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Dublin, Ireland
First Published: Reflections - Philippine Daily Inquirer Publication Date: 30th May 1994 Author's Name: Father Shay Cullen SSC Dublin, Ireland - EASTER is more than welcome hare as a cold, wet winter has refused to let go its icy grip over the land of Northern Europe as it is supposed to do every spring. But despite all that, the plants are coming to life in defiance of the cold blasts of wintery wind. Jaunty daffodils shake their yellow bells at a gray wet sky and green buds are sprouting and telling winter to go away and let the sun shine. The darkness is passing, the long and lonely life underground is slowly emerging. The flowers are here. It's time for us, they say. That too is the spirit of Easter. It is the time when people can remind themselves what seems like defeat can turn into victory, that darkness is defeated with even the smallest glimmer of light, that the mighty can be overcome by the burning truth which melts like snow the hard and icy block of power and privilege. In the end, the Easter story, full of human weakness and betrayal, courage and compassion, teaches us that a life well lived is measured by how much we have loved others and not oneself. We learn too what seems like weakness is strength, that goodness and love overcomes evil and hatred. Easter is a celebration of all that and much more. The resurrection is much more than the return to life of someone thought to be dead. Jesus of Nazareth, after he was condemned and executed as a trouble-making criminal, blaspheming rebel and a black propagandist who allegedly damaged the pious reputation of the rich and powerful with his preaching about the rights of the poor, was seen again - alive. That perhaps, is not so wonderful as the fact that almost 2,000 later he is still alive in the minds and hearts of millions of his disciples who are still living out in their daily lives by word and deed his teaching and practicing his unselfish self-sacrificing love of others. By defending human rights, taking risks for justice, publishing the truth when bribed not to, and unmasking corruption and injustice are modern day ways of being like Christ. Like the buds that brave the coldest breeze and the flowers that bloom in the frosty snow, I also look for signs of victory and hope when and where we cannot normally expect to find it. Environmentalists in the Philippines and everywhere in the third world can rejoice and be happy this Easter because against all expectations, the rich northern countries have agreed to ban the export and dumping of toxic and industrial waste in the South. This will mean life for millions of life forms, plants, animals and humans who would surely die from toxic and chemical poisoning, will now live. That is why Easter for me and many more is a great celebration of all the victories and triumphs of the human struggle for goodness, justice and a decent life of respect and dignity. The visit of the Greenpeace environmental ship pinpointed just how badly the Filipinos and others are being exploited and endangered by corrupt and greedy business people who arrange toxic dumping. The new international agreement is a victory for life. Last March 25, it was signed in Geneva by the 24 signatories of the Basil convention which govern that trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes. It is a total world-wide ban on dumping toxic wastes anywhere and will become fully effective in 1997. It covers toxic chemical wastes and dangerous substances sent to Third World countries for recycling. It was the sustained pressure by the environment NGO groups worldwide, especially Greenpeace that forced the reluctant industrial nations to agree. These countries produce 98% of the toxic waste that is dumped worldwide. And perhaps, vitally important too was the joint decision of the environmental ministers of the European Union countries this week to support the ban. The countries which worked actively against the ban were Britain, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia and the United States, six of the most powerful countries in the world yet against the odds, they were defeated and overwhelmed by the rest. Is history changing, the poor majority can influence the mighty minority? The downtrodden should take note. Who would have believed that such decision could be reached? After the Earth Summit in Rio, Environmentalists were like the disciples after the death of Jesus, disappointed, disillusioned and thinking they were defeated. But victories of the human spirit are happening. We can overcome forces that seem to be powerful and triumphant. These victories are signs of hope for us who have personal and family problems. no matter how difficult things may seem, it is possible to overcome and survive them. Easter is just that - a message of survival for the spirit when we believe that nothing is impossible with God.
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