Jesuit
Father General Adolfo Nicolás has visited the earthquake-stricken country of Haiti,
viewing the reconstruction efforts and expressing his concern for the
vulnerable populace as they wait for the tropical rains to arrive.
The
Haiti visit was part of a two-week journey to Latin America in April that took
in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Visiting
the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, on 29 April, Fr Nicolás said the city looked like
a ‘Museum of Disasters'.
‘I did
not see much evidence that reconstruction is taking place. Most of the work I
saw was done by NGOs (non-government organisations) or religious groups', he
said.
The
earthquake struck the country on 29 January, but Fr Nicolás said damaged buildings
such as the President's Palace and the airport were yet to be repaired. The
damage done to residential houses means that many of the people in the city are
still living in camps.
‘I
wonder what will happen to the poor people living in those camps when the
tropical rains come very soon', he said. ‘No solutions appear in view, and I am
afraid that people might be living in their present horrible conditions for a
long while to come. Seeing so many little children among them, one shivers at
the prospect of their growing up in such conditions.'
Fr Nicolás said the Jesuits in Haiti
were focused on the right priorities and perspectives. After first working on
emergency relief, their focus has begun to turn to the reconstruction of the
country.
‘This is
an enormous task, and they could begin cooperating with others, without losing
the vision of transforming the present crisis into a creative time to work and
build for the good of the country and with Haitian eyes, not simply following
the dictates of other countries', said Fr Nicolás.
He said
some of the workers were tired and exhausted from responding to the disaster
over many months. But he was greatly inspired and encouraged by their
generosity and desire to rebuild.
‘It was
also encouraging to meet Jesuit novices and lay volunteers who are offering all
kinds of help in different areas: medical, technical, structural etc. Disasters
have a way of attracting the best of humanity, and one can find such goodness
in Haiti right now.'
Fr Nicolás was
also a keynote speaker at the Jesuit Higher Education Conference in Mexico City
from 21 to 25 April.
Addressing nearly 200
participants representing more than 102 institutions across the globe
(including Fr Frank Brennan SJ from Australia), Fr Nicolás spoke
about the challenges globalisation presented to Jesuit universities and
institutions of learning.
He highlighted the need to
combat superficiality by studying the emerging cultural world of students more
deeply in order to find creative ways of promoting depths of thought and
imagination. He also invited Jesuit universities to renew their commitment to
be mediators between faith and culture as a response to the global spread of
secularism and fundamentalism.
Education offers a path for
a better future for young people, he said.
‘We are looking for a
better way to live more humanly, a way to live that involves less injustice,
one that is less exclusive', he said.
‘We all want to be part of
that change. We wish to be part of this process. The solutions, today,
necessarily involve everyone who is part of the problem.'
Source: SJ News