Minorities in Modern
Societies: Challenges to the Mission
by Fr. Eliseo R. Mercado,Jr.,OMI
Notre Dame University
Reality.
Study
on minority groups is of international significance. There is scarcely a society in the world
today that does not have one or more minority groups within its borders. The minority groups are, often, distinguished
by their language, religion, race and culture.
The emergence of minority groups within one’s border is brought about by
the collapse of borders and frontiers as globalization continues to impact
modern societies everywhere.
The
myth that globalization shall, in time, eradicate cultural differences towards
a more homogeneous culture does not work.
In fact, the emergence of minority consciousness is becoming more wide
spread despite globalization. In a way,
this fact tells us that ethnicity and religion shall continue to be with us,
perhaps even until the end of time.
The
sooner we realize that the world is composed of plural societies, the better we
can come into terms with the good as well as bad effects of globalization. People shall continue to hold on to their own
religion, culture, language and ways.
Understanding plural societies inevitably leads to the realization that
minority groups are also plural.
Common Elements among Minority
Groups.
Given
the pluralism among minority groups in societies, there are, however, common
elements that they all share wherever they are.
Some common elements are identified for our consideration.
First, the minority groups feel, in
large measure, to be “disprivileged”.
Modern societies claim that legislation has, more or less, removed
discriminations against minorities.
However, attitudes and habits of discriminations are still realities
minority groups still confront in their daily lives both in work places and in
their communities as well. This is
exacerbated by problem of language, education, religion and employment
opportunities for the minorities.
Second, the minority groups feel
dominated and oppressed by the majority population. Most often, the minority groups, because of
their distinct race, language, religion and family ways, are treated as
“aliens” at best and “weirdo” at worst, regardless of years of stay in the host
countries.
Third, the minority groups feel the
pressure to change their ways to be accepted.
Their “refusal” to be assimilated into the dominant majority culture is
one of the reasons for their remaining “foreigners”. The other reason is the inability of the
majority culture to recognize and respect differences in communities. There is an unspoken rule in social behavior
that requires the minorities to conform to be accepted. Yet, those who conform still confront the
reality of being treated as second-class citizens. There seems to be very little room to
recognize diversities, especially when these differences do come from Asia,
Africa and Latin America.
Fourth, groups that do not fit into the
national self-image are seen as a source of trouble or insecurity. These groups can be deported anytime by the
state’s power of expulsion. There is the
accepted praxis that minority groups are “tolerated” or are only there on
“sufferance” of the majority. This
springs from the argument that territory is the homeland of the nationality. The link between territory and nationality is
further strengthened by the use of word implying a parental relationship: “Fatherland”, “Mother” Country. The funny thing is the fact that in the
Americas, the indigenous peoples are considered even below the level of other
minority groups, yet historically they were there first!
Possibilities.
Theoretically,
a policy of integration of the minorities into the dominant culture is
possible. Ethnicity, for all its
centrality to the minorities’ sense of themselves, is not a constant. It is negotiable and it is quite possible for
the minorities to maintain their ethnic identities and be active partners in
nation building. In the United States,
the Irish and the Italians, to name a few, are able not only to maintain their
distinct cultures but also to contribute their “uniqueness” in the actual
shaping of the American culture. This is
a concrete case where the dominant culture (the white Anglo-Saxon and Protestant)
has allowed other national cultures (Italian/Irish and Catholic) share fully in
its privileges. Whether this type of
integration is possible for non-white and non-Christian remains to be seen.
On
the whole, globalization, including the all embracing education and the rapid
advances in information technology, shall impact the new shape of power,
economic and social relationships in societies.
As societies and communities and institutions become more knowledge
based ethnicity and its eventual integration will become less problematic. For one thing, national culture and nation
state will completely be undermined as borders and frontiers collapse and as
people, trade and information move more freely and quickly.
The
other possibility is to recognize the fact that minority identity continues to
persist on practical consideration. In a
highly urbanized setting, minority identity is linked to network and customs,
which are important for survival in hostile surroundings. Moreover, minority identity provides network
of relationships and a source of protection which individual finds difficult to
give up without exposing them to great risks.
4. Challenges to the Church.
In
many places of the world the minority groups are considered the new poor. They feel the pressures of the majority group
to conform yet they continue to be treated as aliens or second class
citizens. The minority groups are
further exacerbated by the phenomenon of migrations (legal and illegal). The movement of peoples across borders and
frontiers has resulted to new minority groups in the once upon a time colonial
“mother” countries. These new minorities
are disprivileged in our modern societies.
Often they do not enjoy the protection of the law and are easy prey to
abuse and discrimination.
The
new wave of anti immigrant sentiments, especially those coming from former
colonies, presents a new threat to social integration that respects
diversities. The feeling that the
immigrants whether legal or illegal steal job and opportunities from the
“citizens” is simply not true. They
simply become ready escape goats for the failures of societies to respond to
the needs of citizens.
In
fact, the contribution of migrants to the increasing wealth of the host
countries cannot be underestimated. The
menial jobs as well as the domestic chores that the new migrants assume free a
big segment of modern societies, especially women, for more enterprising and
productive activities. A national strike
of these workers would wreck havoc in the normalcy of many work places in our
modern societies. Yet, their
contribution to the national wealth and growth is never factored in.
They
are unappreciated and are often threatened by violence, abuse and at times
deportation. In the real sense, they are
the new poor and are included in the Oblate Charism to preach the Good News to
the poor. They invite us to be present
among them in their uncertainties, fears and “homelessness” as “undesirable”
aliens.
As
an international missionary congregation with members coming from all parts of
the world, we are privileged to experience diversities of cultures, races and
languages. Our diversities, that is,
coming from many nations, have truly enriched the congregation. These diversities with a common purpose
actually shape our congregational identity as international missionary
society. This very experience
strategically places us wherever we are to effect changes in the appreciation
of cultural diversities that constitute the minorities within our still remaining
national borders. Advocacy for minority
rights is found at the very heart of our Catholicity and international identity
as well. Our call to become Oblates of
Mary Immaculate includes among others the acceptance of pluralism yet forming
one body and a common mission.
In
many parts of the world, our missionaries begin to venture in ministry to the
minorities amid misunderstanding and risk.
In the American provinces, our confreres have, for years, ventured into
apostolate among the Latinos, Afro-Americans, and the First Nations who are now
cultural minorities in the land that was historically theirs. In Europe, our confreres begin to see the
need to minister to the millions of minorities who continue to come from former
colonies. Our “welcome” houses have
veritable become shelters to the homeless and strangers. In both Japan and Hongkong, Christian
missionaries have ministered to the domestic helpers and spouses. In the Philippines, there is a growing involvement
among the Indigenous Peoples and the Moros who have been “minoritized” due to
the unabated migration of Christian Filipinos to Mindanao. This is further exacerbated by the
development thrusts that make Mindanao the new focus of intense developments
upon the establishment of a new East Asean Growth Center involving Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia and Mindanao.
There
is also the desire to do more, that is, to go beyond the usual “welcome” houses
and unsystematic or uneventful contacts with the new poor. There is the hope to enter into
inter-religious dialogues and intercultural exchanges. No doubt, the ministry to the new minorities
will open new possibilities of sharing not only material resources but also
values and character as a Missionary Church dedicated to the evangelization of
the poor and the most abandoned.
In
most cases, the Church will be challenged to exercise her prophetic role to act
and speak for and behalf of minority rights, especially when these are ignored
and wantonly violated or abused. The
Church’s growing and deeper involvement with minorities who are the new poor in
modern societies is at the heart of the discernment processes in retrieving and
regenerating Christian Charism in preparation to face the challenges of the
next millennium. This ministry enhances
the Christian identity as missionary to the poor and become witnesses to the
Catholic character of the Church. In a
very special way, the presence and work among the minorities is a sign of the
eschatological times when what truly matters is not whether they are Jews or
Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised, but they are God’s sons and daughters
in the name of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment