An educator working as a lecturer and consultor writes in the
Kyeongyang magazine about the hopes of the teachers and parents of
children graduating from elementary school. At a recent graduation she
mentions how she was responsible for the teaching on morals and
character formation of the sixth grade children.
On the
day of graduation she was most interested in Hyong Ki, whose ability
remained at the 2nd year level. His family circumstances didn't allow
him the necessary preparatory material, and he came to school mostly
for the free meal, and would often be absent. He tried his best but was
not able to overcome his shortcomings, making it difficult on the
teacher, frustrating her best efforts. She new he wanted to eat some pork belly slices, and gave him money to buy what he wanted, he bought
some and gave the rest of the money to his mother which indicated the kind of boy he
was.
What she thought would happen, did. Hyong Ki did
not come to the graduation. She had prepared a bouquet of flowers but
he did not show up. She went to his home, called his name and he came
out, his hair disheveled. He led the way to the school. They were late
and she sat beside him on the seats prepared and she whispered in his
ear: "It is good we came isn't it?" He nodded in agreement. They ate
at a college cafeteria, and as they left he said to the teacher: "Many
of the students left a lot of food on their trays, it was tasty, why did they do that?"
On the way home she bought some bread for
him to share with his two siblings. She also left him with these words
and doesn't know if they registered. "Hyong Ki, middle school is
different from elementary, you will probably be on your own. You will
have to be your own boss. Don't take a bad road. When you get into high
school you can get a part time job and help to pay your way, after
graduation you can find work and live in the way you want~!" Sadly,
there are many children who say all the parents did was give them
birth.
In the past those who were studying to be
teachers were bright but came from a background of poverty. This is no
longer the case, she says, and in fact studies show that presently they come from wealth. Are they going to be able to
understand the children from poverty? One educator said, teachers
in the past had an inferiority complex; she would agree.
She
was given the task by the board of education to give a lecture to those
who will be teaching the 5th and 6th grade. In her lecture she asked
that since they are beginning anew, they look with new eyes on their students: not to judge the students by their family background or by the
filtering done by the teachers in the past, but to work with the
objective personality type tests taken.
She
wants the teachers not be concerned with the students who do
well in Korean, Math and English, but on all the students--those who
have different talents and abilities. She wants the teachers to look on
them all with a merciful eye.
She concludes her
article by wanting the mothers to remember that when they send their
children to school their expectations are high, but not to forget what most educators make clear, that 90 percent and more of
the education of the children is done in the home.
A refugee from the North, living in Korea, was in his living quarters overnight when below he heard loud noses that disturbed his sleep. He went out
to the veranda and looked into the room below and saw a number of
persons who were in a heated dispute. They were discussing the present
government, the president's policies, capabilities, the directions of
the government and the like, and were bitterly critical of the present
situation. He called the police and reported the reactionaries in the
apartment below. The columnist in the Catholic Times, a representative of the Korean Bishops' Committee for Reconciliation mentions this incident in the Catholic Times, and had a good laugh in the process.
The
refugee found the situation a serious one. Coming from North Korea,
and hearing the criticism of the president was untenable. Hearing that kind of talk, after many years
of living in a society quite different from our own, his actions are easily understood.
In the South with refugees from
the North, if respect is not shown to Kim Il-sung, you are not giving a
good impression to those from the North. These deserters from the
North still have an idea of their leader that saw him as almighty and
deserving of their respect. His diplomatic capabilities, the
respect he received in every nation that he visited, his humility: he was always the first to extend his hand for a greeting, made a favorable impression on the citizens.
During
his time as their leader, the Communist stores were filled with
clothes, and all kinds of fish they could buy cheaply. Their verandas had pollack always ready to be eaten. At the birthday celebration of the leader during the spring, all kinds of visitors
from other countries would be present which showed how well respected he
was to the rest of the world.They were very happy.
In the 1960s when South Korean nurses and miners were going to Germany
for work, North Koreans thought that if it wasn't for Kim Il Sung they would be
doing the same thing, and were thanking heaven for
such a leader.
From the time in the public nursery schools, before the portrait of Kim Il sung they would
thank their great leader for what he had done for the country. They all
learned about his life in school and they all new the names of his
parents and even a three old child would know his birthday-- April 15.
In
all the provinces of the North there is a museum dedicated to the
exploits of the great leader and where they learn about him. His whole
life was devoted to making the life of the citizens better and died
doing this. Almost all believed once he saw the
difficulties of the citizens he would act to alleviate the
problems. We in the South, the columnist concludes, have a long way to go before we can
understand the feelings of those in the North.
Learning the truth about any issue that is disputed is difficult. We
make a distinction between what is fact and what is opinion, and opinion
is always easier to accept-- we are not allowed to make facts. This
makes the reporting of news in many cases the opinion of the writer and
the facts are selected or ignored to bolster one's opinion. Knowing this
does require judgement on the part of the hearers: facts are often not
welcomed, opinion is less threatening.
In the
Peace column of the Peace Weekly we hear about the father of one of
the children who died in the Sewol Tragedy ( ferry that sank on April
16, last year, 304 died and most of them were students). The father of
one of the students was baptized by Pope Francis when he came to Korea
last year with the baptismal name of Francis. Wednesday of Holy Week
will be the first anniversary of the tragedy, just two days before Good
Friday on which we recall the death of Jesus.
Christianity
promises us eternal life, but the families of those who died remain
on earth and are fighting against 'forgetting'. The father has started a
trip from the pier at Paengmok Port near where the boat sank to
Gwanghwamun in Seoul. He walks three steps and bows, known in Korea as
the Buddhist practice of sambo ilbae.
This is an effort
of Francis to keep the memory of the Sewol alive, it remains a 'pain
point' for many: more value given to mammon than human life. The number
of the irregularities involved are hard to determine and the natural
response is not to want to know, saving us the embarrassment that often
follows. Forgetting will not bring any change from before to after
the tragedy.
The National Assembly, after much bickering has agreed to a new
investigation into the deadly ferry accident, but
nothing has changed. The fear of the parents of those that died is that
nothing will be done to prevent accidents of this type from happening
again.
The Church is involved in trying to keep the memory of the tragedy in the minds of the citizens.
The issue has been politicized which leaves a distaste among many of
the citizens. On the recent 'ad limina' visit of the Korean Bishops to
the Vatican, the first thing Pope Francis asked the bishops was the
Sewol problem. Prayers continue to be said throughout the church to find the truth behind the tragedy. The columnist ends with assurance
that the church will continue to help to keep the memory alive, and to
search for truth, and wants Francis to take care of his health.
In the recent bulletin of the Seoul Diocese a mother recounts her ordeal in coming to an understanding of a trauma that took a serious toll on her life and family. She is a mother of two children who became a Catholic at the persuasion of her mother-law. She was baptized with little knowledge of God and became his child. Her spiritual life obviously, she says, left a lot desired, she spent all her time raising her two children.
At the age of seven, her oldest son, because of the side effects of medicine, was mentally disabled. Her whole life was for her children and when this happened the shock and confusion that issued was too much for her to support. She tried everything to return the child to normality but all just got worst. She was faced with pain and disorder, and the child's mental capacity died. Her own life became one of living desperation. Life no longer had any meaning; she was on the cross with Jesus. Gradually she began to realize that by gazing on Jesus she was meeting Jesus.
This gazing on Jesus on the cross opened her to a new dimension. In the limits of the human, and through pain, she was able to go to the center of the meaning of life. She began to face the reality of pain and saw it all in a different light and to give thanks.
The scars that had been inflicted as a child led her to a feeling of gloom and depression which she began to work with in counseling sessions, and in the study of psychology. She began to receive healing, and to mature and encounter God. In her darkest moments she was able to see God most clearly. To be born again she needed to die. This was the grace that was leading her to a new understanding. Her son was her teacher.
Her son remains mentally incapacitated, and requires great care but it no longer overcomes her. She has great trust and love for God, and the graces enables her to overcome her difficulties. Her son gave her strength for which she thanked God. Everything is in the hands of God; she lives with happiness in her heart.
With and through her own trials she wants to be of service to others who are going through similar difficulties in life. She prays for those who have lost their way in life, and wants to help them with what she has found: to have the Lord grasp them by the hand and lead them on to a new life.
What are some of the things in life that I wish were different? A
priest writing in the Kyeongyang magazine, often at Masses, starts off
his sermons with a question. He did this recently asking the congregation what they would like not to have been in their life. Some answered they had no problem with what they experienced. He is not too bright, he responded, and better discontinue his sermon, and with a smile continued.
He
mentions the third year in high school when he was preparing for
college entrance: he was on automatic pilot during the year, and living
in a prison. Each year when the students are going through this
period he remembers them in his prayers.
In Korea all
males have to spend two years in the military, this is another period
of his life that he would like not to have been. He had no opportunity
of going to Mass for 6 months, and no vacation, not only physically cold
but the atmosphere, and environment was cold.
When he
received his first assignment as pastor two of his parishioners drowned
in the Sewol Tragedy. One of the students was the leader of the altar
boys, and was dreaming of becoming a priest, loved by all in the
Sunday School program. He would like to have that whole chapter erased
from history-- none of the children would have gone on-board the ship
to Jejudo.
After the tragedy the priest feeling low, decided to take a
vacation in the country. He spent time with the wild flowers and the butterflies that came to visit. It all begins with an egg, becoming a caterpillar, at which time it will shed
its skin four or more times-- molting. Stage three is
the chrysalis or the pupa, and from here it flutters its wings and
becomes a butterfly. And lives for about a month and dies.
He was angry when he went on vacation but seeing nature it made him reflect on the will of God.
Endurance is built into nature. We are all invited to accept death
as a part of life, and to think of life and resurrection. After all its struggle to go from an egg to a butterfly, the caterpillar with its
short span of life does not complain. Jesus walked that very journey
and left us an example. Holy Week will give us plenty of time to reflect on this central teaching of Christianity.
The recent issue of the Maryknoll Magazine had an article by Chris Smith, a Maryknoll Affiliate, on The Clash Over Jeju. Below are sections taken from the article highlighting some of the issues involved, and efforts made to educate the public.
"After years of protests and delays, the South Korean Government is pushing forward with plans to build a 4.3-million square-foot naval base on Jeju Island to house a new destroyer fleet to patrol the East China Sea between China and Japan.
The base is being located on the site of a 450-year -old village that supports the livelihoods of 1,500 farmers and fishermen and has been designated a U.N. World Heritage site. The local population first expressed its overwhelming opposition to the naval base-- with a 94 percent no vote-- when the plan for construction was announced in 2007.
More than 50 farmers have cited damage to their crops, and water for drinking and farming has been contaminated by dust and oil generated by construction, which has already begun and is threatening the coral reef habitat offshore. The South Korean government argues that the base will help promote tourism and bring jobs to the island, but opponents say the most likely jobs will be in bars, brothels and souvenir shops, hardly compatible with the farming and fishing backgrounds of the local population.
Recent events on Jeju Island, which is South Korea's most popular tourist destination and is known as the "Island of the Gods" because of its unique natural environment, have underscored how strongly residents and activists from around the globe are determined to block the completion of the naval base....The Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea has also weighted in on the naval base, supporting the demonstrators' position against construction.
Under the terms of the Mutual Defense Treaty and Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and South Korea, the U.S. military retains the right to use the base for operations in a regional conflict.
As the movement to stop the Jeju Island naval base enters its eight year, the Ecumenical Working Group on Korea (along with other allied organizations) is planning to send a multifaith peace delegation to North and South Korea this year. The protests and actions against the base construction are expected to continue this year as part of a greater movement to reclaim Jeju Island's future for its inhabitants. Since 2010, more than 450 activists and residents have been detained or arrested protesting the naval base.
The story of Jeju Island is hardly new-- a small population's interests and needs for sustainable future are sacrificed for the interests of 'national security' and the military."
"Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of
the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent
of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation
of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation,
forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery,
servitude or the removal of organs..."
In the Kyeongyang magazine a lawyer, working for a human rights group, writes about human trafficking and slave labor in the 21st century. Part of the Palermo Protocol, quoted above, is the United Nations' internationally accepted definition of human trafficking.
The article begins with the story of Lia a girl from the Philippines who had a talent for singing. She heard about a girl from her village who was going to Korea to work in the entertainment field, and she wanted to do the same. She was introduced to the entertainment agency and came to Korea. She ended up in a night club exclusively used by foreigners, it was next to an American military base.
Lia had the job to fill the glasses of the customers with booze. Each month her quota was more than 300 glasses, if she did not achieve that goal she would receive a Bar Fine-- which meant that she would have to sell herself for sex. She refused but she was told they would send her to a even more difficult club, so she chose the Bar Fine.
Lia told the owner of the club she wanted to return to the Philippines; and was told she had a contract for 6 months, and if she left she would have to pay the debt incurred by coming to Korea. She was deceived into taking a stimulant to help her in her work that was supposed to be for health. She complained to the agency that arranged her trip to Korea, and was sent to another more inferior establishment.
The article mentions the abuses that an Indonesian citizen received on a Korean deep sea fishing vessel that was sailing from New Zealand. He received the work by giving his house ownership documents as security. He was abused, overworked and given little food. Because of the documents he left at the agency in Indonesia he was afraid he would not be making the 300 hundred dollars per month, that had been promised.
He recounts many other incidents in the article that show slavery and human trafficking is not something of the past. We may look at the past and lament at the cruelty and inhumanity of the treatment, but many have no idea of what is happening in many parts of society even today with the handicapped, women and foreigners.
He concludes his article by wondering what will future generations think of us. Are we concerned with those who are treated as slaves and have lost their freedom as humans? Our answer to that question will determine how the future will look on this generation.
