OUR CHILDREN MUST HAVE HOPE
Events have happened recently that gives a person pause to wonder about what life is really all about. The sadness and wickedness that has happened to 796 young babies and children in 'The Home' in Tuam, and probably if we are led to believe thousands more in other so called 'Homes" around many parts of Ireland are unbearable to think about, but we must think about them and strive to bring justice for them and all children in need especially those presently in need in our country and our world so that we can makesure anything like this never happens again. For years, places like Tuam Mother and Baby 'Home' were spoken of in hushed tones. For generations of Irish people, they were places where thousands of women and girls were sent when they had “a problem”. They went in pregnant and came out alone, some after spending years locked away. Some left only to be moved to other institutions and Magdalene laundries. Most if not all, were never the same again. Their voices were never heard. Last year, thanks to the tireless work of Catherine Corless, our country and our world was made aware of the 796 babies that lay forgotten in Tuam and thanks to her and to be honest her alone their lost voices and cry's are now beginning to be heard. The truth about their lives and the lives of many more children buried in unmarked graves or pits and the whole truth now more than ever needs to be told, so that no one can ever forget the pain and suffering they went through and indeed the sufferings of their mothers and many other women left to fend for themselves in these places in the midst of our so called great societies.
Many in Tears
I was in tears as I am sure many were a few times last week from utter sadness after watching Claire Byrne's Live programme on RTE, especially when they showed the names of all the 796 babies that died in Tuam and probably many more in unmarked graves around our country and also listening to the stories on our own Keith Finnegan's Galway Bay FM radio show and countless other forms of media. It was such heartbreaking viewing and listening. May all of those little beautiful children and angels who were so inhumanely and cruelly denied a life on this earth rest in peace in heaven forever. It made me think of children who have died all around our world so needlessly, so inhumanely and cruelly because of neglect or lack of love and care or because of those in power and authority who ruled with Iron Fists rather than with Gentle and Caring Hearts especially for the most needy and vulnerable in our societies and our world. The church, because of its dominant position in the Ireland of the time, must take a large degree of responsibility for what happened to all of these children along with the responsibility of those who had been and who have been in the power of our State. It's such a sad and evil world we live in at times and not just in the past, there is a lot of sadness in our lives this present day when you truly look with open eyes, open minds and open hearts at the situation of our homelessness, direct provision, war, famine, hate speech, walls, racism, traveller accommodation, the way we treat our elderly, poverty, hunger, thirst, abuse, austerity, eviction, inequality, lack of love, lackluster healthcare systems, untruths, abandoned, greed, lack of bridges and so much more by people in power in our society and world that are not protecting or looking after with genuine love, care and action those most vulnerable and needy in our world.
The sadness that has happened to these children both in our past and indeed in our present in the various news reports is unbearable for me and for so many and I am sure for everybody and what must it be like for the parents whose children are been affected in anyway by all of the above. My thoughts and prayers are with them and their family members in their suffering and loss. I also remember the years i have spent travelling in the developing world and the tragedy, sadness and suffering I saw in some parts of our world that was so shockingly sad and that continues to bring nightmares to my sleep. The people , especially the children in these countries that are in such need such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Sudan, Yemen, Burkina Faso and our own country of Ireland need plenty of our help, support, love and action now this day. Let's not forget the nine million little children that die globally each year in often horrendous circumstances, just because it's not on the news doesn't mean its not a reality. To live without hope is the most crushing of all burdens. Everywhere I have traveled over the last 25 years with my work in the developing world especially in famine-torn areas I saw children with a look of despair. I was reminded of the words of the American writer James Agee, who said that: "In every child who is born, under no matter what circumstances, the potentiality of the human race is born again, and in them too, once more and in each of us, is born again our terrific responsibility towards human life."
After reading about the various reports about what happened in Tuam and indeed in other parts of our country where so many children have died in Irish Church and Irish State care and in what has happened to so many children presently in our Country and our World today, I have started to hug my two little girls more tightly and I am thanking God for giving me the opportunity to have them in our lives and for the wonderful gift they are to my wife and myself. I remember the poem called "To my Child" on the wall of a children's orphanage I visited a few years back, which I have found out recently was written by Sally Meyers about her son Dhylan who is Autistic, that went as follows and probably will mean so much to every parent after seeing what has happened to such young babies and children in Tuam and many other 'Homes" in the past in Ireland but also what is happening to children in our country and our world at present:
To My Child....
"To My Child, Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I feel like crying. Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and say how perfect it is. Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park and play. Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together. Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles. Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice-cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by. Just for this afternoon, I won’t worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second-guess every decision I have made where you are concerned. Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cakes, and I won’t stand over you trying to fix them. Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Kiddie's meal so we can have both toys. Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you. Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry. Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars. Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favourite TV shows. Just for this evening, when I run my fingers through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given. I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children’s graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly and screaming inside that they can’t handle it any more. And when I kiss you good night, I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one more day."
Urgent ACTION
I have written before and I will write it now again that urgent action needs to happen now in our beautiful country to address child and youth poverty. Our children have only one future and the future must happen for them now or we will have lost many more of them before tomorrow even comes. I feel unless the issue is addressed straight away, child poverty will further entrench the existing two-tier society where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting so much poorer and it will continue to blight and destroy children’s lives well into the future. The number of children experiencing poverty and social exclusion in Ireland is appalling and it is a damning reflection of poor policy choices and decisions. Child poverty is not inevitable; it is often a result of an agenda that protects and favours the wealthiest to the detriment of the most vulnerable in society and those who have the least to give. It is simply unacceptable that children now represent almost 40% of all people in consistent poverty in our country of Ireland – this equates to close on 150,000 children. Too many children are growing up in hotel rooms; going to bed hungry and living in households struggling on inadequate incomes. In effect too many children are being denied a childhood. Children growing up in poverty tend to experience the same fate as adults and that is why it is imperative that we tackle child poverty now to prevent the further entrenchment of a two-tier society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. By the way there is nothing wrong with the rich getting richer, but there is something seriously wrong in our country and our world when the poor are getting poorer and are becoming more visible and more vulnerable in our societies and communities. All of us, and especially the people in power, have an opportunity to move away from the austere, punitive and regressive policies that were the hallmarks of people in authority and in power in the past and implement a more progressive approach that will make real inroads into child poverty and social exclusion. We need to hold people to account for the loss of even one child’s life let alone the thousands of children that are being affected and in some cases presently left out to die so to speak on a daily basis in our beautiful country.
As A FINAL thought, always remember how so important it is to do something special with your loved ones, especially our children because life is short and we must do all we can to protect them and give them real hope for the future for they are our future. Please always I beg you to remember the children in need in our world, in our country of Ireland and indeed in our towns and villages throughout our beautiful country who all need our help, support, genuine care, prayers and actions for goodness now, for tomorrow will be too late for a lot of them. I believe there can be a brighter future for our children in Ireland and indeed in our world, but we all must shoulder the burden to do all we can to protect and give genuine care to our children and indeed learn from what has happened in our past and many other situations of where the lives of children have been affected or ended that have surfaced in the last few years. I am constantly thinking and praying for all those hearts that are breaking this past week because of injustices and not knowing who they are because of what happened to them in the past. As the saying goes, "For evil to exist in this world all it takes is for good people to remain quite". We need to have more action, truth , justice and reconciliation when it comes to what has happened and what is happening to our children and indeed if truth be known to our elderly as well and let us always remember that the truth will set us free and will set free the souls of 796 babies and children in Tuam and many unknown others buried around Ireland if we are strong enough to let the Truth set us all free especially from the Iron Fists that have ruled our lives in the past so that we can all have real Faith, Hope and Love for the future and especially for our children......