A New Dawn

Fiji Times called the ‘2022 General Election: A new dawn.’ Dawn comes only after a night of darkness. Light, darkness and dawn are part of the natural rhythm of our Mother Earth. Creation goes through a similar cycle of life, death, and new life. A seed must die before new shoots emerge.

Crabs, through the ‘molting process,’ must shed its old skeleton in order to grow bigger. As a crab grows its shell becomes too small for its body and it must grow a new one. During the molting process the crab sheds the old shell and new shell grows, starting off as a very soft shell. The crab is very vulnerable. Eventually the new shell hardens and grows.

Human beings also grow from shedding the old self. Humans grow after falling and getting up many times. Renowned spiritual writer Richard Rohr in his book ‘Falling Upward’ explains this movement from human weakness to growth. He says that to move upwards in the journey of human development we have to first fall a few times.

In the Christian Bible, St Paul writes ‘Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9-11).

Jesus chose the vulnerable way before he rose from the dead. He entered into his passion where he became passive. He was tortured, physical and verbal abused and killed by hanging on a cross. Jesus rose from the dead and his Spirit inspired his disciples to spread the good news of peace and love.

Fiji has had its share of vulnerability and darkness.

Fiji entered into a vulnerable era with Covid 19 pandemic with its first case in 19 th March 2020. During Covid 19 we experienced vulnerability, isolation, a new form of poverty, and loss of loved ones. Schools, churches and work places were closed. Fear and panic gripped the nation as the number of Covid 19 cases increased. We showed our commitment for the common good. It took us about two years to overcome Covid 19. On 7th Feb 2022 the government began to ease Covid 19 restrictions.

Fiji faces vulnerability from climate change and the onslaught of extractive industries. We experience stronger cyclones and rising sea level. Our weak economy makes us vulnerable to extractive industries who exploit our natural resources and at the same time destroy our beautiful rivers and ocean. For many of our rural communities, the river and ocean is life, economic sustenance, food, transportation, and many other essential needs. Fijian people have also gone through vulnerable and uncertain times with our unstable political history. Since the colonial days, Fijians have experienced fear and suppression. Many Fijians have left Fiji to look for better opportunities overseas. Four coups have left a
trail of wounds and fear.

Fiji’s foreign debt casts a dark shadow on our economy and a big challenge for the new government. Research of countries plagued with foreign debt indicate that Fiji will face a poverty spiral.

A better world is possible

Nature and our faith show that darkness, suffering and vulnerability can be stepping stones towards a new dawn. A better world is possible. We must embrace our darkness and vulnerability.

The Catholic Social Teaching, through the late Saint Pope John Paul II, urgently calls for a new world marked by the following:

• a new constitutional organisation for the human family, truly capable of ensuring peace and harmony between peoples;
•  an urgent need for participatory ways for exercising political authority, even international political authority, and for transparency and accountability at every level of public life; and
•  that economic globalisation serves authentic human development. That the economy serves the people and not companies’ profits.

Pope Francis’ 56th WORLD DAY OF PEACE message on 1st January 2023 calls for a conversion. “What then is being asked of us? First of all, to let our hearts be changed by our experience of the crisis, to let God, at this time in history, transform our customary criteria for viewing the world around us. We can no longer think exclusively of carving out space for our personal or national interests; instead, we must think in terms of the common good, recognising that we belong to a greater community, and opening our minds and hearts to universal human fraternity. We cannot continue to focus simply on preserving ourselves;
rather, the time has come for all of us to endeavour to heal our society and our planet, to lay the foundations for a more just and peaceful world, and to commit ourselves seriously to pursuing a good that is truly common.”

To build a peaceful and just society, we need political leaders who have peace in their hearts. Some of our politicians carry with them traumas and wounds of the past. They need to be healed so that they can forgive others and be agents of peace.

On the other hand, the truth behind human rights violations must be investigated and addressed appropriately. The International Justice Resource Centre states that ‘A common response to widespread human rights violation is the establishment of a governmental or independent commission to investigate and record the violations, potentially—although not necessarily—with a view to enabling criminal prosecution.’ Justice, human rights and dignity must be protected.

As we look with hope to the New Year and the new government, we can learn from our vulnerabilities and weakness so that they become stepping stones for integral human development and a new dawn.

On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church and the Fiji Council of Churches I invite everyone to pray that we give God the space to heal our society and our Mother Earth.