4SI

The afternoon started out quiet - but that soon changed as the van I drove quickly filled up with African boys excited about playing their first game of indoor soccer for Preston Salvos United.

Soccer for Social Inclusion (S4SI) is a new initiative of Darebin African Resource Centre (DARC), and we (Preston Corps) have just become the proud sponsors of two of the eight teams in the competition.

Arriving nervous but excited the boys soon summed up their opposition and decided that they had faith - faith that they were about to loose. But as the coach handed out their new strip, a red or yellow shirt with a Red Shield, shorts, shin guards and socks the boys smiles revealed an amazing transformation into confident, proud young people.

The party atmosphere at the venue reached fever pitch as a DJ materialised from nowhere and setup very loud African music, young people danced and sang in between cheering on the competing teams. And as the air in the waiting area became thick with the smells of spray on deodorant and perfume, young boys and girls strutted their stuff - confident, proud and completely accepting of each other.

As each of our teams took to the 'field' the soccer skills (surprisingly) matched the shiny new outfits and Preston Salvos United Juniors and Seniors literally danced away from the venue with a very convincing win each.

And Now The Time Has Come

To all that have been following this blog because it has told you about The Salvation Army's and work and my time away in Taiwan and the Philippines, a warning: this will be the last blog from Manila, and most probably about relief work as a result of typhoons.

After almost 7 weeks and 5 typhoons, I am on my way home tomorrow, but before I go let me give you a synopsis of what The Salvation Army - Philippines has done and will do. The good news for us is that all the supplies are in for the next round of relief distribution, so by the end of November Salvos will have distributed 49,562 relief packages containing food, bedding, medicines and toiletries. They will have supplied 4,000 (family) kitchen kits and provided equipment for 5 mobile kitchens (based at divisions) for future disaster relief efforts (which include portable power generators), not too mention the many hours of voluntary work given to rescue and cleaning efforts in numerous communities throughout Luzon.

But in the next 8 weeks there are forcast to be another 4 typhoons: so whilst the work carried out by a relatively small INGO has been awesome, there are still some anxious times to come. My last request of you would be, don't move on (in your thinking, your support and your prayers) from the Philippines too soon - they would still appreciate your support.

The Aftermath of Santi

Typhoon Santi, was 'a well behaved Typhoon' - or so says the weather bureau. It was labelled as such because it followed the predicted path and pretty much acted as forecast. Just a pity that along its way Santi caused more flooding in areas that were already under water, took out at least one major bridge and cut off numerous roads, destroyed a number of houses, injured a few hundred people, caused the evacuation of thousands of others and killed at least 12. (But at least Santi was well behaved!)Already under water and battling rising morbidity rates as a result of water borne disease the last thing these communities needed was more rain - more misery and more uncertainty.

You may recall I visited Santa Cruz last week, (blog below) and this morning I received this comment:

rizza said...I'm from the town you've visited (Santa Cruz, Laguna). It's just so sad that when we are just starting to recover from typhoon Ondoy, typhoon Santi ravaged our town again and rendered most of the town inaccessible because of still high flood waters. I'm just sad that most of the people in our town will not be able to celebrate Christmas in our homes.

What do you say to people like Rizza? You deliver a food parcel and that will help their stomachs for a while. You give them medicines and that may stop them getting sick. You give them a bed mat and a blanket, but where do they lay it out and sleep - on the roof? You write about their plight, try and explain the hurt and confusion, but what help is that when they watch their belongings float by in the dirty smelly water.

Sometimes what we do seems so futile. And yet we do it - and we will conintue to do it because there is little else we can do. We do it because we can't do nothing. We do it because we must do something.