advocate-summer-2013.. - The Mill Hill Missionaries

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20Missionary Lifein St. Helena,South AtlanticBy Fr. Joseph P. Whelan, mhm- celebrating hisDiamond JubileeIT IS the most exciting newsfor years, even decades.They are going to build anairport in St Helena in theSouth Atlantic. That was myhome and parish for nearly 10years before I came back toretire in Ireland.Friends from there have been fallingover themselves to give me the news andare so excited. To get on and off the Island,I would fly to Cape Town, SouthAfrica, which took about 12 hours, butthere was no jetlag because it wasstraight down from London. I then tookthe boat, ‘The RMS St Helena’, whichwas purpose built for cargo and passengersand it took 5 days to get to St Helena.One special thing about thevoyage was that we were accompaniedmost of the way by 3 or 4 albatrosses.They are astonishing birds with awingspan of about 14 feet or more andthey never landed They seem to beable to sleep on the wing and on oneoccasion, one got as far as the island.How could anyone even dream ofshooting such a bird?My first time arriving thereThe boat came every 5 weeks or so tobring in the people and the supplies forvery little is produced on land. I rememberthe first time I arrived. It wasat night about 8 PM and there werethousands at the wharf to greet us. Itwas a Sunday, but even so, the arrivalsand departures were such an event thatit drew the crowds. It took 2 or 3 daysto unload the supplies, including themail. RMS means Royal Mail Service.The boat would then sail north to AscensionIsland, about 3 days away andwould bring back passengers fromthere. These were ‘Saints’ who workedthere or on the Falkland Islands. Thoseof us from Saint Helena are called‘Saints’, a name which I love. The Islandis small, about 10 miles long andabout 4 miles across. Population in totalis 5000 but more than 1000 work in theFalklands and 600 in Ascension. The Islandis not rich as there is little or no industryand little agriculture, thoughfishing is good. That is why theyounger generation go abroad and sendmoney home just like the olden days inIreland.An Airport on its wayWhen I was there we had a kind ofreferendum about having an airport.Most of the older generation votedagainst it, but it was carried by theyounger people. The elders were afraidthat such a major change would affectthe culture and values of the Island.There is such a strong sense of familyand community that we feared for theintroduction of outside so-called modernvalues. What was also significantwas how little crime there was on theIsland.This sense of ‘Islandness’ is so commonin other parts of the world wherethere is a deep sense of satisfaction andsuspicion of outsiders. At one time, theParish priest of Tory Island wrote to measking if he could come and visit as hewas writing a book on ‘Islandness’ buthe did not come. I also felt a part of theIsland culture and values and enjoyedit. But change will come and with itfear of ending traditional values. Andthey will probably kill the albatross.(Below: a photograph of anAlbatross)21
y Sr. Joan Roddy, dmjTHE FAMILIAR red ‘STOP’ roadsign, but bearing the words‘Stop Trafficking in Persons’,was to the fore at Stand 99 atthe last year’s InternationalEucharistic Congress.Reactions of people as they approachedthe Stand varied… Many peoplestopped. Most had questions theywere eager to ask. For some, it wasclearly their first time to engage seriouslywith the issue of human trafficking.Shocked, even horrified, to learn thefacts, they were even more distressed torealise that trafficking of persons is happeningnot just in some far-flung places,but in their own country and maybe evenin their parish. Encouragingly, therewere many too who are acutely aware ofthis form of modern-day slavery and arewell informed about the reality, globaland local. Among those were women,men and young people actively involvedas individuals and groups in initiativesto: ‘Stop Trafficking in Persons’.What is ‘Trafficking in Persons’?Trafficking involves the recruitment,movement and sale of vulnerable persons(women, men and children) through variousforms of coercion or deception. Personswho are ‘trafficked’ are kept inbondage, frequently in appalling conditionsand under threat, to meet serious financialdemands. While the objective issometimes the provision, chiefly by men,of cheap labour, human trafficking involvesmainly women and girls for thepurpose of commercial sexual exploitation:‘how can we not mention the longand degrading history of violence againstwomen in the area of sexuality? ... Thetime has come to condemn vigorously thetypes of sexual violence that frequentlyhave women for their object...’ (Pope JohnPaul II).It is important not to confuse trafficking withsmuggling of persons. Smuggling refers to facilitatingthe illegal entry of persons into another State, usually for financial gain and oftenusing false documentation. Unlike trafficked persons, however, those who are smuggledare left free by the people who facilitated their journey. Because of the hiddenand criminal nature of trafficking, reliable and accurate statistics on it are difficult tocompile. The United Nations designates people trafficking as:■ the fastest growing means by which people are enslaved;■■the fastest growing international crime;the third largest source of income for organised crime worldwide, after drugsand arms.It is estimated that every year some 2.5 million persons are trafficked around theworld, involving some €24 billion. Despite the enormity of the sums of money involved,it is alarming to see that some trafficking groups are now switching fromdrugs to human beings in search of high profits at low risk. Drugs, once sold, aregone; persons can be sold and re-sold. In the words of Pope John Paul II: The tradein human persons constitutes a shocking offence against human dignity and a graveviolation of fundamental human rights.23
Page 1 and 2: A BlessingMay the light of yoursoul
Page 3 and 4: FROM THE EDITORAt the beginning of
Page 5 and 6: days of very difficult travelling i
Page 7 and 8: By:Sr. Anne Moore,fmsj.THE TOWN of
Page 9 and 10: 14IT WAS a moment of rare magic,bot
Page 11: 18Mill Hill Jubilees - ContinuedFR.
Page 15 and 16: Mill Hill - TheNext GenerationBy Nz
Page 17 and 18: acceptance of God’s will; a true
Page 19: •It keeps all our friends and sup

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