Dreamland and The Pastoral Circle

The Pastoral Circle,

THE DREAMLAND EXPERIENCE

By ARNOLD C. BIAGO, SVD

CONTACT OR IMMERSION

The place is called “dreamland” understood by its residents in the manner of the biblical sense of the term “Promised Land.” The occupants of the place believed that God by his mysterious ways brought out a piece of land from the depths of the sea and gave it to them to be their home, a land of their own.

Dreamland is a sand bar that has accumulated in time offshore. It was then a patch of land that had risen from and dumped by the sea. It was 20 meters from the sea wall protecting seaside baranggays of Muzon I and Muzon II of Rosario, Cavite. A couple of families initially occupied the sand bar; and as more families come to settle in the same place they gradually widened the area by manually reclaiming more areas from the sea. According to their stories culled from memories, there was a time when a big storm hit the province all their houses were torn into pieces and their land was under water due to the rising sea level and big waves brought by the typhoon. After the storm had passed by most of their belongings where washed away and carried by the sea. The same situation happens every time storms passes through the province.

Six years ago, a real estate developer whom they identified as Engineer Magno started a massive land reclamation project covering an area of more than 50 hectares including the same area where dreamland was located. His construction firm had put down concrete blocks around the area to mark the perimeter of the part of the sea he intends to reclaim and to strengthen his right of claim on the property. Also, the construction firm opens the reclamation site for garbage dumping, allowing them to save the cost for landfill and at the same time collect fee for every truckloads of garbage dumped in the site. There had been a considerable progress in the land reclamation project undertaken in the site for the last six years. The formerly vast open seashore had been littered with garbage that was later covered with a land fill.

The residents had experienced being harassed. In fact, there had been several attempts to demolish their shelters. Also, court cases had also been filed against the residents by Engineer Magno charging them with trespassing a private property. In return, they filed claims of ownership to the Bureau of Lands. In ‘dreamland,” the constant struggle had been the conflicting interest of a company represented by Engineer Magno and the residents.” Both sides are appealing to their inherent right to occupy the land. Yet on the wider scale, the issues and concerns that interest me are more than ownership, the right to private property

I came to know the place way back in 2003, when I was assigned in Rosario, Cavite for my weekend Apostolate or pastoral exposure. On the duration of my stay for almost two years of regular weekend contact, I discovered the following concerns and issues that are most pressing and of utmost importance for the people of ‘dreamland”, and serious concern for the local Church of Sto. Rosario Parish.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Land Ownership (Shelter)

Obviously, highest in the priority of needs of the people of dreamland is ownership of the land. They believed and are convinced that the piece of land rightfully belongs to them as a gift from God, an answer to their long-time longing and need to have a piece of land they could claim to be their own and call their home. Understandably, coming from far away provinces seeking for means and looking for new opportunities to earn a living, they are practically not only landless, but are also without money and shelter. Hence, the need is really basic and urgent for them to find a place to settle and rest their tired bodies. I believe, it would be dehumanizing to deprive and deny the occupants of “dreamland” their fundamental right to seek shelter and look for a legitimate land to settle. For all that God has created belongs not exclusively to those who have the resources to develop the site but to all who are in need.[1]

Neglect of Environment

The reclamation site is practically turned into an open dumpsite for all kinds of garbage and wastes. Every now and then, the reclamation project staff would burn some portions of the garbage. Hence, residents surrounding the place complained of the foul smell coming from the reclamation site and of many children acquiring respiratory illness. If residents of the surrounding communities are alarmed of the health hazards posed by the dumped sites, the threat for the residents of “dreamland” who are practically beside the garbage dump are more immediate and to a much greater scale.

What is more alarming in the continuing neglect of environmental concern by the reclamation’s dump site is its long term effect. This could be negligible if the dump site is properly maintained in a safer place. But it was not only unregulated but was not in a right place. Considerable amount of garbage dumped in the site end up in the sea due to negligence and inconsiderate acts of people managing the site. The last time I was there this year, I can no longer see the sand along the seashores. All I saw were plastics piled up covering the beaches and many more afloat blanketing the sea as far as my eyes can see; and if you test the waters, chances are, you will wade through the dark and murky waters. The damage to the marine life by the garbage that spilled over into the sea is irreparable. It will take several decades to rehabilitate and clean the marine habitat.

Creation is God’s gift to humanity for all generations, it is not ours to waste but ours to protect and nurture for ourselves and our children and their children, and for all generations to come.[2] As the church teaches: “Responsibility for the environment, the common heritage of mankind, extends not only to present needs but also to those of the future.”[3]

Lack of Education and Livelihood Opportunities

Coming from far away provinces, the residents who came to settle in “dreamland” were families of fishermen. Due to the destruction of marine habitat and the dwindling catch of fish, the families who were mostly dependent on fishing were severely affected. Although, factories in the nearby Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) are hiring workers, they could not qualify because they lack the required skill. Fishing remains the main source of income for most families in “dreamland”. Since fishing is a seasonal work they spent most of the time waiting for the sea to calm; and whatever the amount they get in fishing it is not enough to support a family of six throughout the year. So, children are forced to earn a living by collecting recyclable materials from the dump site that can be sold in the junk shop.

With their parents extremely constrained financially and finding difficulty to meet the basic needs of food and shelter, children are forced to drop out of school and work full-time in the garbage site collecting saleable items just to help their parents feed the family. Without these children going through the basic education, I see no bright future ahead of them and good opportunities for them to fight poverty.

It is every person’s right to have an access to work and livelihood to support himself and his/her family. [4] Yet for the people of “dreamland”, the opportunities for work and sources income are not meant for them. Besides, in the eyes of those in the leadership positions they are so insignificant to attract their attention and for their need to occupy a spot in their list of concerns.

While parents and their guardians have the specific role and vocation to educate their children, this being part of their participation in God’s creative act.[5] Their miserable condition makes them extremely constrained even to address their basic needs and too powerless to address distant concerns such as education of their children.

Cultural and Social Stigma

The most humbling and difficult to live by experience for residents of “dreamland” is the loss of dignity they suffered in the eyes of their neighbors who are a little well-off than they who look down on them with contempt and ridicule. The grown up can live by this unfortunate and dehumanizing situation, but the children suffered the most with their self image shattered and their confidence trampled upon. It is a heart-breaking sight to behold children walking on the streets with their heads bowed down collecting saleable items from other people’s garbage, while other neat-looking children would cover their noses once these children from “dreamland” pass by them. I can only wonder how easily we have forgotten the fundamental teaching that each person is endowed with inviolable dignity by God.[6]

“Dreamland” is a compelling situation that epitomizes, on the one hand, the Church’s negligence, insensitivity, indifference and lack of concern, and on the other hand, the Church’s failure to live out its vocation and identity as community of Christ’s disciples. First, the local Church was for so long only a distant indifferent observer of the abuses and violence committed against the residents of “dreamland”. Also, the local Church never gets involved in the struggle of the residents of ‘dreamland” to their legitimate right over that small piece of land that was unlawfully being obtained by an influential developer. Second, the Church was not only a failure in becoming stewards of creation but was also largely an agent of its destruction. It is an undeniable fact that the pollution of the water bodies and the destruction of marine habitat were due to the people’s negligence and utter disregard for the welfare of the environment. Third, the poverty and lack of access to basic education of children of dreamland is a scandal for the Church. “Before these tragedies of total indigence and need, in which so many of our brothers and sisters are living, it is the Lord Jesus himself who comes to question us (cf. Mt 25:31 46).”[7] Fourth, it is a very serious offense against God to deny others of God’s gift dignity that is inherently theirs being created in the image and likeness of God. (Gen 1:24) Nonetheless, many of our brothers suffered the indignity through our very own actions.

PASTORAL PLAN

Certainly, the situation needs to be improved. Although, one would right away suggest that land titles be awarded to the residents to legitimize their claim and occupation of that piece of land for it will then solve all the problems. Even if legal titles can be acquired for the residents of “dreamland” it will not solve the concerns and issues we have identified above because most of them are systemic and attitudinal. They are like a bacterial infection within the human tissue causing a swelling of the skin which in due time will sought release after finding the weakest area to rupture. Seen analogically in a manner of an infection, “dreamland” was the unfortunate weak spot where the bacteria created a rupture to come out in the open. Awarding land titles is a “band-aid” solution to an infected wound that will in no way heal it. What needs to be done is some kind of surgical procedure to drain and flush out the bacterial fluids and a strong dosage of anti-bacterial medicine to contain the spread of the virus. This amounts to a kind of a parish-wide (or maybe a diocese-wide) advocacy and campaign to stop and condemn the violence committed against the residents of dreamland by those who finance and operate the reclamation project, and by those who ridicule and look with contempt at the powerless and the marginalized. It will also include a massive involvement of all the sectors of the community, the Church, governments units, non-governmental organizations and others to participate in the rehabilitation of water bodies and in the implementation of a Proper Waster Disposal and Management Scheme that will not only reduce but promote recycling and re-use of things as well in order to maintain sanitation and protect the environment from further damages. Finally, collaboration between the Church and the State have to be strengthened to bring back to the mainstream of society those who are at the margins and fringes of the community by reason of their poverty and lack of education.

Looking at it, I am overwhelmed. Before a massive wall of concerns and issues, and the staggering amount of resources needed, I can only shake my head, look up to heaven and wait for miracles to happen. As I see it, it will take a lifetime for all these to happen. It is too ideal. Nonetheless, I consoled myself with the thought that in my almost two years of weekend apostolate I have done something. It might have been dwarfed by the gigantic actual situation it has to address, yet I believe, my share is enough and significant.

In the course of my stay at “dreamland’ every weekend, I initiated a regular Bible Service on Saturday evening during which we reflected upon the scripture readings of the following Sunday. This regular gathering of prayer and reflection lead us to form several clusters in the community to help organize the evening service. From these clusters, leaders were identified to form the coordinating group that regularly meets to address issues in the community like their claim to the property and others concerns in the community. The same group establishes contact with the Parish who then heard and listened to their flight and eventually got involved in their struggle for a place in the Church and the community and in their legal claim to the land they occupy.

At that time, the best practical pastoral plan of action was to lead the residents of “dreamland” to realize their common struggle and concerns; and that they share the same destiny. Once, achieved, it consequently disposed them see the need to organize themselves, that without coordinating their efforts and resources together it will be very difficult for them to achieve something and improve their lives. Thus they decided to formally organize themselves into a community. I do not claim to myself the sole credits of organizing them. It was they who worked to bind themselves together. I was there identifying with their struggles and life-concerns, and providing them with the tools and ideas of community organizing.

Four years after I left, their lives remain miserable and their struggles continuous. But their spirit is high, they remain persistent believing that God is on their side, and also hopeful that one day the Lord will reward their dedication and commitment.

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[1] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 172; Also in Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 42

[2] Evangelium Vitae, n. 42

[3] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 467.

[4] Laborem Excercens, no. 16. Also Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 287.

[5] Familiaris Consortio, n. 36. Also Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 239.

[6] Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1700.

[7] Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n. 13