“Africa does not need aid, it needs a just economic and financial system.” With these words Fr Charles Chilufya SJ challenged his Canadian audience to stop feeling complacent or even resentful of the aid that Canada sends to Africa, Asia and Latin America, and to become aware instead of the significant resources that are drained from the Global South in the form of illicit financial flows, tax evasion, money laundering, flight of profits, and other mechanisms. These make Africa a net creditor and take away resources needed for financing basic social services such as education, housing and health. Our Jesuit partners, whether in Darjeeling, Honduras or Zambia, witness the results every day in communities which still lack basic services and suffer extreme poverty.
We have often heard the phrase “justice, not charity.” The dichotomy does not reflect the complexity of the reality facing the vast majority of the world’s
population nor the complex human response required today to honour the fundamental rights of every human being and of communities. The four Universal Apostolic Preferences which the Society of Jesus has recently published and which will guide the mission of the Society of Jesus for the next ten years – promoting spiritual discernment; walking with those who are excluded and marginalized; caring for the environment and our common home; and journeying with youth – reflect this complexity, informing our understanding of integral human development. The integration of accompaniment, service and
advocacy, which are central to CJI’s mission and that of our Jesuit partners, is a response to this complexity.
Food distribution in emergencies saves lives. Providing education to young refugees offers vital opportunities. These are important, but we cannot stop there. Fr Chilufya told us not to be content with improvements in GDP measurements, or with meeting Sustainable Development Goals, but to aim for relationships based on the common good and the respect of human rights, including the right to education, health and employment. Systemic justice is required.
I am reminded of Dom Helder Camara’s words which for decades I had on a poster on my wall: “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.” Fr Chilufya and Fr Orobator in this newsletter and many of our partners have told us why people are poor. They speak of ecological violence, illicit financial flows and unequal power relationships. It is now time to act.
