Perennial crops play a valuable role in agricultural economics, as they provide goods for export and jobs for the workforce as well as contribute significantly to economic prosperity at the national level. Vietnam has a high potential for perennial crop development, and thereby achieve an explosive growth in agricultural commodities. In terms of perennial crops, Vietnam now ranks among the top five international exporters of coffee, pepper and cashew. Vietnam is the second-largest producer of coffee worldwide, while it is the leading exporter of pepper globally. In 2018, the planted area of the dominant perennial crops (coffee, pepper, rubber, tea and cashew nut) reached around 2.2 million hectares (ha) nationwide, an increase of 9,000 ha compared to 2017. The Western Highlands has the largest region of perennial crop production with an area of 1.151 million ha. Dak Lak province has favorable conditions of soil (1,450 ha of basaltic soils of volcanic origin, which equals two thirds of the total basaltic soil area nationwide), as well as weather and amount of arable land, which creates an advantageous situation for the culture of perennial crops. Remarkably, the planted area of coffee and pepper dominated production at about 30% of the whole country's production in 2018, respectively. Over the years, perennial crops have changed considerably being usual dynamics of requirements. Despite its advantages and positive development trends, provincial perennial crop production has faced numerous constraints due to price fluctuation, unpredictable climatic trends, and incidence of pests and diseases. Thus, perennial crop production needs further research to ensure more evidence. Based on a systematic survey, focus group discussion, key informant interviews and participatory observation, this research project was undertaken to evaluate the practices and socio-economics of perennial crop systems in Dak Lak province, namely monocultures and intercropping systems. The aims of this project are to understand the distinct stages of perennial crop systems and to identify the socio-economic benefits of different systems concentrating on coffee and pepper crops. Additionally, the remaining aim of the study finds determinants affecting the farm's decision of adoption. The results provide critical references for farmers and policymakers on implementation or decision to plant a particular perennial crop and strategies. The findings show that the type of crop that was planted by the farmers evolved considerably in terms of crop types, crops grown, farm size, type of system and an increase of total cultivated surface. In addition, under driving forces including socio-economic transformation, political changes and ecological movement, perennial crop systems are well changed. Indeed, for many years, perennial crop systems have experienced an evolution through five stages, namely large-scale coffee and rubber plantations; perennial crop systems which are state-owned farms and cooperatives; intensified perennial crop systems; mixed crop systems, and the specialized and diversified perennial crop systems. At present, perennial crop systems are put into practice which take into account climate change, marketing and losses of fertile lands. These systems include monocultures and intercropping, which are two representative models of perennial crop systems which are investigated in this study. Simultaneously, a comparative assessment of the socio-economic benefits between two monocultures (coffee and pepper mono cropping) and an intercropping system (coffee and pepper intercropping) is presented in which the intercropping is more efficient than the monoculture under the context of constraints on key resources, risk and uncertainty. Respectively, intercropping is not only demonstrated to have high economic returns and limitations of economic risk due to the volatile market but also to have the benefits of extended seasonal employment and attraction for women as farmworkers on small farms. In other words, coffee and pepper intercropping is the most desirable option to obtain socio-economic benefits in perennial crop systems. In addition, the classifications in different approaches and groups producing are also organized to clarify these economic performances by cost-benefit analysis. The further results are obtained that intercropped farm approaches, especially in intercropped coffee farms (ICFs) generate more economic earnings than intercropped pepper farms (IPFs) while group producing coffee (GpC) appears to be more appropriate for smallholders than group producing pepper (GpP) does. At the same time, conclusions from binary and multiple logistic regression analysis highlight factors affecting decision-making of farms' decision in adopting. These factors include household characteristics, farm profits and crop profiles. This study supplies information that will allow farmers to develop productive planning with respect to choosing suitable perennial crop systems, and assist policymakers in forming small-scale perennial crop production strategies in Dak Lak province. In addition, the factors highlighted here are taken into account in the development of perennial crops. ; Les cultures pérennes jouent un rôle essentiel dans l'économie agricole, car elles fournissent des biens destinés à l'exportation et des emplois pour la main-d'œuvre, tout en contribuant de manière significative à l'essor économique au niveau national. Le Vietnam a connu un fort potentiel de développement des cultures pérennes, et atteint ainsi une croissance explosive des produits agricoles. En termes de cultures pérennes, le Vietnam se classe désormais parmi les cinq premiers exportateurs internationaux de café, de poivre et de noix de cajou. Le Vietnam est le deuxième producteur mondial de café et le premier exportateur de poivre au monde. Fait remarquable, les superficies plantées en café et en poivre dominent la production, avec respectivement environ 30 % de la production de l'ensemble du pays en 2018. Au fil des ans, les cultures pérennes ont considérablement évolué étant donné la dynamique habituelle des besoins. Malgré ses avantages et les tendances positives de son développement, la production provinciale de cultures pérennes a dû faire face à de nombreuses contraintes dues à la fluctuation des prix, aux tendances climatiques imprévisibles et à l'incidence des parasites et des maladies. Par conséquent, la production de cultures pérennes nécessite des recherches plus approfondies afin d'obtenir davantage de preuves. Sur la base d'une enquête systématique, de discussions de groupe, d'entretiens avec des informateurs clés et d'une observation participative, ce projet de recherche a été entrepris pour évaluer les pratiques et la socio-économie des systèmes de cultures pérennes, à savoir les monocultures et les systèmes de cultures intercalaires. Les objectifs de ce projet sont de comprendre l'évolution des systèmes de cultures pérennes dans le temps et l'espace, et d'identifier les avantages socio-économiques des différents systèmes en se concentrant sur les cultures de café et de poivre. En outre, le dernier objectif de l'étude consiste à trouver les déterminants qui influent sur la décision d'adoption de l'exploitation. Les résultats fournissent des références essentielles aux agriculteurs et aux décideurs politiques sur la mise en œuvre ou la décision de planter une culture pérenne particulière et sur les stratégies à adopter. Les résultats montrent que les cultures pérennes ont considérablement évolué en termes de types de cultures, de cultures cultivées, de taille des exploitations, de types de systèmes et d'augmentation de la surface totale cultivée. En outre, sous l'effet de moteurs tels que la transformation socio-économique, les changements politiques et le mouvement écologique, les systèmes de cultures pérennes ont bien changé. En effet, depuis de nombreuses années, les systèmes de cultures pérennes ont connu une évolution en cinq étapes, à savoir les grandes plantations de café et d'hévéas ; les systèmes de cultures pérennes qui sont des exploitations agricoles d'État et des coopératives ; les systèmes de cultures pérennes intensifiées ; les systèmes de cultures mixtes et les systèmes de cultures pérennes spécialisées et diversifiées. Actuellement, les systèmes de cultures pérennes sont mis en pratique en tenant compte du changement climatique, de la commercialisation et des pertes de terres fertiles. Ces systèmes comprennent les monocultures et les cultures intercalaires, qui sont deux modèles représentatifs des systèmes de cultures pérennes, qui sont étudiés. Simultanément, l'évaluation comparative des avantages socio-économiques entre deux monocultures (monoculture de café et de poivre) et un système de cultures associées (culture intercalaire de café et de poivre) a montré que la culture intercalaire est plus efficace que la monoculture dans le contexte de contraintes sur les ressources clés, de risque et d'incertitude. Il est respectivement démontré que les cultures intercalaires ont non seulement un rendement économique élevé et une limitation du risque économique en raison de la volatilité du marché, mais aussi qu'elles présentent les avantages d'un emploi saisonnier prolongé et qu'elles attirent les femmes en tant que travailleuses agricoles dans les petites exploitations. En d'autres termes, la culture intercalaire du café et du poivre est l'option la plus souhaitable pour obtenir des avantages socio-économiques dans les systèmes de cultures pérennes. En outre, les classifications dans les différentes approches et groupes de production sont également organisées pour clarifier ces performances économiques par une analyse coût-avantage. Les autres résultats obtenus montrent que les approches de cultures intercalaires, en particulier les plantations intercalaires de café (ICF), génèrent plus de revenus économiques que les plantations intercalaires de poivrons (IPF), tandis que la production groupée de café (GpC) semble plus appropriée pour les petits exploitants que la production groupée de poivrons (GpP). Dans le même temps, les conclusions de l'analyse de régression logistique binaire et multiple mettent en évidence les facteurs qui influent sur la prise de décision concernant l'adoption des exploitations. Ces facteurs comprennent les caractéristiques des ménages, les bénéfices des exploitations agricoles et les profils des cultures. Cette étude fournit des informations qui permettront aux agriculteurs de développer une planification productive en ce qui concerne le choix de systèmes de cultures pérennes appropriés, et d'aider les décideurs politiques à élaborer des stratégies de production de cultures pérennes à petite échelle à Dak Lak. En outre, les facteurs mis en évidence ici sont pris en compte dans le développement des cultures pérennes.
It is clear that the important role of labor migration in development reflected through the impacts of remittance currently exists in many countries around the world. The complexed nature of migration that needs to interpret in a dynamic context and a changing society. Reviewing literature demonstrates the discourses of the motives of migration across many migration theories. Then, there are plenty of discussions of the motives of migration added from empirical research. However, there is still a lack of literature that requires discussion on why the domestic migrants leave their homes to work at places considered as exploitative and degrading, like industrial zones. In addition, migration is understood as an in and out process. Attempts have been made to explain the motive of out-migration, but few ones focus on return migration. Furthermore, existing literature focuses more on international return migration than internal return migration and the theories of return migration are subject to various debates. Since 1975, after the reunion of Vietnam, the government enforced a policy to restructure the population which led to inter-province migration. Many studies have been conducted on migration ever since, but few focused on return migration. This research survey 310 migrant workers in Que Vo and Yen Phong industrial zones of Bac Ninh province, and 68 returnees in Van Thang commune, Nong Cong district, Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam. Face to face interviews with two designed questionnaires have been applied to those samples. One is for migrant workers and the other is for returnees. Besides, some qualitative methods are also applied for supplementing the data collected by the questionnaires. Through those principle methods, this study found that the motives of migrant workers are complex. Push and pull theory by itself is not enough to explain these motives. The addition of the new economic theory of migration labor has made the explanation of migration motives more complete. Also, the research illustrated that the factors pushing rural people outmigration are, firstly, the local shortage of non-agricultural jobs, causing migrant workers to find alternatives in Bac Ninh industrial zones. More importantly, there is a shortage of cash for daily consumption. This itself, agricultural production, a prominent feature of rural areas, cannot be solved. Interestingly, the economic status of the household before the migration is not considered clearly as a push factor. But, migration to industrial zones is the rural youths' way of life. Experiencing in these zones aspires those people due to a life different from the areas of origin, acted as a pull factor. Furthermore, migrant workers are all attracted by high labor demand that created easier access to employment in the industrial zones of Bac Ninh. This study also found that social network acts as both push and pull factor for immigrating to the industrial zones. Furthermore, it revealed that migrant workers, a major labor force for industrial zones, now face challenges created by the unstable model of development. The sustainability of the development of industrial zones in Bac Ninh is threatened by the fact that these zones follow the footloose of their development model exposed in the 1990s. Additionally, this study found that migrant workers in industrial zones in Bac Ninh faced a trade-off between accepting a hard life and accumulating capitals as well as experiences for an expected better one afterward. Furthermore, the migration undertaken by migrant workers in industrial zones of Bac Ninh seems to be circular. Regarding return migration, this study demonstrated that the motive to return not only results from potential failures related to the increased living costs of the future married life but also associates with children left behind at the home village with stayers. Returnees are all driven by a filial obligation to their parents, shaped by the norms or culture of the home community. Non-farm employment opportunities around home villages are more of a motive to return for single migrants. This study also found that women play an important role in agriculture development in Van Thang. This sector is likely a buffer for the negative impacts of the return while the returnees seek better nonfarm employment around their home villages. ; Il est clair que le rôle important de la migration de la main-d'œuvre dans le développement, qui se reflète dans les effets des transferts de fonds, existe actuellement dans de nombreux pays du monde. La nature complexe de la migration doit être interprétée dans un contexte dynamique au sein d'une société en mutation. Une analyse de la littérature permet de mettre en évidence les motifs des migrations au travers de nombreuses théories. Par ailleurs, de nombreuses recherches empiriques ont été intégrées aux débats sur les causes des migrations. Cependant, il existe toujours un manque de littérature au sujet des raisons pour lesquelles les migrants domestiques quittent leurs foyers pour travailler dans des sites considérés comme abusifs et dégradants, tels que les zones industrielles. En outre, la notion de migration est considérée comme un processus d'entrée et de sortie. Certains ont tenté d'expliquer le motif de l'émigration, mais peu d'entre eux se concentrent sur celle du retour. De plus, la littérature existante se concentre davantage sur la migration de retour internationale que sur la migration de retour interne et les théories de la migration de retour font l'objet de divers débats. Depuis 1975, après la réunification du Vietnam, le gouvernement a appliqué une politique de réorganisation de la population qui a conduit à une migration interprovinciale. Depuis lors, de nombreuses études ont été menées sur la migration, mais peu d'entre elles se sont concentrées sur la migration de retour. Cette étude porte sur 310 travailleurs migrants dans les zones industrielles de Que Vo et Yen Phong de la province de Bac Ninh, et 68 rapatriés dans la commune de Van Thang, district de Nong Cong, province de Thanh Hoa au Vietnam. Des entretiens en tête à tête avec deux questionnaires spécifiques ont été appliqués à ces échantillons, l'un étant destiné aux travailleurs migrants et l'autre aux rapatriés. Par ailleurs, certaines méthodes qualitatives sont également appliquées pour compléter les données collectées par les questionnaires. Grâce à ces méthodes, cette étude a montré que les motivations des travailleurs migrants sont complexes. La théorie du "push and pull" ne suffit pas à elle seule à expliquer ces motivations. L'ajout de la nouvelle théorie économique de la main-d'œuvre migrante a rendu l'explication des motifs de migration plus complète. De plus, cette recherche a montré que les facteurs qui poussent les populations rurales à quitter le pays sont, en premier lieu, la pénurie locale d'emplois non agricoles, qui pousse les travailleurs migrants à trouver des alternatives dans les zones industrielles de Bac Ninh. Plus important encore, il y a une pénurie d'argent liquide pour la consommation de tous les jours. Ce problème ne peut être résolu par la production agricole, qui est une caractéristique importante des zones rurales. Il est intéressant de noter que le statut économique du ménage avant la migration n'est pas considéré comme un facteur de motivation. Toutefois, la migration vers les zones industrielles est devenue le mode de vie des jeunes ruraux. Le fait de vivre dans ces zones suscite des aspirations chez ces derniers en raison de la possibilité de mener une vie différente de celle de leur région d'origine, ce qui constitue un facteur incitatif au départ. En outre, les travailleurs migrants sont tous attirés par la forte demande de main-d'œuvre qui a créé un accès plus facile à l'emploi dans les zones industrielles de Bac Ninh. Cette étude a également montré que le réseau social agit à la fois comme un facteur d'incitation et d'attraction pour immigrer vers les zones industrielles. Elle a également révélé que les travailleurs migrants, qui constituent une main-d'œuvre importante pour les zones industrielles, sont maintenant confrontés aux défis engendrés par le modèle de développement instable. La durabilité du développement des zones industrielles de Bac Ninh est menacée par le fait que ces zones suivent le modèle de développement instable apparu dans les années 1990. Par ailleurs, cette étude a montré que les travailleurs migrants des zones industrielles de Bac Ninh sont confrontés à un compromis entre l'acceptation d'une vie dure et l'accumulation de capitaux et d'expériences pour une vie meilleure par la suite. En outre, la migration entreprise par les travailleurs migrants dans les zones industrielles de Bac Ninh semble être une migration circulaire. En ce qui concerne la migration de retour, cette étude a démontré que le motif du retour ne résulte pas seulement des échecs potentiels liés à l'augmentation du coût de la vie de la future vie conjugale, mais également des liens entre les enfants laissés au village d'origine et les personnes qui restent. Les migrants de retour sont tous motivés par une obligation filiale envers leurs parents, façonnée par les normes ou la culture de la communauté d'origine. Les possibilités d'emploi non agricole autour des villages d'origine sont davantage un motif de retour pour les migrants célibataires. Cette étude a également montré que les femmes jouent un rôle important dans le développement de l'agriculture à Van Thang. Ce secteur est probablement un tampon pour les impacts négatifs du retour, tandis que les rapatriés cherchent de meilleurs emplois non agricoles autour de leurs villages d'origine.
학위논문(박사)--서울대학교 대학원 :보건대학원 보건학과(보건학전공),2020. 2. 조성일. ; 연구의 배경과 목적 인간면역결핍바이러스 (Human Immunodeficiency virus, HIV) 감염은 성매개감염의 일종이고 만성 감염이다. 1985년 첫 환자가 보고된 이후 한국에서 HIV 감염인 수는 지속적으로 증가하고 있다. HIV 감염 관리를 위해서는 진단과 치료, 유지의 각각의 단계가 원활하게 이루어지는 것이 필요하며, UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) 에서는 90-90-90 target을 목표로 하여 감염자의 90%를 진단하고, 그 중 90%를 치료하며, 90%를 바이러스가 억제된 상태로 유지하자는 계획을 세웠다. 이후 여러 나라에서 목표를 성취했다는 보고가 발표되었지만 한국에서는 아직 HIV 감염에 대한 정확한 역학 통계가 알려져 있지 않다. 한국에서 HIV 감염은 질병관리본부에서 전수 조사를 하고 있지만, 감염 사실만을 조사하고 있어 이후의 약제 복용이나 순응도에 대한 분석을 할 수 없다. 한편 한국은 국가단일 건강보험 체계를 가지고 있고, HIV 치료는 건강 보험으로 대부분 급여 진료가 행해지므로 HIV 감염인의 병원 내원과 약제 처방을 국가 전수조사 할 수 있다. 이 연구는 건강보험 청구자료를 이용하여 HIV 감염인의 국내 역학을 파악하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 세부적으로는, (1) 건강보험 청구자료를 분석하여 국내 HIV 감염인의 숫자와 역학적 특성을 기술한다. (2) 약물 소지 비율 (medication possession ratio)을 이용하여 국내 HIV 감염인의 항레트로바이러스 약물 순응도를 평가하고, 낮은 약물 순응도와 관련이 있는 인자를 알아본다. (3) 국내 HIV-매독 중복감염 현황을 건강 보험 청구자료를 분석하여 알아보고, 약물 순응도가 HIV-매독 중복감염에 미치는 영향을 평가한다. 연구 방법 (1) 건강보험 청구자료에서 수집된 2007년부터 2015년까지 HIV 진단을 받고 HIV 치료를 위해 반드시 필요한 검사를 한 사람을 연구 대상으로 정의하였다. 후천성면역결핍증후군 (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; AIDS)는 AIDS 관련 진단이 있거나 예방적 화학요법을 받는 경우로 정의하였다. 확인된 HIV 감염인의 수를 질병관리본부의 보고서와 비교하였다. (2) 건강보험 청구자료에서 확인된 2007년부터 2016년까지 HIV 진단을 받고 항레트로바이러스 복합 처방이 있는 HIV 감염인을 확인하고, 2009년부터 2016년까지 신규 감염인을 연구 대상으로 하였다. 약물 소지비율을 평가하여 95%이상 높은 약물 순응도를 보이는 대상자의 분율을 확인하고, 낮은 약물 순응도와 연관되는 인자를 확인하였다. (3) 건강보험 청구자료에서 확인된 2008년부터 2016년까지의 신규 감염인을 연구 대상으로 하였다. HIV 감염인 중 매독 진단과 치료 약제 처방이 있는 매독 중복감염 환자를 확인하였다. 대상자의 인구학적 특성과 95% 이상의 높은 약물 순응도를 보이는 환자의 비율을 중복 감염 여부를 기준으로 비교하였다. 결과 (1) 건강보험 청구자료와 질병관리본부 보고서는 HIV 감염인 수에서 10% 정도의 차이를 보였다. 그러나 나이와 성별 추이는 연간 누적 환자와 신규 환자에서 모두 비슷한 양상을 보였다. 특히 질병관리본부 보고서에서는 상당 수의 환자에서 CD4 세포 수를 확인할 수 없었던 반면에 건강보험 청구자료에서는 예방적 화학요법 처방을 이용하여 CD4 세포수가 200/mm3 미만인 환자의 수를 확인하였다. (2) 8,501 명의 신규 HIV 감염인 중에서 70.4%의 환자가 약물소지비율 95% 이상의 높은 약물 순응도를 보였다. 예방적 화학요법, 여성, 20-29세 또는 50세 이상의 나이, 악성 종양의 과거력, 낮은 사회경제적 상황, 3차 병원 이외의 종류의 병원 진료, 그리고 상대적으로 과거에 진단되는 경우가 낮은 약물 순응도와 관련이 있었다 (각각 Odds ratio 1.7, 1.6, 1.6, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 1.2, 1.6 to 3.8). (3) 9,393 명의 신규 HIV 감염인 중 4,536 (48.3%)가 매독 중복감염으로 치료 받았다. 높은 약물 순응도는 HIV-매독 중복감염과 통계적인 연관이 있었다 (odds ratio 1.18; 95% confidence interval 1.08–1.30; P=0.001). 이외에 남성, 세균/원충 성매개감염, 그리고 생식기 단순포진바이러스 감염 또한 HIV-매독 중복감염과 연관이 있었다. 결론 (1) 첫 번째 연구는 건강보험 청구자료를 HIV 감염인의 역학연구에 활용할 수 있다는 것을 기술하고 있다. 질병관리본부 보고서는 전체 국내 HIV 감염인의 수에 대한 통계를 제공하며, 건강보험 청구자료는 이들의 병원 진료 현황을 보여준다. 특히 본 연구를 통해 AIDS 환자에 대한 추가적인 정보를 알 수 있다. 건강보험 청구자료와 질병관리본부 보고서의 두 가지 자료를 종합하여 이용하면 진단된 HIV 감염인을 치료로 연계하는 것에 도움을 받을 수 있다. 두 가지 자료를 종합하여 HIV 감염인 관리 체계를 구축할 수 있을 것이다. (2) 두 번째 연구는 건강보험 청구자료를 분석하여 이상적인 약물 순응도를 보이는 국내 HIV 감염인의 분율을 기술하고 있다. 연구 결과에 따르면 우리나라에서 항레트로바이러스 약물을 복용하는 환자들의 높은 약물 순응도를 보이는 비율은 다른 선진국과 비교했을 때에 양호하다. 낮은 약물 순응도와 관련이 있는 여성과 10대 그룹에는 약물 순응도를 높이기 위한 관심이 필요하다. (3) 세 번째 연구는 국내 HIV-매독 중복감염의 현황을 기술하고 있다. 높은 약물 순응도는 오히려 매독 중복감염과 관련이 있어 HIV 바이러스 억제가 되는 상태에서도 콘돔을 사용한 안전한 성관계에 대한 강조가 여전히 필요하다. ; Introduction and Objective Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a sexually-transmissible chronic infection, the occurrence of which has increased continuously in Korea. Each step of the diagnosis, engagement in antiretroviral therapy (ART), and care maintenance is necessary to control an HIV infection. However, epidemiological data on the achievement of these steps are not well-established in Korea. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of HIV infection in Korea, using nationwide claims data from the Korean National Health Insurance database. The objectives are as follows: (1) To identify the number of annual HIV infections and their epidemiological characteristics in Korea through an analysis of the national claims data and evaluate the usefulness of these data for an epidemiological study of HIV infection in Korea. (2) To identify medication adherence for ART among those diagnosed with HIV in Korea and determine risk factors for suboptimal adherence via the medication possession ratio (MPR). (3) To identify the percentage of HIV-syphilis coinfection in Korea and risk factors for HIV-syphilis coinfection by using national claims data. Methods (1) Using the National Health Institute database, we established two surveillance systems to yield the prevalence and incidence of HIV infection in Korea from 2007 to 2015. We then compared these results to those reported in the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) registry, based on positive laboratory tests. (2) We estimated ART adherence among incident HIV-infected individuals and investigated factors affecting low medication adherence using the national health insurance claims data from 2007 to 2016. The MPR was used to measure medication adherence and risk factors for suboptimal adherence were identified by multivariable logistic regression analysis. (3) This study was retrospective in nature, using the claims database of the NHI system from 2008 to 2016. The clinical characteristics of people living with HIV with or without syphilis coinfection were analyzed. People with HIV and syphilis coinfection were divided into two groups based on an MPR cutoff of 95%: an optimal ART adherence group and a suboptimal ART adherence group. Results (1) The number of patients who visited hospitals recorded in the KCDC registry differed by about 10%. However, age and sex trends by year were comparable to the number of existing and newly diagnosed cases reported by the KCDC. In particular, the claims data provided a more accurate estimate of the number of patients with a CD4-positive T cell count of less than 200/mm3, while much of those data were missing in the KCDC registry. (2) Of the 8,501 newly diagnosed HIV-infected individuals identified during 2009-2016 with at least one ART prescription, 5,981 (70.4%) patients had adequate adherence to ART (defined as MPR ≥ 95%). Women (odds ratio [OR] 1.6), age under 20 and same or over 50 compared to 30–39 (OR 1.6, 1.4), a history of malignancy (OR 1.6), lower socioeconomic status (OR 1.2), not visiting a tertiary-level hospital (OR 1.2), and being diagnosed in the earlier years (OR for 2009 3.7-2015 1.7) were found to be risk factors for lower adherence. (3) Of the 9,393 people living with HIV, 4,536 (48.3%) were diagnosed with a syphilis coinfection. Optimal adherence to ART was independently associated with a syphilis coinfection (OR 1.18; 95% confidence interval 1.08–1.30; P=0.001). Male gender, having a bacterial or protozoan sexually transmitted disease, and having a genital herpes viral infection were also identified as risk factors for an HIV-syphilis coinfection. An HIV-syphilis coinfection was still associated with an optimal adherence >95% to ART even after the definition of syphilis infection has been limited since the diagnosis of HIV infection. Conclusions (1) The first study found that the claims data are valuable in estimating the epidemiology of people living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome visiting the hospital. The KCDC registry reports the total number of people living with HIV and the claims data shows their hospital visits. A combination of the two databases can be used as a tool to connect diagnosed people living with HIV to the treatment they require. We suggest building a matched HIV surveillance system linking the claims data and the nationwide registry built by the government. (2) The results from the second study indicate that health authorities should take modifiable and unmodifiable barriers into consideration, in order to establish a sustainable monitoring system at the national level and to improve adherence. (3) The results from the third study suggest that the occurrence of unsafe sex is independent of medication adherence. Although HIV is unlikely to be transmitted when the viral load is controlled, consistent use of condoms is needed to prevent a syphilis infection. ; Abstract 1 Contents 6 List of Tables 8 List of Figures 10 Chapter 1. Introduction 11 Chapter 2. Usefulness of the Korean National Health Insurance database in establishing surveillance systems of treatment cascade for HIV infection 19 2-1. Introduction 20 2-2. Materials and Methods 21 2-3. Results 28 2-4. Discussion 39 Chapter 3. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy and factors affecting low medication adherence among incident HIV-infected individuals during 2009–2016: A nationwide study 45 3-1. Introduction 46 3-2. Materials and Methods 47 3-3. Results 53 3-4. Discussion 65 Chapter 4. Association of HIV-syphilis coinfection with optimal antiretroviral adherence: A nation-wide claims study 72 4-1. Introduction 73 4-2. Materials and Methods 75 4-3. Results 79 4-4. Discussion 87 Chapter 5. Discussion and Conclusion 91 References 98 Abstract in Korean 104 ; Doctor
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In 2020, 146,063 deaths due to pancreatic cancer are estimated to occur in Europe and the United States combined. To identify common susceptibility alleles, we performed the largest pancreatic cancer GWAS to date, including 9040 patients and 12,496 controls of European ancestry from the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium (PanScan) and the Pancreatic Cancer Case-Control Consortium (PanC4). Here, we find significant evidence of a novel association at rs78417682 (7p12/TNS3, P = 4.35 × 10-8). Replication of 10 promising signals in up to 2737 patients and 4752 controls from the PANcreatic Disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium yields new genome-wide significant loci: rs13303010 at 1p36.33 (NOC2L, P = 8.36 × 10-14), rs2941471 at 8q21.11 (HNF4G, P = 6.60 × 10-10), rs4795218 at 17q12 (HNF1B, P = 1.32 × 10-8), and rs1517037 at 18q21.32 (GRP, P = 3.28 × 10-8). rs78417682 is not statistically significantly associated with pancreatic cancer in PANDoRA. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis in three independent pancreatic data sets provides molecular support of NOC2L as a pancreatic cancer susceptibility gene. ; This work was supported by RO1 CA154823, the Lustgarten Foundation, and federal funds from the NCI, US NIH under contract number HHSN261200800001E. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the US government. Geno-typing Services were provided by the CIDR and the NCIs CGR. CIDR is fully funded through a federal contract from the NIH to the Johns Hopkins University, contract number HHSN268201100011I. The IARC/Central Europe study was supported by a grant from the US NCI at the NIH (R03 CA123546-02) and grants from the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (NR 9029-4/2006, NR9422-3, NR9998-3, and MH CZ- DRO-MMCI 00209805). The work at Johns Hopkins University was supported by the NCI Grants P50CA062924 and R01CA97075. Additional support was provided by, Susan Wojcicki, and Dennis Troper, and the Sol Goldman Pancreas Cancer Research Center. The Mayo Clinic Biospecimen Resource for Pancreas Research study is supported by the Mayo Clinic SPORE in Pancreatic Cancer (P50 CA102701). The Memorial Sloan Ket- tering Cancer Center Pancreatic Tumor Registry is supported by P30CA008748, the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, the Arnold and Arlene Goldstein Family, Foundation, and the Society of MSKCC. The PACIFIC Study was supported by RO1CA102765, Kaiser Permanente, and Group Health Cooperative. The Queensland Pancreatic Cancer Study was supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC; Grant number 442302). R.E.N. is supported by a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (#1060183). The UCSF pancreas study was supported by NIH-NCI grants (R01CA1009767, R01CA109767-S1, and R0CA059706) and the Joan Rombauer Pancreatic Cancer Fund. Collection of cancer incidence data was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting pro- gram; the NCIs SEER Program under contract HSN261201000140C awarded to CPIC; and the CDCs National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement #U58DP003862-01 awarded to the California Department of Public Health. The Yale (CT) pancreas cancer study is supported by NCI at the U.S. NIH, grant 5R01CA098870. The cooperation of 30 Connecticut hospitals, including Stamford Hospital, in allowing patient access is gratefully acknowledged. The Connecticut Pancreas Cancer Study was approved by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health Human Investigation Committee. Certain data used in that study were obtained from the Connecticut Tumor Registry in the Connecticut Department of Public Health. The authors assume full responsibility for analyses and interpretation of these data. Studies included in PAN- DoRA were partly funded by the Czech Science Foundation (No. P301/12/1734), the Internal Grant Agency of the Czech Ministry of Health (IGA NT 13 263); the Baden- Württemberg State Ministry of Research, Science and Arts (Professor H. Brenner), the Heidelberger EPZ-Pancobank (Professor M.W. Büchler and team: Professor T. Hackert, Dr. N. A. Giese, Dr. Ch. Tjaden, E. Soyka, M. Meinhardt; Heidelberger. Stiftung Chir- urgie and BMBF grant 01GS08114), the BMBH (Professor P. Schirmacher; BMBF grant 01EY1101), the " 5 × 1000 " voluntary contribution of the Italian Government, the Italian Ministry of Health (RC1203GA57, RC1303GA53, RC1303GA54, and RC1303GA50), the Italian Association for Research on Cancer (Professor A. Scarpa; AIRC n. 12182), the Italian Ministry of Research (Professor A. Scarpa; FIRB - RBAP10AHJB), the Italian FIMP-Ministry of Health (Professor A. Scarpa; 12 CUP_J33G13000210001), and by the National Institute for Health Research Liverpool Pancreas Biomedical Research Unit, UK. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Frederike Dijk and Professor Oliver Busch (Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Assistance with genotype data quality control was provided by Cecelia Laurie and Cathy Laurie at the University of Washington Genetic Analysis Center. The American Cancer Society (ACS) funds the creation, maintenance, and updating of the Cancer Prevention Study II cohort. Cancer incidence data for CLUE were provided by the Maryland Cancer Registry, Center for Cancer Surveillance and Control, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 201 W. Preston Street, Room 400, Baltimore, MD 21201, http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/ cancer , 410-767-4055. We acknowledge the State of Maryland, the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund, and the National Program of Cancer Registries of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the funds that support the collection and availability of the cancer registry data. We thank all the CLUE participants. The Melbourne Col- laborative Cohort Study (MCCS) recruitment was funded by VicHealth and Cancer Council Victoria. The MCCS was further supported by Australian NHMRC grants 209057 and 396414 and by the infrastructure provided by Cancer Council Victoria. Cases and their vital status were ascertained through the Victorian Cancer Registry and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, including the National Death Index and the Australian Cancer Database. The NYU study (AZJ and AAA) was funded by NIH R01 CA098661, UM1 CA182934 and center grants P30 CA016087 and P30 ES000260. The PANKRAS II Study in Spain was supported by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FEDER, Spain: Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS; #PI13/00082 and #PI15/01573) and Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer, Spain (#RD12/ 0036/0050); and European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Action #BM1204: EU_Pancreas), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT SAF 2000-0097), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (95/0017), Madrid, Spain; Generalitat de Catalunya(CIRIT—SGR);"Red temática de investigación cooperativa de centros en Cáncer (C03/10),"Red temática de investigación cooperativa de centros en Epidemiología y salud pública(C03/09), and CIBER de Epidemiología (CIBERESP), Madrid. The Physicians 'Health Study was supported by research grants CA-097193, CA-34944, CA-40360, HL- 26490, and HL-34595 from the NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. The Womens Health Study was supported by research grants CA-047988, HL-043851, HL-080467, and HL-099355 from the NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. Health Professionals Follow-up Study is supported by NIH grant UM1 CA167552 from the NCI, Bethesda, MD, USA. Nurses ' Health Study is supported by NIH grants UM1 CA186107, P01 CA87969, and R01 CA49449 from the NCI, Bethesda, MD, USA. Additional support from the Hale Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, U01 CA21017 from the NCI, Bethesda, MD, USA, and the United States Department of Defense CA130288, Lustgarten Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Noble Effort Fund, Peter R. Leavitt Family Fund, Wexler Family Fund, and Promises for Purple to B.M. Wolpin is acknowledged. The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through contracts HHSN268201600018C, HHSN268201600001C, HHSN268201600002C, HHSN268201600003C, and HHSN268201600004C. The authors thank the WHI investigators and staff for their dedication, and the study participants for making the program possible. A full listing of WHI investigators can be found at http://www.whi.org/researchers/Documents%20%20Write%20a%20Paper/WHI%20Investigator%20Long%20List.pdf . We thank Laurie Burdett, Aurelie Vogt, BelyndaHicks, Amy Hutchinson, Meredith Yeager, and other staff at the NCI's Division ofEpidemiology and Genetics (DECG) CGR for GWAS genotyping. We also thank Bao Tran, Jyoti Shetty, and other members of the NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Sequencing Facility for sequencing RNA from histologically normal pancreatic tissue samples (LTG samples). This study utilized the high-performance computational cap- abilities of the Biowulf Linux cluster at the NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA (http://biowulf.nih.gov). The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project was supported by the Common Fund of the Office of the Director of the NIH, and by NCI, NHGRI, NHLBI, NIDA, NIMH, and NINDS. The data used for the analyses described in this manuscript were obtained from the pancreatic tissue data from the GTEx Portal on 05/04/17. The results published here are in part based upon data generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) managed by the NCI and NHGRI. Information about TCGA can be found at http://cancergenome.nih.gov/. We acknowledge the clinical contributors that provided PDAC samples and the data producers of RNA-seq and GWAS genotype data from TCGA Research Network. The data set used for the analyses described in this manuscript was obtained by formal permission through the TCGA Data Access Committee (DAC) ; Sí
This dissertation tries to present a critical analysis of conflicts over contested forms of urban transformation and urban policies in the metropolitan area of Rome and Berlin (comparative analysis developed in co-tutoring research thesis). In particular it focuses on the reclaiming of the "right to the city" debate that is witnessing a renewed interest, among urban social movements and academics, due to what happened in the streets, among the urban social movements, in the "rebel cities" (Harvey, 2012), in the last decade. The conflicts selected for the two compared city contexts took place over contested "indeterminate territories" and "urban voids." As yet "indeterminate," these places allow unveiling the generative conflict on different meanings of the city. In these processes the "urban void" plays a key role because, according to Borret (2009), the "empty" can be seen as a productive element in the urban public space, as it is not tied to a single interpretation or intention. The bottom-up and grassroots practices proposed, experimented, developed over these spaces are intended as strategy of resistance/opposition to not-negotiated politics in a framework of economic crisis and urban austerity increasingly producing side effects including gentrification and social exclusion and the welfare state crisis. In response to this the movements of insurgent citizenship are organized in many forms: from tenants' organizations activists, who oppose gentrification and evictions in former working class neighbourhoods of Berlin (Holm, 2010) and calling for more public policies capable to combat speculation and address disinvestment in the subsidized housing sector; to movements of housing struggle in Rome claiming the access to more affordable places in the context of the strong housing crisis; to autonomous movements subtracting spaces from the capitalist logic of the market competitiveness and the speculation (in the case of Berlin and Rome) for living and for social, political, artistic and recreational activities (Membretti, 2003; Holm, Kuhn, 2011; Pruijt, 2012); to urban social movements trying to oppose the privatization of parts of the city considered a "common good", using various state-driven mechanisms to advance their causes against civic policies, projects, and regulatory measures, that are considered detrimental to the city's public space, such as the groups of citizens reclaiming co-/self-managed public spaces and services (e.g. Gualini, Majoor, 2007, for Amsterdam; Gualini, 2008, for Berlin; Pask, 2010 in the case of Vancouver; Teatro Valle, 2012, in the case of Rome; Vitale, 2007 and Gualini 2014 several cases). In summary, the limits of urbanism based on competitive growth and profit have been emphasized by numerous critical and theoretical practices that have developed theories capable of analysing the issue to a higher level of argumentations, including systemic and ideological aspects, from the point of view of all the actors involved. These intellectual resources, can be useful «for those institutions, movements and actors aiming [.] to promote alternative forms of urbanism, radically democratic, socially just and sustainable» (Brenner, Marcuse, Mayer, 2009). The interesting element is the capacity of these communities to propose, experiment and develop, through forms of social struggles and collective/cooperative action, alternatives to what are considered as unsustainable strategies of urban transformations (mostly based on the substitution/reduction of public resources), analysing power relationships, negotiation of conflicts and participation in institutional planning practice. Doing so, some of these forms of spatial contestation, such as the "transitional reappropriated spaces" (Growth and Corijn, 2005) –on which the research focus- have shown in recent years a programmatic capacity and a proactive potential in suggesting and implementing "Public Policies from the Bottom" (Paba, 2010): e.g. "banking and financial policies" through the activation of forms of microcredit; "training and educational policies" offering a wide range of free or very affordable courses; "policies of management and recycling of waste, housing policies, policies to support youth and women entrepreneurship, policies addressing the problems of immigration, cultural and sports policies"; "architectural heritage renewal policies", and others. These two European cities have faced so a renewed interest in the phenomenon of "reclaiming" of urban physical spaces that was carried on by social movements and wilfully appropriated by citizens using "appropriation" as a legitimate tactic of protest. Moreover, these radical participated practices have been a tool that enables experimentation and implementation of grassroots alternatives embodying a series of dynamics of "insurgent (re)appropriation" of urban space and self-production and provision of collective resources. Doing so, these informal actors and grassroots groups, organized in new forms of urban social movements, experimenting more progressive understanding of the mechanisms of space and social reproduction, started reclaiming the idea of "commons" and together with it the role that a third subject, a collective subject (different from a single private investor or the State and public institutions), could play in a direct management of what are intended to be collective properties/resources. In the two cities contexts analysed citizens have implemented a set of new strategies. Among them: new forms of self-help collective housing, self-/co-managed public spaces and the definition of urban commons. The research analyse some relevant cases of insurgent reappropriation/reclaiming of urban public spaces making a comparison between two cities historically characterized by organized forms of social struggle and grassroots transitional space reappropriations. Which is the value of such alternative experiences? Can these grass-root experiments of self-management and DIY renovation contribute to the production of new operative strategies for: public housing stock; heritage management; alternative forms of welfare; the development of more sustainable urban transformation practices and public space management? Analysing the evolution of the same pattern in forms of contestation, it permits to investigate how/if these practices have stand the chance to be facilitated, hampered, or co-opted, during the time and how each of these have had/can have an impact upon contemporary policymaking in political economy and if they have been/can be able to influence a change in the welfare policies and urban agenda. ; Diese Dissertation versucht, eine kritische Analyse von Konflikten unstrittener Erscheinungsformen städtischer Transformation und Politik im metropolitanem Raum von Rom und Berlin zu präsentieren (vergleichende Analyse entwickelt im gemeinsamen Tutoring der Forschungsthese). Der Fokus dieser Dissertation liegt insbesondere auf dem Zurückerobern (Reclaiming) der "Recht auf Stadt"-Debatte, die ein erneuertes Interesse unter städtischen sozialen Bewegungen und Akademiker*innen erweckt und beobachtet, basierend auf Protesten in den Strassen und der Entwicklung der sozialen Bewegungen der letzten Dekade in den "rebellischen Städten" (Harvey, 2012). Die analysierten Konflikten in den zwei vergleichenden Städten finden auf umstrittenen "ungeklärten/unbestimmten Territorien" und verlassenen, leer stehenden Räumen und Grundstücken statt. "Unbestimmte Territorien" offenbaren den generativen Konflikt unterschiedlicher Bedeutung und Interessen der Stadt. In diesen spielen die leer stehenden Gebäude und Orte eine besondere Rolle, weil, laut Borret (2009), das Leere als ein produktives Element im städtischen öffentlichen Raum gedeutet und gesehen werden kann, nicht gebunden und vordefiniert an eine einzige Interpretation oder Absicht. Die in diesen Räumen vorgeschlagenen, entwickelten, ausprobierten Praktiken der Basisbewegungen können als Strategie von Widerstand und Opposition gegen eine (nicht ausgehandelte) Politik im Rahmen der ökonomischen Krise und städtischen Austerität mit zunehmenden Auswirkungen wie Gentrifizierung, sozialer Exklusion und Krise des Sozialstaates, gesehen werden. Als Antwort darauf haben sich die rebellischen Bürger*innen Bewegungen (insurgent citizenship) auf vielfältige Weise organisiert: von Mieter*innen/Aktivist*innen Organisationen, die der Gentrifizierung und den (Zwangs)-Räumungen in den ehemaligen Arbeiter*innenvierteln Berlins widerstehen (Holm, 2010) und zu mehr öffentlicher Politik auffordern, die fähig sei, der Spekulation sowie der Desinvestition im subventionierten Wohnungsbausektor entgegen zutreten; bis hin zu Bewegungen der Wohnungskämpfe (housing struggle) in Rom, die Zugang zu mehr bezahlbarem Wohnraum im Kontext der Wohnungsmarktkrise fordern; autonomen Bewegungen, die Orte und Räume aus der kapitalistischen Logik der Marktwettbewerbfähigkeit und der Spekulation für Wohnraum (an den Beispielen von Berlin und Rom), soziale, politische, künstlerische und Erholungsaktivitäten herausbrechen (Membretti, 2003; Holm, Kuhn, 2011; Pruijt, 2012); und städtischen sozialen Bewegungen, die versuchen, der Privatisierung von Teilen der Stadt, was als Allgemeingut verstanden wird, zu widerstehen - in Form unterschiedlicher staatlich bedingter Mechanismen, um deren Anliegen, was als schädlich gegenüber dem öffentlichen städtischen Raum betrachtet wird, gegen staatliche Politik, Projekte und Regulatorien zu untermauern, wie die Gruppen von Bürger*innen, die co-/selbst-organisierte öffentliche Räume und Service zurückerobern (z.B. Gualini, Majoor, 2007, für Amsterdam; Gualini, 2008, für Berlin; Pask, 2010 für Vancouver; Teatro Valle, 2012, für Rom; Vitale, 2007 und Gualini 2014 in einigen Fällen). Zusammenfassend sind die Grenzen des Urbanismus, basierend auf konkurrierendem Wachstum und Profit, erkennbar und hervorgehoben von zahlreichen kritischen und theoretischen Praktiken, die Theorien entwickelten, fähig das Thema auf einem höheren Level der Argumentation, inklusive systemischer und ideologischer Aspekte, zu analysieren - und zwar aus den Persektiven aller Involvierten Akteur*innen. Diese intellektuellen Mittel können nützlich für "diese Institutionen, Bewegungen und Akteur*innen sein, welche alternative Formen des Urbanismus, radikaler Demokratie, sozial und nachhältig vorantreiben möchten" (Brenner, Marcuse, Mayer, 2009). Das interesante Element ist die Fähigkeit dieser Communities und Gemeinschaften, durch Formen sozialer Kämpfe , und kollektiven/kooperativen Aktivitäten, Alternativen zu nicht nachhaltiger städtischer Transformation vorzuschlagen, zu entwickeln und auszuprobieren sowie Machtstrukturen, die Aushandlung von Konflikten und die Partizipation in institutionalisierter Städteplanung und Praxis zu analysieren. Diese zwei europäischen Städte haben das Interesse des Phänomens Reclaiming, des Zurückeroberns städtischer physischer Räume erweckt, ausgeführt von sozialen Bewegungen und bewußt übernommen von der Bürger*innenschaft als Aneignung und legitime Form und Taktik von Protest. Zudem sind diese radikale partizipativen Praktiken ein Werkzeug, dass Experimentation und Umsetzung basisorganisierter Alternativen ermöglicht und demzufolge eine Serie von rebellischen aneignenden Dynamiken des städtischen Raumes sowie Eigenproduktion und Bereitstellung kollektiver Resourcen verkörpert. Diese informellen Akteur*innen und Basisgruppen, organisiert in neuen Formen städtischer sozialer Bewegungen, experimentierend in progressivem Verstehen der Mechanismen von Raum und sozialer Reproduktion, begannen die Idee von Commons zusammen mit der Rolle eines dritten Subjekts, eines kollektiven Subjekts, zurück zuerobern. Sie können eine direkte Verwaltung und Organisierung als kollektive Resource und kollektives Eigentum ausfüllen. In den Kontexten der beiden analysierten Städten haben die Bürger*innen eine Reihe neuer Strategien realisiert. Dazu zählen: Neue Formen der kollektiven Häuser und Wohnraum-Selbsthilfe, Selbstorganisierte öffentliche Räume und die Definition von städtischen Commons. Die Forschungsanalyse analysiert einige relevante Fälle rebellischer Wiederaneignung/Zurückeroberungen öffentlicher städtischer Räume und vergleicht zwei Städte, die historisch betrachtet von organisierten Formen sozialer Kämpfe und Basis-transitionaler Raumaneignung gekennzeichnet sind. Was ist der Wert, der Nutzen solcher alternativer Erfahrungen? Können diese grass-root-Experimente der Selbst-Organisierung und DIY Renovation zu der Produktion neuer operativer Strategien für den öffentlichen Wohnraum- und Häuser Bestand; des Bauerbe-Managements; der alternativen Formen von Wohlstand; der Entwicklung mehr nachhaltiger städtischer Transformations Praktiken und öffentlicher Raum Managements beitragen?
Pikeville College Diary of a Flood A Publication of Pikeville College Pikeville, Kentucky 40501 April, 1977 Since 1889, the influence of Pikeville College has reached into the lives of families and individuals now digging out from under the muddy floodwaters of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, whose banks overflowed Monday night, Apri l 4, spilling over 51 feet of devastation into Pike County. The warm sun, 'tempered by a brisk wind, is now settling in on hundreds of students and employees . of Pikeville College as they begin putting back together their homes, classrooms and lives. Official estimates of the amount of money that Pikeville College will have to raise in order to get back to where it was on Monday morning, April 4, before the flood changed everything, are now over $1.5 million. At the same time, the people who are a part of Pikeville College-faculty, staff, students and administrators '--are trying to recover t heir spunk and spirit and carry on with their responsibilities. The process wi ll be slow. The coll ege's Science Building has served as a Red Cross Disaster Relief Center. For nearly two weeks, the dining room fed some 2,000 meals a day to people affected by t he flood who aren't connected with the college. Workers from HUD have set up offices in t he Science Bui lding that could be in use for up to six months. Larry Darlage, chairman of the Chemistry Department, helped Roger Keller organize the college facilities into a disaster. center before the Red Cross was mobilized. Now they and others who have assisted them are returning to their classes to finish the spring semester. They will have to manage that a long with continuing their service to the homeless, many of whom are college employees. "We estimate that to repair just the living facilities owned by the coll ege that were destroyed or bad ly damaged will cost upward of $300,000," President Jackson 0. Hall sad ly commented. Hall and Vice President for Development Bill Higginbotham are t rave ling to Detro it, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Charlottesvi lle, Richmond, Lexington and Louisville to seek immediate assistance. The personal possessions of college employees and students who have been displaced from their homes - many of whom have devoted countless hours staffing the emergency re lief centers as well as salvaging their belongings - a re conser vative ly estimated at $200,000. Although many of these people are from Pike County or areas where similar flooding occurs, others are from regions of the country where floods are unknown. Dr. Marie Tarpey, Vice President of Academic Affairs, came to Pikeville College from Delaware. A Boston native, Tarpey had no idea what kind of damage water will do. While the menace was rising toward her second floor apartment in a brand new complex just bui lt by the college, she was in her office call ing applicants to interview for a position currently open at the college. She had no idea that a f lood was in the making - a flood that would destroy her new furniture and most of her academic papers and books. (PHOTO) Associate Professor of Music Jim Andy Caudill and wife Jenny remove their belongings from college owned apartments. Photo by Bill Higginbotham Likewise, Dr. Jerry Harris, chairman of the college's Humanities Division, was dutifully teaching his Monday night class. About 7 p.m. Bill Higginbotham, Vice President for Development and Public Relations, walked into Harris' classroom and lifted him out of h1s chair. "We've got to get your cars out of the parking lot. The water is already up on the tires. It's taken us this long to figure out they were your cars." By the time they made the two minute trip from the classroom building down · the hi II to the parking lot, the cars had water up over the engines. They couldn't be saved. Harris and his wife Judith, recovering from major surgery in Columbus, Ohio, hospital, moved into the new apartment on February 25. On April 4, they lost nearly everything they had, including two libraries containing 1,800 pounds of books. SGA President Dole . . . exemplifies service above self A student government association president leads an exciting life at Pikeville College. Monday, April 4 , was a week long for Doug Dole, SGA president from Hamilton, Ohio. About 4 :45 p.m. that day Dole went with Ken Thornbury down the hill at the college to Park Street. The water was coming up and Thornbury wanted to move Bill McCloud's washer and dryer. Dole had been helping with the Red Cross Bloddmobile that had been in the college's Science Building that day. After moving McCloud's washer and dryer up the hi II and going back down to the river, Dole and his companions dis- covered the water coming up a lot quicker than they had noticed before. They began moving cars out of the parking lot behind the college gym. By the time the last car was on dry ground, the water was lapping around Dole's knees. Moving down Park Street next to the gym, Dole worked with Freddy Rutherford and Bi ll McCloud to move their be longings either up or out. He knocked on doors a ll a long the. street, asking people he didn't even know if they needed his help in trying to warn those who hadn't been outside that the water was coming up. Jonathan Harris joined Dole and Thornbury. They realized three people couldn't do much with the water rising so rapidly. So they went back to the dorm and got a lot more help. "They thought I was kidding (about the water). but they came anyway," Dole said . There were then at least fifteen students that went back to the Park Street area; others went to the other end of town. Dole didn't leave Park Street until the water was waist high. By that time his legs had begun to swell and were totally numb. He hurried to the new college apartments on the other side of the gym from Park Street. The water was up about six inches in the back of the building closest to the river When he arrived. He carried Lois Marks, wife of the college's alumni affairs director, out to her car. "Jonathan· must have carried the kid that was with Lois," Dole tried to recall. Lois was taking care of Jason Falls, four-year old son of public relations director Sara Falls, who was working furiously to move her first floor apartment be longings to safety. Some minutes later Dole waded back through the waist high water in the parking lot with Sara Falls. She climbed over furniture piled head high on the second floor breezeway and over the wrought iron railing to get an extra set of her car keys that she had left with neighbors for safe-keeping. Dole made sure she got up and back without falling. (Continued on page 3) While college employees and students were evacuating houses and apartments, water was also creeping into the college gymnasium: The interior destruction was total, not only to the gym, but to the classrooms housed in the build ing. To repair it and the tennis courts adjacent to it will cost more t han $300,000. Compounding an already bleak financial situation is the fact that Pikeville College relies heavily on gift support from the region. Annual giving had been projected at a level of $500,000 this year. The flood may reduce this by as much as $200,000, and the lingering effect will no doubt severely hamper local fund raising efforts next year. The business people and ind iv iduals who normally support Pikeville College in many cases are the same people who are digging themselves out of this disaster. Ramifications reach even further. There could be a decline in enrollment. Current students and other young men and women who otherwise would have come to Pikeville College will need to seek employment to offset the cost of replacing their homes and belongings. It's difficult to assess what that might mean in loss of tuition and room and board, but it could conceivably run as high as another $250,000 next year. Jack Marks, Director of Alumni Affairs, looked down shaking his head. "If anyone anywhere not affected by this tragedy ever thought of helping Pikeville College, I hope it will be now." Marks lost his personal belongings; he and his wife had moved into the new college apartments the first of March. He's back at work, trying to do what he can to get the college back in operating order. "The college needed me to come back to work," he said. "Everyone else is in the same shape I'm in; we're all doing the best we can. I just hope that depression and frustration doesn't set in." The future of Pikeville College depends on the spirit of people who work there like Jack Marks. And it depends on immediate financial relief from individuals, foundations and corporations outside the floodstricken area who come to the aid of this small, but vital, Appalachian college. Coming Events May 7 Alumni Banquet May 8 Commencement Summer Terms May 9-27 MiniMester June 6-July 28 Session I July 11-August 12 Session II June 6-August 5 Evening Session Morehead Graduate Classes May 16 Intersession June 6 Summer I July 5 Summer II
Most people spend much of their lives working. By working, I mean "wage labor": activity undertaken in exchange for money in a society where money is necessary for survival. This has not always been the case, and it is not the case universally, in all places, or for everyone. But it is now a fact of life so foundational in most parts of the world as to seem a feature of nature rather than history. I begin with truism because I think that the fact of work, in all its bluntness, has never been accorded proper importance in literary criticism or cultural criticism in general. There is, of course, a convenient explanation for the absence: historically, art has been either the province of the leisured classes or something made and experienced outside of the bounds of the workday. Art is, therefore, an exception to the rule of work. And even Marxist critics – those whom one would expect to believe, as Marx did, that production and labor were foundational in capitalism –tend to approach the painting or the poem from the side of the market, consumption, and everyday life, for the understandable reasons outlined above. If they tell a story about capitalism's determinative effect on art, it is usually a story about the penetration of market logics into the realm of art, a story about commodification. Few ask what the work of art might share with work in general or how the constant technological and social refashioning of the workplace might affect the horizon of possibility for artworks.My dissertation, "The Work of Art in the Age of Deindustrialization," attempts to provide one answer to these questions, a historical answer, by a reading of important literary and artistic works from the 1960s and 1970s. These are decades in which twin political and economic crises – the political militancy we associate with 1968, on the one hand, and the crisis of profitability and the dollar we associate with 1973 on the other – force a profound restructuring of capitalism and class relations. In particular, the multiple transformations of the labor process – deindustrialization, the rise of the service sector, the introduction of information technologies into the burgeoning managerial and white-collar sectors – provide a useful vantage from which to investigate the rapid changes in art and writing. Whereas the much-documented aesthetics of objects, things and facticity associated with modernism took its bearings from the factory-system (or, in a variant, anti-industrial form, from the artisanal and craft forms industrialization was in the process of destroying) such a cultural mode becomes increasingly anachronistic in the postwar era. As I argue, the productivist aesthetic of modernism gives way to an aesthetic of administration and distribution that takes signs and social relations rather than physical matter as its primary "material." Instead of the factory or workshop, such a mode draws from the routinized cognitions of office work and the forced conviviality of the service sector.The relationship between the economic and the cultural is not, as it might seem, a case of simple synchronicity or one-to-one correspondence. Experimental poetry, for example, is avant-garde in the sole sense that it is speculative, a laboratorial mode which runs ahead of the work-a-day world rather than simply reflecting it. Such experimental modes elaborated critical responses and forms of technical imagination which aimed to respond to the rigid hierarchies of 1960s society and yet, via a kind of "cunning of reason," laid some of the foundations for the new work relations which became dominant in the 1980s and 1990s. Indeed, part of my argument is that some of the most recognizable of avant-garde devices – erasing, replacing, counting, sorting, arranging by chance or rule – have been thoroughly integrated into the very office machinery (now generalized into the home) which writers use to produce their works.Such recuperation builds upon an uneasy affinity between left- and right-wing critiques of postwar capitalism. If leftists, countercultural figures and artists took aim at the rigid, bureaucratic and hierarchical nature of the corporate form and worklife in postwar society, targeting the managerial layer in particular, they found strange bedfellows in a class of business management theorists and economists who saw in that same layer a hindrance to profitability. In response to the artistic and countercultural critique, businesses concoct a new, flexible, "flattened" and adaptive corporate form that trims the middle-managerial layer by imposing upon workers a set of pseudo-democratic work relations under the sign of such corporate shibboleths as teamwork, flexibility, participation, creativity and self-management. Rather than the industrialization of culture that Adorno and Horkheimer famously bemoan, my dissertation describes the same operation in reverse – the "culturization" (or aestheticization) of industry, where the workday absorbs the resources, faculties and affects associated with the aesthetic. This operation is designed to produce more highly-productive, motivated workers but also to ward off and absorb the countercultural and artistic critiques that might lead to disaffection. The aesthetic, in this regard, becomes a mechanism for the establishment of a pseudo-democracy and a pseudo-autarky. If "self-management" – the ideal of labor militants, communists and anarchists since the 19th century – once meant freedom from the imperatives of the boss it now means, increasingly, in light of this reorganization, an internalization of such imperatives.My first chapter traces the thematics of "management" and "self-management" as they appear in the early poetry of John Ashbery, and in his controversial book The Tennis-Court Oath (1962) in particular. Numerous poems in this collection – developed from an earlier poem, "The Instructional Manual" – take up the position of the midlevel employee, who is both the object of commands and the producer of commands. The contradictions in this standpoint – examined in C. Wright Mills' White Collar and many subsequent studies of "the new middle class"provide insight into this transitional moment in capitalism, in which the extensive growth of deskilled white-collar work created, for large firms and the post-war bureaucracy, a crisis of management. One of the ways in which this appears in Ashbery's poetry is through a subtle and inventive play with free indirect discourse and point of view, in which individual moments and voices manifest as antagonistic fragments in an intersubjective field, requiring the "managerial" intervention of the arranging, organizing poetic voice or mind, a mind that is itself fragmented by its multiple allegiances and responsibilities. The experimental collages of The Tennis Court Oath illuminate the curious ambiguity of that special commodity, labor-power, which is at once object and subject: a thinking object, a commodity that speaks.As I discuss in my second chapter, one site where all of these meanings are contested – a site that again attracts the interest of both artists and business management theorists – is the emergent discourse of cybernetics, Through the central notion of "feedback," cybernetics presents an image of social self-regulation based upon reciprocal, horizontal relations rather than explicit hierarchies. Writers and conceptual artists borrow from this discourse to model utopian social forms, ones where form is embedded less in explicit command than in something like a changeable grammar or syntax – cybernetics calls this "information" – which can be revealed and manipulated by art. To give just two examples, both Hannah Weiner in her Code Poems and Dan Graham in his Works for Magazine Pages follow the founder of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, by treating information – and by extension, the formative powers of cultural labor – as a kind of anti-entropic, organizing force. Following Benjamin Buchloh, I describe this development as an "administrative aesthetic," since the cultural artifact comes to see its vocation as one of regulating social relations. Though I treat only a handful of figures in this chapter, the list of writers and artists influenced by this conception of information (and its close cousin, entropy) provides a remarkable cross-section of the period. A partial list of figures who help forge these new aesthetic values would include, in fiction, William Burroughs, William Gass, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick and Thomas Pynchon; in poetry, Charles Olson, John Ashbery, A.R. Ammons, Hannah Weiner and Bernadette Mayer; and in art, Hans Haacke, Robert Smithson, Dan Graham and Martha Rosler.One of the reasons why it has been difficult to approach the cultural transformations of the 1960s and 1970s from the side of labor rather than, say, consumption– from the side of the workday rather than leisure time – is that increasingly these two spheres commingle, and the values associated with leisure time are invoked to make the workday more tolerable, at the same time as the protocols and routines associated with work colonize the space of leisure time. This crossing of spheres bears in particular upon the relations between unpaid "reproductive" or domestic labor (the housework associated with women) and waged labor. The subject of my third chapter, Bernadette Mayer's project Memory (1972) – performance, installation and epic poem – investigates the crossing and blurring of these spheres, as everyday life is increasingly subsumed by the protocols of office work, and as office work is increasingly colored in the shades and hues of the street or the home. Memory models this process of merger and blurring through its incorporation of multiple media (type, photography, audio recording), artistic genres and techniques. In this sense, Mayer's elaboration of a "total" artwork which merges different technologies into one single apparatus prefigures the coming reorganization of office work around the personal computer.
This report presents the synthesis of household level surveys in five intervention countries (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) of the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project designed and implemented by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and national research and extension institutions in 13 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In each of the study countries, two districts were randomly selected provided that the districts fall in predetermined categories (20-40%) of probability of failed season (PFS). A total sample of 1108 households was randomly drawn with sample sizes varying country to country. The report has different sections that focus, in order, on description of the sample households, extent and determinants of poverty and inequality among the sample population, characteristics of maize production, perception and management of drought risk, and determinants of likelihood and intensity of adoption of improved maize varieties. The distribution of the age of the sample population shows that the population below the age of 16 years is 54% in Zambia, 47% in Malawi and more than 42% in the other three countries. Most of the sample households in each of the countries are headed by males. Only, Malawian sample has about one third of the households headed by women. The literacy level of household heads is considerably high by African standards. The proportion of literate household head ranges from 67% in Angola to 97% in Zimbabwe. The details of the literacy level show that about 48% of Zimbabweans have attended secondary school or higher followed by 32% in Zambia and to 28% in Angola. Most of the literate household heads in Malawi and Mozambique fall in the primary school category. The farming systems in the study areas are predominantly traditional and semi-subsistence oriented. The plough culture is an important feature of the systems and hence the traction power of draft animals is indispensable. Nonetheless, only Zambian (44%) and Zimbabwean (42%) farmers use draft animals. No sample household in Angola and Malawi owns a draft animal. The livestock owned per household, in tropical livestock units (TLU), ranges from 0.41 in Malawi to 2.9 in Zambia. Accordingly, the current value in US$ of the livestock owned by a typical household ranges from 102.7 in Malawi to 1051 in Zambia. The average farm land holding is highest in Mozambique where a typical household owns nearly 8 hectares of land, followed by Zambia at 6.63 hectares, and Zimbabwe at 3 hectares. The smallest average farmland was observed in Malawi with a typical household owning 1.25 ha. Wealth indices were computed based on asset holdings to look into the relative welfare distribution of the sample communities. Forty four percent of the sample households in Angola have negative wealth index. The households with negative indices can generally be considered as poor. Nearly 55% Malawian, 57% Mozambican, and 54% Zambian sample households do have negative wealth indices. Sixty two percent of the sample households in Zimbabwe have negative wealth indices, which is higher than any other country in the study.Asset wealth based rough classification of the households has shown that most of the sampling households are poor. A more detailed analysis of poverty and inequality was done based on reported income and expenditure. Household level determinants of poverty were identified using quantile regression. Generally, sample households in Mozambique and Zambia were found to be poorer than the sample households in Angola and Malawi. The poverty profiles show that the absolutely poor households in four of the countries (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia) do have significantly smaller family size, smaller number of illiterate household members, less number of important assets such as phones and radio, livestock and smaller farm sizes. An important observation is that the proportion of total land allocated to maize by absolutely poor households is significantly higher than that of better-off households. The study has also detailed the extent and determinants of poverty and inequality in the countries. The importance of maize technology use and resource allocation to the crop in determining magnitude of poverty and inequality is an important finding in view of the fact that the sample population is essentially semi-subsistent with limited market orientation. This finding also justifies the effort being exerted on development and deployment of maize and maize related technologies in rural communities of the study countries. Maize production in the region has peculiar characteristics with important distinctions across countries. The land allocated to maize ranges from 45.9% in Mozambique to 69.8% in Malawi of the whole farmland. In Angola, Malawi and Mozambique, most of the maize land is covered with land races; whereas in Zambia and Zimbabwe, hybrid maize covers most of the maize area. All the sample farmers in Zimbabwe are aware of the difference between improved Open pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrid maize varieties. On the contrary, about 95% of the sample farmers in Angola do not know the difference between OPV and hybrid maize. Most of the sample farmers in Malawi (72.0%), Mozambique (98.0%), and Zambia (78.0%) are in fact aware of the difference between OPVs and hybrid maize varieties. Regarding recycling of hybrid seeds, it was found out that Zimbabweans hardly recycle, whereas Mozambicans do on average recycle 1.5 times. This pattern of recycling also applies to improved OPVs. Despite considerable number of farmers depending on the market to fetch maize seeds, 90.7% of the farmers in Angola purchased and planted only local maize varieties. Malawian and Zambian farmers, followed by Mozambicans and Zimbabweans, do mostly purchase and grow improved seeds. In terms of the proportion of seed types used, Zimbabwe stands out well-above others with 94.6% of the seed used being improved, followed by Zambia (64.3%) and Malawi (24.8%). In Malawi, the most preferred varieties, in order of preference are: local, MH36, Kanyani, and Makolo. In Mozambique, Ndau ou Chindau, Matuba, SC513, Laposta, and Pan 67 were indicated to be the most preferred varieties in that order. In Zambia, the four most preferred varieties were identified to be Gankata, SC513, Pool 16, and Obatampa. In Zimbabwe, SC513 is the most preferred variety followed by ZM521 and the local Heckory King variety. Drought was reported to be the most important challenge on the livelihoods of people in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, whereas it was indicated to be second, next to sickness and mortality of a family member, in Angola and Mozambique. Maize varieties in general and improved OPVs and hybrids in particular are being considered very risky in terms of predictability and reliability of yields. Given the importance of maize and the vulnerability of the farming communities in the region, drought and risks associated with it will have paramount and potentially irreversible consequences on the poor sections of the region. The decisions regarding level and intensity of improved maize adoption have also been investigated to show that gender based intra-household division of labor was an important factor considered in deciding to adopt or not improved maize varieties. Asset endowments such as farm size and livestock wealth were found to be important determinants of level and intensity of adoption in the region. Similarly, membership in social groupings and engagement of off-farm activities influenced adoption decisions. Access to extension services has universally been identified as an important factor in determining the level and, when relevant, the intensity of adoption of improved maize varieties in the region. As important as this service is, however, the extent to which farmers are getting the service is not that encouraging according to respondents. It is, therefore, imperative to underline again the need for investment in the agricultural extension system and the effort that shall be exerted in enabling the private sector to engage in generation and deployment of agricultural information. In designing and implementing any intervention that aims at contributing to the risk coping ability of farmers, it is essential to take into account heterogeneity of the farming communities. Due consideration of this heterogeneity shall be made while assessing the importance of drought risk and while analyzing the effectiveness of the contributions to be made with the intention of strengthening drought risk coping strategies. The trait preferences of farmers are for instance an important indicator of the heterogenous demand structure. This study has shown that despite the fact that yield size is among the most preferred traits, farmers' strong reference to maize as a risky crop urges refocusing breeding activities to generation of germplasms with reliable yield distribution. Farmers have also shown strong interest in traits such as drought tolerance, early maturity, and good performance under poor rainfall implying the need for multi-trait focused breeding schemes. Public agricultural extension institutions and public mass media are by far the two most important sources of agricultural information in the region. Despite the political importance of agriculture in general and maize in particular, there is always a lack of incentive in publicly owned institutions to deliver the information as timely and as adequately it is needed. Agricultural extension efforts in the region should in fact be accompanied by comprehensive microfinance institutions to relieve farmers of the seasonal cash shortage which almost all of them experience every year. So far, except in Zimbabwe, access to rural credit and finance seems to be farfetched.
Human freedom and prosperity have varied enormously among and within countries and regions and have changed drastically over short periods. Social sciences research has begun to illuminate how norms and cultures, as well as legal, political, economic, and social institutions, affect freedom and prosperity, but our understanding of how and why these institutions change remains meager. The researchers who gathered at the National Academy of Sciences in 2010 for a Sackler Symposium sought to give a kick-start to the study of institutional dynamics.
The papers presented vary both in their research methods and in the questions they address. The methods range from theory to econometric studies to detailed cases studies, each seeking to highlight some aspect of how institutions change and what accounts for the differences in institutions that emerge in different settings.
Two of the papers in this volume are analyses of stochastic dynamic systems. One captures a process of contagion by which the new norms governing bilateral exchange may invade a population and become widespread. The other studies the evolution of authority in a society with far-sighted decision makers, who sometimes rationally allow erosion in their long-term control to promote sufficiently better short-term outcomes.
The first of these is Peyton Young's “The Dynamics of Social Innovation” (1), which studies the evolution of norms to be used in bilateral interactions. Agents in Young's network model correspond to nodes that interact with their immediate neighbors and earn payoffs in each interaction that depend on how each party behaves. The agents experiment and learn, so behavior in the system can evolve. The paper discusses how the topology of the network, characteristics of individual learning processes, and the size of the potential improvement affects whether norms are adopted, and how quickly. It turns out that a critical property that superior norms (ones that leads to higher payoffs for all) must have for “fast” adoption is that it must be possible for all members of some local clusters of nodes to profit by adopting the norm, even when the other agents in the network do not adopt. This determinant in turn depends on the size of the gains to adopting the norm, as well as on the nature of the network. The nature of the learning process matters, too. For example, too much experimentation can cause a local group to unlearn their superior norm before it has a chance to spread into the rest of the network.
The second is “A Political Model of Social Evolution” by Daron Acemoglu, Georgy Egorov, and Konstantin Sonin (2), which studies how undemocratic and authoritarian regimes may become progressively more democratic. In their model, choices are made by a changing set of individual decision makers, who rule according to a voting system. Sometimes expanding participation can lead to greater short-run payoffs at the expense of less control in the longer term, and authoritarian regimes may sometimes accept immediate gains even at the risk of reduced control over the longer run. The model provides a framework for studying how the initial state of the system, the payoffs to different actions, and the nature of voting systems affect long-run outcomes of the system. In particular, outcomes can be history-dependent, and change emerges as the combined result of random events and actual choices by the ruling class.
Four of the papers provide general schemata for thinking about a set of issues, from regional and national political leadership and how it affects the evolution of democracy, to the role of international institutions, to the role of norms in promoting economic development both overall and at different stages in development.
Roger Myerson's “Toward a Theory of Leadership and State-Building” (3) surveys his analyses of the problem of nation building, which has both ancient and modern application. The fundamental issues in Myerson's perspective revolve around problems of leadership. On one hand, to gain followers, new leaders must successfully distribute patronage, particularly in times when and places where following the new leader is dangerous. However, the system also needs to provide discipline for the leader, so that promises are kept once the leader gains power. Additionally, for democracy to thrive, it needs to encourage the development of leaders who can establish the credentials and following needed to challenge the existing authority. The paper develops a wide perspective on the groundwork that needs to be laid for nation building, that is, for promoting the development of systems that can evolve into functioning democracies.
Stephen Krasner's “Changing State Structures: Outside In” (4) considers different situations in which, and channels through which, some states deploy purposive strategies to exercise power over other states. His classification covers (i) contracting with basically voluntary agreement of the state that is subject to the influence, (ii) coercion that forces a weaker state to take a particular action or substantially limits its choice set, (iii) institutional power, whereby the stronger state sets the rules of the game of decision-making in the weaker state, (iv) constitutive power, whereby the stronger state establishes the international system within which the weaker state must operate, and (v) productive power, which alters the identities and capabilities of actors in the weaker state. These provide a useful taxonomy and examples for thinking about the interaction between different countries’ institutions and international institutions and organizations.
“Development, Social Norms, and Assignment to Task” by Marcel Fafchamps (5) traces some broad trends in the dynamics of social norms that are required to support different stages in the process of economic development. Developing economies move to greater specialization of labor, requiring more complex interactions to determine efficient allocation of labor to tasks. In the least-developed economies, production occurs in almost self-contained households where workers must be jacks-of-all-trades. As economies develop, families become the basis for small firms that use and eventually employ labor with specialized skills and come to be supervised by the owner or entrepreneur. Finally, as the volume of market transactions grows, large firms arise, with a managerial hierarchy with delegated authority to supervise workers with longer-term employment contracts. Fafchamps examines how the governance of the transactions with workers needs to differ in the different stages, whether the norms and practices appropriate for different stages can coexist or will clash during the dynamics of development, and what this implies for the prospects of successful and speedy development.
In “Individualism, Innovation, and Long-Run Growth,” Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Gerard Roland (6) provide direct and indirect empirical tests supporting the hypothesis that cultures attaching greater social status to innovators experience higher rates of innovation and economic growth. The direct tests use certain cultural scores as independent variables and growth rates as dependent variables. The indirect tests use genetic distance as an instrument for culture, with closer genetic proximity to the US population implying greater cultural similarity.
The last two papers study the roles of two particular but important institutions of development: law (in opposition to custom) and brokerage (facilitating exchange across boundaries).
“Legal Reform in the Presence of a Living Custom: An Economic Approach,” by Gani Aldashev, Jean-Philippe Platteau, and Sake Wham (7) addresses the ability of statutes that empower traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as women, to promote development-enhancing change, even when the statutes conflict with entrenched social norms. Although full enforcement of such laws is rare, by creating an implicit threat to the traditional authorities—loss of face when their decisions are overruled by higher authorities and reduction in the size of the population over which they rule as the disadvantaged populations find better outside options—formal law can shift the bargaining power of parties and lead to changes in outcomes. The paper constructs a theoretical model and offers examples in support.
Finally, “Stabilizing Brokerage” by Katherine Stovel, Benjamin Golub, and Eva Meyersson Milgrom (8) examines one of the most important and puzzling institutions that promotes change through the exchange of goods, services, information, and practices across an otherwise disconnected social network, from one isolated group to another. Agents who do this are called brokers, and their role is problematic. Each side in the transaction may suspect the broker's integrity or impartiality; therefore, brokerage can be fragile. The paper examines and compares three mechanisms that can counter this problem: (i) isolation of brokers into a distinct social group, separated from the transactors, (ii) complete capture of brokers by one side of the transaction, and (iii) grafting of brokerage functions on to other organizations that have separate motives to develop and sustain a reputation for trustworthiness. The authors analyze theoretical considerations and discuss examples of all three, but the inherent fragility of brokerage creates a natural dynamic in which relatively frequent failures are followed by change.
The variety of approaches, in terms of both questions and methods, highlights the richness of this area of research and indeed made for lively discussion at the conference. We hope this collection of papers will serve to broker ideas across disciplines and eventually to deepen social scientists’ understanding of the process of institutional change.
Executive summary Introduction CTA works primarily through intermediary organisations and partners (non-governmental organisations, farmers' organisations, regional organisations) to promote agriculture and rural development and to deliver its various information products and capacity building services. By partnering with these organisations, CTA seeks to increase the number of ACP organisations capable of generating and managing information and developing their own information and communication management strategies. In the period 2003 – 2005, CTA undertook a series of needs assessment studies in 21 countries in the ACP Pacific and Caribbean. As a continuation of this process, CTA have now commissioned assessments of the agricultural information needs of 6 countries emerging from prolonged conflict situations in ACP Africa, including Mozambique, which forms the focus of this report. Objectives of the Study The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture and rural development in Mozambique. Methodology The country profile was produced through a desk study. This study relied heavily on information available on the internet and additional information was obtained from various institutions in Mozambique, internationally and from key informants. Through the desk study we were able to identify a list of nine key institutions. This list was discussed with CTA and informants in Mozambique and face to face interviews were requested with each institution. Of these, seven of the institutions agreed, whilst one indicated that it would be closing its operations within a year and was therefore removed from the list. Expected results This study will provide: 1) an inventory of the status of agricultural information services, institutions and other actors and their needs as their relate to physical infrastructure, information availability and access and human capacity development; 2) an assessment of the current and / or planned interventions of the government and bi- or multilateral agencies in the field of information for agriculture and rural development; 3) an overview of the needs of potential partners for CTA activities and services in terms of building capacity for information and communication management; 4) a short-list of potential partners / beneficiaries for CTA activities and services; 5) baseline data to facilitate subsequent monitoring activities. The study will also provide a framework for CTA to develop a framework for action and fashion a strategy aimed at institutions in countries emerging from conflict situations and provide input into its 2006 – 2010 strategic plan. Findings Following the signing of a peace agreement in 1992 to end 16 years of conflict, Mozambique has achieved impressive economic growth and lowered its prevalence of poverty. Sustained by strong foreign investment, real GDP in Mozambique has been growing at rates in excess of 7 percent for the last 4 consecutive years, and per capita income in US dollars has increased by nearly 50 percent between 2001 and 2004. Mozambique's economic growth, however, implies an important transformation in the composition of its GDP, although services remain the dominant sector. The share of industry in total GDP increased to 27 percent in 2004 from about 16 percent in 1996, whereas the share of agriculture decreased to 23 percent from about 30 percent in the same period. The agricultural sector, however, still supports 80 percent of the economically active population, and agriculture still provides major export earnings from commodities such as prawns and fish, cotton, sugar, timber and cashew nuts. The forestry sector also has an important role in the country, contributing 4 percent of gross domestic product and supplying about 80 percent of the energy used. There is no unified policy or strategy in Mozambique with regard to the management of agricultural information and broad dissemination networks are not well developed. Institutions that fall outside of the state or donor worlds often find it difficult to get hold of information. Information exchange between institutions tends to be informal rather than structured. Agricultural research generally is restricted by the insufficient number of scientists who can formulate and carry out studies relevant to Mozambican needs. Budgets for information management tend to be a low priority. In-house capacity for maintaining and troubleshooting computer networks is a constraint; reliance is made upon private companies specialised in IT. Retention of staff at the centre with IT skills, in the face of competition from the private sector, was cited as a problem by all of the state agencies. Building the capacities of in-house staff was therefore felt to be important. Existing websites, maintained by some of the key institutions vary in their effectiveness as publishing outlets and often tend to be reflections of the institution, its structure and its work programme, rather than being designed specifically to disseminate information, reports, studies, etc. that are produced, or to act as advocacy tools. Use of radio as a means of disseminating information in vernacular languages is still rather limited. Problems in this respect are the costs of translation and payments for the transmissions. Training in how to pass information on to low literacy groups was also indicated by several agencies. This included training in more effective writing skills and training in how to compile radio programmes and audio visual materials. There is a general lack of metadata; documentation on who is doing what and types of available information is generally poor. This has a double negative effect. On one hand, potential data and information users have difficulties finding or getting access to relevant information and on the other hand, information suppliers do not know what they have, which prevents better organisation of information for dissemination. Conclusions Most of the institutions which we interviewed have fairly well-developed links to relevant sources of information; data on the functioning of markets, prices and production levels in the agriculture and fisheries sectors has vastly improved in recent years. Some of these agencies need information on regional and international markets and production levels. Technical data is still harder to source, particularly in Portuguese. There are information needs regarding developments in thinking on food security, forms and means of supporting organisations at community level, participatory approaches to resource management, information on low cost technologies for increasing production and conserving produce, on gender, on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation strategies and on general rural development issues. Respondents requested capacity building in information management to increase the effectiveness of their organisations. Government services and NGO staff indicated the importance of training in the analysis of socio-economic data. Training in the use of the internet to obtain information and in the targeting of information by library and documentation services was also a broad need. The design and development of web sites was indicated by many respondents, but it is felt that there is a particular need for support in how to conceptualise these as sources of information rather than just 'publicity'. Training in effective communication to low literacy target audiences, in the development of extension materials and the use of radio and audio-visual materials is also important. Recommendations We recommend that CTA provide support to the development of a national IMC strategy for agricultural information that takes full advantage of the opportunities offered by the new GovNet infrastructure. The ICM strategy should ensure that information is easily available to all stakeholders in rural development. Furthermore, the ICM strategy should prevent a gap from evolving between organisations connected to GovNet and those that are not. Finally, the ICM should provide for communication channels from the rural poor to research organisations and policy makers, to ensure that research and policies are guided by the needs of poor rural households. We recommend that CTA attempts to increase the amount of information disseminated in Portuguese language, particularly in regard to food security, forms and means of supporting organisations at community level, participatory approaches to resource management, information on low cost technologies for increasing production and conserving produce, on gender, on HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation strategies and on general rural development issues. We recommend that CTA support short term research activities targeted at Mozambican-specific issues in relation to agricultural production and the conservation of produce. Links should be set up to inform IIAM and DNER about the information needs of poor farmers, women and PLWHA. These links can be set up through members organisations such as ORAM and UNAC, through Farmer Field Schools and through NGOs to which DNER has outsourced extension activities. We recommend that CTA investigate ways of supporting exchange of experience between organisations involved in training through associations and support to the development of training packages for associations. These should be provided to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of extension efforts in the field. In the long term, the required technical information can be provided to associations through newly developed training packages. ; The objectives of this study are to develop a strategy for CTA's approach to post-conflict countries, to improve the effectiveness of CTA's support for post-conflict countries and to compile baseline data on the status of ICM and ICTs in agriculture.
After an initial boom in the early years of the millennium, global land-based investments, also called Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs), have slowed in recent years, but their impact on local environments and human well-being still poses a challenge for fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The debate on the effects of LSLAs lacks systematic assessment at the meso-level of spatial and administrative scale – a level that is critical for informing national policies. This research addresses that issue by first explaining how LSLAs entail differential impacts on local livelihoods, and second, by revealing how positive outcomes to these investments can be achieved in the context of the Global South. My analysis of the recent land concession inventory of the Lao PDR, including the scope, scale and socio-ecological context of LSLAs, reveals how land deals have impacted local livelihoods. They have transformed natural resources and labour relations by pushing former land users into precarious situations and onto pathways leading to different well-being outcomes. The affected villages have experienced different degrees of poverty increase or reduction. This research suggests that looking only at quantitative variables, especially the size of the land acquisitions, is a poor predictor of their socio-economic impacts. A better understanding of key variables is urgently needed to avoid both misinterpretations of the impact and misguided land-based investment policies. Using a methodological approach that includes an examination of monetary poverty, multiple dimensions of human well-being, primitive accumulation, and precarity, this research suggests that the pathway to improved human well-being in the context of LSLAs is very narrow. The decrease in monetary poverty in most villages has not resulted in positive human well-being outcomes. In terms of employment, which is the most important and immediate benefit that smallholders can enjoy, the findings reveal that in some cases, the peasants have experienced dispossession without proletarianization. In many cases, semi-proletarianization has occurred, but through adverse terms rather than could be part of a sustainable livelihood strategy. To avoid the negative impacts and ensure that land deals contribute to sustainable agricultural growth, this dissertation emphasizes four key points: 1) A comprehensive socio-environmental impact analysis and monitoring that includes natural resources such as non-timber forest products, timber and wild animals must be implemented rather than just focusing on the land itself. Implementation of the relevant accompanying measures must take place throughout the business cycle. Protecting access to the land and other resources is imperative as natural resources still play a significant role in rural resilience. This will ensure that smallholders, particularly women and vulnerable groups like ethnic minorities, can sustain their traditional livelihoods, especially during the transition period. 2) Adverse outcomes tend to occur in cases in which smallholders are dependent on natural resources for a living rather than already being engaged in the non-farm sector. Therefore, the development of LSAs must consider the socio-ecological heterogeneity of peasant livelihoods. 3) The International Code of Conduct (free, prior, and informed consent) per se does not guarantee positive well-being outcomes but it does provide space for consultation and negotiation. Thus, it is an important tool that should be applied by the investors, but should not be considered as the solution for safeguards. 4) Promoting land-based investments as a means of poverty reduction in rural areas by moving from the natural resource- to wage-based livelihoods is effective only with accompanying related measures. The national government should consider appropriate trade-offs among different development goals – for example, large-scale, labour-intensive investments may not significantly contribute to national growth but they may generate a higher number of jobs which may have a great positive impact on human well-being. ; ພາຍຫຼັງທີ ່ ໄດ້ມີການຂະຫຍາຍຕົວຢ່ າງໄວວາ ແລະ ກວ້າງຂວາງ, ການລົງທຶນໃນຂົງເຂດທີ ່ ດິນ ຫຼື ເອີ້ນ ວ່ າ ການເຊ່ າົ -ສໍາປະທານທ່ ດີ ນິ ຂະໜາດ ໃຫຍ່ (LSLAs) ຢ່ ູໃນໂລກໃນຊຸມປີມ່ ໆໍ ນ ີ້ ໄດມ້ ກີ ານຂະຫຍາຍຕວົ ຊາ້ ລງົ ແຕ່ ຜນົ ກະທບົ ຂອງມນັ ຕ່ ໍກບັ ສ່ ງິ ແວດລອ້ ມ ແລະ ການມຊີ ວີ ດິ ການ ເປັນຢູ ່ ທີ ່ ດີ (Human well-being) ຂອງທ້ອງຖິ ່ ນ ຍັງເປັນສິ ່ ງທ້າທາຍໜຶ ່ ງ ຕໍ ່ ກັບການບັນລຸເປົ້າໝາຍການພດັ ທະນາແບບຍນື ຍງົ ປີ 2030. ການຖົກຖຽງ ກ່ ຽວກັບ ຜົນກະທົບຂອງ LSLAs ແມ່ ນຍັງຂາດຂໍ້ມູນຫຼັກຖານ ທີ ່ ໄດ້ຈາກການວິເຄາະຂໍ້ມູນຢ່ າງເປັນລະບບົ ໃນລະດບັ ຊາດ ຊ່ ງຶ ເຫັນວ່ າ ມີຄວາມສໍາຄັນຫຼາຍ ຕໍ ່ ກັບນະໂຍບາຍແຫ່ ງຊາດ. ການຄົ້ນຄວາ້ ນ ີ້ ໄດປ້ ະກອບສ່ ວນໃນການປິດຊ່ ອງຫວ່ າງດ່ ງັ ກ່ າວ ໂດຍ ທໍາອດິ ໄດວ້ ິ ເຄາະເຖິງ ບັນດາຜົນກະທົບ ຂອງ LSLAs ຕໍ ່ ກັບຊີວິດການເປັນຢູ ່ ຂອງທ້ອງຖິ ່ ນ ວ່ າເກີດຂຶ້ນແນວໃດ ແລະ ຈາກນັ້ນ ໄດວ້ ເິ ຄາະເຖງິ ແນວທາງ ທ່ ສີ າມາດເຮດັ ໃຫກ້ ານລງົ ທນຶ ດ່ ງັ ກ່ າວ ມຜີ ນົ ໄດຮ້ ບັ ດາ້ ນບວກຢ່ ູໃນປະເທດກໍາລງັ ພດັ ທະນາ. ຜົນໄດ້ຮັບຈາກການວິເຄາະຂໍ້ມູນ ການຂຶ້ນ ບັນຊີໂຄງການເຊົ ່ າ ແລະ ສໍາປະທານທີ ່ ດິນ ຂອງລັດຢູ ່ ສປປ ລາວ ທີ ່ ມີຢູ ່ ລ້າສຸດ ຊຶ ່ ງລວມມີຂໍ້ມູນກ່ຽວ ກບັ ປະເພດ ແລະ ຂະໜາດ ຂອງການລງົ ທນຶ ຢ່ ູໃນ ສະພາບແວດລອ້ ມດາ້ ນເສດຖະກດິ -ສງັ ຄມົ ແລະ ນເິ ວດວທິ ະຍາຕ່ າງໆ ໄດສ້ ະແດງເຖງິ ຂະ ບວນການ ທ່ ໂີ ຄງການລງົ ທນຶ ດ່ ງັ ກ່ າວ ໄດສ້ ່ ງົ ຜນົ ກະທບົ ຕ່ ໍກບັ ຊວີ ດິ ການເປັນຢ່ ູຂອງທອ້ ງຖ່ ນິ . ການລງົ ທນຶ ເຫ່ ຼາົ ນ ີ້ ໄດປ້ ່ ຽນແປງສດິ ທກິ ານຖຄື ອງ ທີ ່ ດິນ ແລະ ສາຍພົວພັນດ້ານກໍາລັງແຮງງານ ໂດຍໄດ້ເຮັດໃຫ້ ເຈົ້າ ຂອງທ່ ດີ ນິ ຕອ້ ງຕກົ ຢ່ ູໃນສະພາບຄວາມບ່ ໍແນ່ ນອນ ແລະ ມລີ ະດບັ ຊວີ ດິ ການ ເປັນຢູ ່ ທີ ່ ແຕກຕ່ າງກັນ. ນອກນັ້ນ , ບ້ານທີ ່ ໄດ້ຮັບຜົນກະທົບ ມີລະດັບຄວາມທຸກຍາກເພີ ່ ມຂຶ້ນ ຫຼ ື ຫຸຼດລງົ ໃນລະດບັ ທ່ ບີ ່ ໍຄກື ນັ . ຜນົ ຂອງການ ຄົ້ນ ຄວ້ານີ້ ແນະນໍາວ່ າ ການທີ ່ ນໍາເອົາແຕ່ ຂໍ້ມູນດາ້ ນປະລມິ ານ ໂດຍສະເພາະແມ່ ນ ຂະໜາດຂອງທ່ ດີ ນິ ມາເປັນເກນໃນການປະເມນີ ແມ່ ນບ່ ໍ ເປັນຕົວຊີ້ວັດທີ ່ ດີ ໃນການປະເມີນຜົນກະທົບທາງດ້ານເສດຖະກິດ-ສັງຄົມ ຂອງ LSLAs ຊຶ ່ ງອາດນໍາໄປສູ ່ ການເຂົ້າໃຈທີ ່ ຜິດພາດ ກ່ ຽວກັບ ຜນົ ກະທບົ ຂອງມນັ ແລະ ອາດນາໍ ໄປສ່ ູການກາໍ ນດົ ນະໂຍບາຍທ່ ບີ ່ ໍສອດຄ່ ອງ. ໂດຍການນໍາໃຊບ້ ນັ ດາວທິ ກີ ານຕ່ າງໆ ລວມມ ີ ການປະເມນີ ຄວາມທຸກຍາກໂດຍອງີ ໃສ່ ລາຍຮບັ ເປັນຫຼກັ , ການມຊີ ວີ ດິ ການເປັນຢ່ ູທ່ ດີ ,ີ ການ ຄອບຄອງກໍາລັງການຜະລິດ ເພື ່ ອເຮັດໃຫ້ເຈົ້າ ຂອງທ່ ດີ ນິ ກາຍເປັນແຮງງານຮບັ ຈາ້ ງຢ່ ູທ່ ດີ ນິ ຂອງຕນົ (primitive accumulation and proletarianization) ແລະ ຄວາມບໍ ່ໝັ້ນ ຄົງ ຂອງຊີວິດ (precarity), ບົດຄົ້ນ ຄວ້ານີ້ ຊີ້ໃ ຫເ້ ຫນັ ວ່ າ ການຫຸຼດລງົ ຂອງອດັ ຕາຄວາມທຸກຍາກ ໂດຍອີງໃສ່ລາຍຮັບເປັນຕົ້ນຕໍ ຢູ ່ ຫຼາຍບ້ານທີ ່ ໄດ້ຮັບຜົນກະທົບນັ້ນ ບໍ ່ ໄດ້ໝາຍຄວາມວ່ າ ຊາວບ້ານຈະມີຊີວິດການເປັນຢູ ່ ທີ ່ ດີຂຶ້ນ . ມບີ າງກໍລະ ນີ, ປະຊາຊົນສູນເສຍທີ ່ ດິນໃຫ້ແກ່ ໂຄງການລົງທຶນ ແຕ່ ບໍ ່ ໄດ້ຮັບໂອກາດເຂົ້າ ເປັນແຮງງານຮບັ ຈາ້ ງ ແລະ ໃນຫຼາຍກໍລະນ ີ ຊາວບາ້ ນໄດກ້ າຍເປັນ ເຄ່ ງິ -ແຮງງານຮບັ ຈາ້ ງ ໂດຍຢ່ ູພາຍໃຕເ້ ງ່ອື ນໄຂແບບຄວາມຈາໍ ເປັນ ແທນທ່ ຈີ ະເປັນຍຸດທະສາດ ສໍາລບັ ຊວີ ດິ ການເປັນຢ່ ູແບບຍນື ຍງົ . ເພ່ ອື ຫຼກີ ລຽ້ ງ ຜນົ ກະທບົ ດາ້ ນລບົ ຈາກ LSLAs ແລະ ຮບັ ປະກນັ ວ່ າ ການລງົ ທນຶ ດ່ ງັ ກ່ າວ ປະກອບສ່ ວນເຮດັ ໃຫ ້ ການເຕບີ ໂຕດາ້ ນການຜະ ລິດກະສິກໍາແບບຍືນຍົງນັ້ນ , ຜົນໄດ້ຮັບຈາກການຄົ້ນ ຄວາ້ ນ ີ້ ສະທອ້ ນເຖງິ ສ່ ບີ ນັ ຫາທ່ ສີ ໍາຄນັ ທ່ ຄີ ວນຈະພຈິ າລະນາ ໄດແ້ ກ່ : ໜ່ ງຶ , ຕອ້ ງມ ີ ກນົ ໄກໃນການປະເມນີ ແລະ ຕດິ ຕາມ ຜນົ ກະທບົ ດາ້ ນສງັ ຄມົ ແລະ ສ່ ງິ ແວດລອ້ ມ ແບບຄບົ ຊຸດ ໂດຍຄໍານງຶ ເຖງິ ບນັ ດາຊບັ ພະຍາ ກອນທໍາມະຊາດອື ່ ນໆ ເຊັ ່ ນ: ເຄື ່ ອງປ່ າຂອງດົງ, ໄມ້ທ່ ອນ ແລະ ສັດປ່ າ ແລະ ອື ່ ນໆ ແທນທີຈະເນັ້ນໃສ່ ແຕ່ ທີ ່ ດິນ ແລະ ລວມທັງການຈັດຕັ້ງ ປະຕິບັດ ບັນດາມາດຕະການທີ ່ ຈໍາເປັນ ແລະ ເໝາະສົມ. ພ້ອມກັນນັ້ນ ການປົກປອ້ ງສດິ ທກິ ານນໍາໃຊທ້ ່ ດີ ນິ ແລະ ຊບັ ພະຍາກອນທໍາມະຊາດ ຂອງປະຊາຊນົ ຈ່ ງຶ ເຫນັ ວ່ າມຄີ ວາມສໍາຄນັ ຫຼາຍ ເນ່ ອື ງຈາກວ່ າ ຊບັ ພະຍາກອນທໍາມະຊາດ ຍງັ ມບີ ດົ ບາດສໍາຄນັ ຫຼາຍໃນການຮບັ ມກື ບັ ເຫດສຸກ ເສນີ . ຊ່ ງຶ ມນັ ຈະສາມາດຮບັ ປະກນັ ວ່ າ ຊາວກະສກິ ອນ ໂດຍສະເພາະແມ່ ນ ແມ່ ຍງິ ແລະ ກ່ ຸມສ່ ຽງ ເຊ່ ນັ : ກ່ ຸມຊນົ ເຜ່ າົ ສ່ ວນນອ້ ຍ ສາມາດສບື ຕ່ ໍ ການດໍາລງົ ຊວີ ດິ ທ່ ເີ ຄຍີ ປະຕບິ ດັ ຜ່ ານມາໄດ ້ ໂດຍສະເພາະແມ່ ນ ໃນຊ່ ວງໄລຍະເວລາຂາ້ ມຜ່ ານ. ສອງ, ຜົນກະທົບດ້ານລົບຂອງການລົງທຶນມັກຈະເກີດຂຶ້ນ ໃນກໍລະນທີ ່ ີ ຊາວບາ້ ນຍງັ ອາໄສຊບັ ພະຍາກອນທໍາມະຊາດ ໃນການດໍາລງົ ຊວີ ດິ ເປັນຕົ້ນ ຕໍ ເມື ່ ອທຽບໃສ່ ກໍລະນີ ທີ ່ ຊາວບ້ານໄດ້ຫັນໄປສູ ່ ຂະແໜງການອື ່ ນທີ ່ ບໍ ່ ແມ່ ນການກະສິກໍາແລ້ວ. ສະນັ້ນ , ຈ່ ງຶ ແນະນໍາວ່ າ ຂະບວນການ ຕດັ ສນິ ໃຈ ຫຼ ື ວາງແຜນ ຄວນມກີ ານພຈິ າລະນາເຖງິ ຄວາມແຕກຕ່ າງຂອງປະຊາຊນົ ຢ່ ູໃນແຕ່ ລະເຂດ. ສາມ, ຫກຼັ ການ ກ່ ຽວກບັ ຄວາມສອດຄ່ ອງຂອງສາກນົ (Code of Conduct) ເຊ່ ນັ : ການເຫນັ ດ ີ ເຫນັ ພອ້ ມ ໂດຍມກີ ານຕດັ ສນິ ໃຈຢ່ າງ ອດິ ສະຫຼະ ແລະ ມກີ ານແຈງ້ ລ່ ວງໜາ້ ຢ່ າງດຽວ ແມ່ ນບ່ ໍສາມາດ ຮບັ ປະກນັ ຜນົ ໄດຮ້ ບັ ທາງດາ້ ນບວກໄດ ້ ແຕ່ ມນັ ຕອບສະໜອງ ໂອກາດ ໃນ ການປຶກສາຫາລື ແລະ ການເຈລະຈາໃຫ້ແກ່ ຊຸມຊົນ. ສະນັ້ນ , ຫຼກັ ການເຫ່ ຼາົ ນ ີ້ ແມ່ ນຄວນເປັນເຄ່ ອື ງມທື ່ ສີ ໍາຄນັ ທ່ ນີ ກັ ລງົ ທນຶ ຕອ້ ງນາໍ ໃຊ ້ ແຕ່ ບ່ ໍ ຄວນຖວື ່ າມນັ ເປັນທາງອອກ ສໍາລບັ ການປົກປອ້ ງຜນົ ກະທບົ ດາ້ ນສງັ ຄມົ . ສຸດທາ້ ຍ, ເຫນັ ວ່ າ ການສ່ ງົ ເສມີ ການລງົ ທນຶ ໃສ່ ທ່ ດີ ນິ ເພ່ ອື ເປັນເຄ່ ອື ງມໜື ່ ງຶ ໃນການຫຸຼດຜ່ ອນຄວາມທຸກຍາກຢ່ ູເຂດຊນົ ນະບດົ ໂດຍການຫນັ ຈາກ ການອາໄສຊບັ ພະຍາກອນທໍາມະຊາດ ໄປສ່ ູການເປັນແຮງງານຮບັ ຈາ້ ງ ແມ່ ນມປີ ະສດິ ທຜິ ນົ ຖາ້ ຫາກມ ີ ບນັ ດາມາດຕະການທ່ ຈີ າໍ ເປັນ. ສະນັ້ນ , ຈຶ ່ ງເຫັນວ່ າ ລັດຖະບານ ຈະຕ້ອງໄດ້ພິຈາລະນາເລືອກ (trade-offs) ລະຫວ່ າງ ເປົ້າ ໝາຍ ຂອງການພັດທະນາ - ຕົວຢ່າງ ໂຄງການ ລງົ ທນຶ ຂະໜາດໃຫຍ່ ແລະ ນໍາໃຊແ້ ຮງງານຄນົ ເປັນຫຼກັ ອາດບ່ ໍປະກອບສ່ ວນຫຼາຍປານໃດ ຕ່ ໍກບັ ການເຕບີ ໂຕແຫ່ ງຊາດ ແຕ່ ມນັ ອາດສາ້ ງວຽກ ເຮດັ ງານທໍາໄດຫ້ ຼາຍກວ່ າ.
The Situation In Guinea-Bissau Report Of The Secretary-General On Developments In Guinea-Bissau And The Activities Of The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office In ; United Nations S/PV.8186 Security Council Seventy-third year 8186th meeting Thursday, 22 February 2018, noon New York Provisional President: Sheikh Al Sabah . (Kuwait) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of). . Mr. Llorentty Solíz China. . Mr. Ma Zhaoxu Côte d'Ivoire. . Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue Equatorial Guinea. . Mr. Ndong Mba Ethiopia. . Mr. Alemu France. . Mr. Delattre Kazakhstan. . Mr. Temenov Netherlands. . Mr. Van Oosterom Peru. . Mr. Meza-Cuadra Poland. . Ms. Wronecka Russian Federation. . Mr. Nebenzia Sweden . Mr. Skoog United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Mr. Hickey United States of America. . Ms. Eckels-Currie Agenda The situation in the Middle East This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 (verbatimrecords@un.org). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 18-04815 (E) *1804815* S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 2/19 18-04815 The meeting was called to order at 12.10 p.m. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in the Middle East The President (spoke in Arabic): In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to participate in this meeting: Mr. Lowcock is joining the meeting via video-teleconference from Geneva. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Mr. Lowcock. Mr. Lowcock: My colleagues and I have given the Security Council a lot of updates on the situation in eastern Ghouta over the past three months. I want to start today by bringing members some voices directly from eastern Ghouta. The Office of the Special Envoy in Geneva has, just in the past three days, received thousands of messages on instant messaging applications from civilians there. They are pleading for help. Here is one of them, from a humanitarian worker in the area — a person well versed in international humanitarian law: "During the past two months, military operations turned into a process of systematic targeting of civilians. Most air raids have intentionally targeted civilian residential buildings. Whole families have died under the rubble. Today, and as battles intensify, I call on you, as a father now expecting my first child to be born, and as a humanitarian worker trying to maintain what is left of life, to act to stop the systematic operations against civilians and open the roads for humanitarian assistance." Here are more voices. "There are entire families being targeted. A mother and her three children. Four pregnant women; one died, another is in a critical condition, the third lost her baby, and the fourth is under observation. A young girl lost both eyes, and it is continuing." "We do not want war, we do not want war, we do not want war." "Can you hear our messages, voices and fear?" "Our situation is so tragic. Our basements are not safe and lack basic needs. Help us, be with us." "Instead of saying 'no more', the world is saying 'one more.'" As representatives of Member States, all here aware that their obligations under international humanitarian law are just that — they are binding obligations. They are not favours to be traded in a game of death and destruction. Humanitarian access is not a nice-to-have; it is a legal requirement. Counterterrorism efforts cannot supersede the obligation to respect and protect civilians. They do not justify the killing of civilians and the destruction of entire cities and neighbourhoods. The Council has been briefed in minute detail, month after month, on the scale of the suffering of the Syrian people. Our reports have indeed been endless: dead and injured children, women and men; airstrikes, mortars, rockets, barrel bombs, cluster munitions, chemical weapons, thermite bombs, suicide bombs, snipers, double-tap attacks on civilians and the essential infrastructure they depend on, including hospitals and schools; rape, illegal detention, torture, child recruitment and sieges of entire cities reminiscent of medieval times. Over the past 24 hours, heavy shelling and aerial bombardment of multiple communities in eastern Ghouta have reportedly continued, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people and wounding at least 200. According to some sources, the total death toll since 19 February is close to 300 people. Twenty-three attacks on vital civilian infrastructure have been reported since 19 February. At least seven health facilities were reportedly hit on 21 February. The only primary health-care centre in Modira town was reportedly rendered out of service by airstrikes. A hospital in Duma city sustained significant damage from nearby barrel bombs. Also in Duma city, an obstetrics centre was damaged A hospital in Jisrein town was reportedly attacked, resulting in the death of a nurse. The two Syrian Arab Red Crescent centres in Duma city and Harasta town were reportedly damaged 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 3/19 by the bombardment. Meanwhile — and this is also a point I have consistently emphasized — mortar shelling from eastern Ghouta is reportedly killing and injuring scores of civilians in Damascus city, too.Members all know the statistics of this conflict. They know that half the Syrian population has either fled the country or faced repeated internal displacement. These people have lost everything. They have seen their homes destroyed, their neighbours killed, their loved ones disappear. Everyone knows that the repeated confirmed or alleged chemical attacks in Syria have killed and terrorized Syrian civilians.Eastern Ghouta is a living example of an entirely known, predictable and preventable humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes. Everyone knows that nearly 400,000 people are besieged and that they have been besieged for more than four years. Everyone knows that in eastern Ghouta thousands upon thousands of children are facing acute malnutrition the likes of which we have not seen elsewhere in Syria since the onset of the conflict. Everyone knows that more than 700 people are in need of urgent medical evacuation to hospitals just miles away in Damascus city.We have all seen in recent days the images of bombs and mortars raining down on bakeries and medical facilities. According to reports documented by United Nations human rights colleagues, at least 346 civilians have been killed since the beginning of this month and close to 900 people have been injured. Members all heard the Secretary-General yesterday, in the Chamber, describing eastern Ghouta as "hell on Earth" and saying that we cannot "allow things to go on happening in this horrendous way". They also heard him pleading for "the immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta" (S/PV.8185, p. 2).Earlier this week, UNICEF issued a blank statement, as it could no longer find the words to describe the brutality of this war. Its only message was that "no words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones."This appalling violence is happening as we face significantly increased constraints on our ability to reach people trapped behind conflict lines. In recent months we have encountered greater difficulties in accessing people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, particularly through cross-line convoys, than during any period since 2015. Since 1 December, for nearly three months, we have been able to deploy only three cross-line convoys, reaching just 67,200 people. Only 7,200 of those people were in besieged areas, less than 2 per cent of the overall besieged population. In 2017, through November, approximately 53 cross-line convoys reached people in need, an average of nearly five convoys per month. A cumulative total of nearly 2 million people were reached in the first 11 months of 2017, or around 175,000 people per month. Therefore in 2017 we reached 175,000 a month; in the past three months we have reached 22,000 a month. Those are not reports or allegations. We have complete, factual information on this, because they are our convoys.Moreover, the 2017 access levels were themselves nearly 40 per cent below our access levels in 2016. Access is not only limited on aid deliveries, but we are also seeing growing challenges to our ability to independently assess needs on the ground and to monitor aid delivery.When an entire generation is robbed of its future, when hospital attacks have become the new normal, when sieges of entire cities and neighbourhoods have become a lasting reality for hundreds of thousands of people, the international community must take urgent and concrete action. I have said this before and I will say it again. What we need is a sustained cessation of hostilities, and we need it desperately — a cessation of violence that will enable the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and an alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people.The Council can still save lives in eastern Ghouta, and elsewhere in Syria. I urge it to do so. Millions of battered and beleaguered children, women and men depend on meaningful action by the Council.The President (spoke in Arabic): I thank Mr. Lowcock for his briefing.I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful to you, Mr. President, for the prompt response to our delegation's proposal to convene a special meeting on the situation in eastern Ghouta, in Syria. That certainly does not mean that other problematic areas require any less attention. In particular, not long ago, at our initiative, the Security Council discussed the dire situation in Raqqa in detail. S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 4/19 18-04815 And in general, over the past month we have revisited Syria's humanitarian issues more than once. I would like to ask Council members to listen carefully to what I have to say.It is past time to discuss frankly what is going on in this Damascus suburb. The mass psychosis in global media outlets of the past few days, working in coordination to circulate all the same rumours, is certainly not contributing to an understanding of the situation. When eastern Aleppo was in the news, propagandistic disaster scenarios were put forward for it — a city where, after it was liberated from the terrorists, warehouses full of medicines and medical equipment were discovered. At the time we demanded that the Secretariat conduct an investigation, but the report presented to the Security Council was blatantly superficial.We are constantly seeing images of the activities of the White Helmets, who pass themselves off as rescuers. They were long ago shown to be supported by generous foreign assistance, and they work closely with terrorist groups. As a general rule, they serve as the original sources of well-rewarded disinformation. We are given the impression that the whole of eastern Ghouta consists of nothing but hospitals and that it is the hospitals that the Syrian army is attacking. That is a well-known tactic in information warfare. It is a very well-known fact, however, that the militants everywhere make a habit of locating their military facilities in medical and educational institutions, but for some reason that inconvenient truth is not advertised.It would be a good idea to begin with the fact that there are still several thousand defiant militants in eastern Ghouta, including some affiliated with terrorist organizations, mainly Jabhat Al-Nusra. Some time ago, they breached the agreement on a cessation of hostilities with an attack on an armoured tank unit of the Syrian armed forces in Harasta. They are shelling Damascus, and the intensity of the attacks increases daily. Dozens of missiles are launched every day, and not a single area of the capital has been spared. For some reason, those statistics are not being taken into account by United Nations representatives, although the Permanent Mission of Syria distributes them regularly. We have pointed out that in a 20 February statement, an official representative of the Secretary-General described factual information as "reported" (see S/PV.8183). And today the Under-Secretary-General talked about reported shelling. But those reports could easily have been verified by United Nations staff if they had inspected the areas of destruction and visited the victims.The Russian Embassy facilities have been repeatedly shelled, and each time the same delegations in the Security Council have made up excuses to lay off the blame for these terrorist acts. One is compelled to conclude that someone is purposely helping the criminals avoid accountability. Incidentally, we are disturbed by the fact that not so long ago, representatives of some delegations who view themselves as leaders in the protection of human rights and international humanitarian law quite seriously said that the damage resulting from the shelling in Damascus did not reach a level deserving of the attention given to eastern Ghouta. Our immediate response was to ask how many people have to die to attain, as it were, the gold standard of sympathy? There has been no answer. Is it appropriate to pass over the tragedies in Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul and Raqqa in silence while drumming up hysteria about Madaya, Daraya, eastern Aleppo and eastern Ghouta, encouraging militants to to further humiliate civilians?Incidentally, the coalition forces' methodical destruction of Raqqa is extremely recent. The memory of it is hardly likely to have faded so quickly. For some reason, when the Coalition bombing flattened Raqqa, no one sounded the alarm, demanded compliance with international humanitarian law or proposed an immediate ceasefire. Yes, the Coalition smoked the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) out of Raqqa. We know that. But with that done, the United States has forgotten about the city. No one is clearing any mines there. Who is aware of the fact that as many as 50 returning civilians are blown up by mines in Raqqa every day? Nor do we see much enthusiasm from these famous activists about the worst humanitarian crisis of our time, which happens to be unfolding against the backdrop of the armed conflict in Yemen.The militants have turned the people who are left in eastern Ghouta into hostages who are not allowed to leave the area under rebel control through the Al-Wafideen checkpoint. The Russian Centre for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides has urged the illegal groups to lay down their arms and resolve their status, but they broke off negotiations yesterday, on 21 February. It is quite obvious that they do not care about the life and safety of the residents of eastern Ghouta, whom they use as human shields to hide behind. Their aim consists of continuing to negotiate 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 5/19 tactical and logistical advantages for themselves. That does not seem to particularly worry these groups' foreign sponsors, who might be able to exert crucial influence on them. But no, they would rather maintain the status quo and organize loud campaigns blackening Syria and Russia.Energy is also being wasted on fragmenting the international efforts regarding a settlement in Syria. Instead of giving due backing to the Astana de-escalation process and the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, which have become an important support to the inter-Syrian negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva, we see ongoing backroom efforts designed to openly undermine the work being done through those platforms. On top of that, exclusive clubs are being created, one striking example of which is the so-called International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, which undermines the established frameworks for international cooperation on non-proliferation. We know that preparations are being made for an unofficial presentation of that initiative in Geneva. We would like to reaffirm our position in that regard, which is that in view of the neutral status of respected international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, representatives of their secretariats should not be associated with narrow initiatives such as these, which do not enjoy universal support.Many are now asking the logical question of how de-escalation in eastern Ghouta and other problematic areas of Syria can be achieved as soon as possible. The delegations of Sweden and Kuwait have come up with their recipe for this, in their role as informal monitors of the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict in the Security Council. Their draft resolution — which has now been officially prepared for a vote, despite the fact that the authors know perfectly well that there is no agreement on it — proposes an apparently simple idea, which is the establishment of a ceasefire throughout Syria for not less than 30 days. We would very much like to know how such a truce will be guaranteed, but we have had no intelligible answers. The important thing, they say, is adopting the decision, and we can come up with the details later. An issue as complex as the Syrian conflict does not respond to such logic. We have been through this before, including, once again, in the case of eastern Aleppo.In principle, a ceasefire would be extremely significant, and not just for ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid. The challenge is in how to achieve it. What we need here is not resolutions for the sake of resolutions, but measures that correspond to the realities on the ground. We are constantly talking about ensuring that the Security Council agrees on feasible decisions that are not divorced from reality or that cater to populist demands. This is about the credibility of the principal organ of the United Nations, responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter, whose purposes and principles we were discussing only yesterday. If we could stop the violence in crisis zones with resolutions, we would already be living in a completely different world.It will take long and hard work with the sides to the conflict to stabilize the situation so that the parties can sit down at the negotiating table and come up with the parameters for a ceasefire. There is no other way. It will also be impossible to ensure on paper that in 48 hours, or any other amount of time, humanitarian convoys can get going and mass medical evacuations begin. By the way, specific parameters for normalizing a number of complex issues are currently being formulated in Geneva, including by using the potential of the specialist International Syria Support Group. They include the Rukban camp for displaced persons — where, we understand, the United States military presence occupying the area has finally given the United Nations written guarantees — the Yarmouk camp, where the ISIL terrorists still have a presence, and the Fua and Kefraya enclaves.In that connection, I would like to know if the authors of today's initiative genuinely do not understand its utopian nature or if there is some other purpose at work here that has nothing to do with a desire to help struggling Syrians. Unfortunately, the story of eastern Aleppo in 2016 suggests that the second is true, and that the aim is to start a fight so as to strengthen international pressure on the Syrian authorities and slander Russia. Besides that, it shifts the focus from the importance of reviving the Geneva process as quickly as possible on the basis of the agreements that the Syrians arrived at in Sochi to indiscriminate accusations against the Syrian Government. Will that improve Geneva's chances of success?I will say it again to make sure that everyone hears it one more time. Russia will continue to do everything S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 6/19 18-04815 possible to achieve peace in Syria and restore stability to the Middle East. We call on our partners to do the same in a spirit of constructive cooperation and in cooperation with the United Nations, rather than continuing to sow confusion, ramp up support for jihadists and tear the region apart. For this draft resolution to be meaningful and realistic, the Russian delegation has prepared some amendments to it that we will now circulated to Council members.Mr. Skoog (Sweden): I would like to thank the Russian Federation for calling for a meeting on the horrendous situation in eastern Ghouta, and Mr. Mark Lowcock for his briefing. I will now make some brief remarks on behalf of Sweden and Kuwait.In seven years of war, the situation in the besieged area of eastern Ghouta has never been worse. I would like to thank the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for another briefing reminding us of the horrific reality for citizens in eastern Ghouta and of the Council's responsibilities. Yesterday, in this Chamber, the Secretary-General said that the 400,000 inhabitants of eastern Ghouta live in hell on earth. His appeal to all of us in the Council was to act — to immediately suspend all war activities in eastern Ghouta, allowing for humanitarian aid to reach all of those in need, allowing for the evacuation of the hundreds of people that need urgent treatment and that cannot be provided for and allowing the possibility for other civilians to be effectively treated. I want to take this opportunity to remind all parties, as Mark Lowcock just did, of their obligations under international law to protect civilians and hospitals and other medical facilities.The co-penholders, Sweden and Kuwait, have put forward a draft resolution to respond to the constant legitimate calls from the United Nations for a nationwide cessation of hostilities for 30 days in order to allow for humanitarian access and emergency medical evacuations. Our draft resolution also calls for the lifting of the siege directed against eastern Ghouta. We plead to all Council members to come together to support the draft resolution and to urgently adopt it so that we can halt the incessant attacks against eastern Ghouta and beyond, and we can avert a situation that is beyond words in its desperation. We, Sweden and Kuwait, furthermore urge the parties to the de-escalation agreement in eastern Ghouta to comply and implement it. We call upon the Astana guarantors — Russia, Iran and Turkey — to spare no effort and bring all their influence to bear on the parties to that end to avert the human disaster unfolding before our eyes.In response to our Russian colleague on our draft resolution, the United Nations convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go, subject to standard security procedures. The draft resolution that we are putting forward is not a comprehensive peace deal. Its aim is a much-needed humanitarian pause for an initial period of 30 days. There are already ceasefire agreements in force for the areas where fighting has escalated the most recently. They must be complied with. There are existing monitoring mechanisms that can be utilized. The role of the Council, I believe, is to push the parties to the conflict to comply with the proposed cessation of hostilities. Compliance is on the shoulders of the parties. I think that we can make a difference, and I think that we are tested today — not just as Ambassadors representing our countries, but as human beings. That is a massive responsibility.The President (spoke in Arabic): I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait. At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his briefing today. The remarks in Mr. Lowcock's statements are in line with the Secretary-General's remarks yesterday morning (see S/PV.8185) — that eastern Ghouta can wait no longer. There is tremendous suffering there, with 400,000 people who are living hell on Earth.We support all what the Permanent Representative of Sweden, Mr. Skoog, said in his statement on behalf of Kuwait and Sweden as co-penholders of the humanitarian dossier in Syria. It is unfortunate that the number of people killed since the beginning of this month in eastern Ghouta has reached 1,200 civilians. The international community is silent; it stands still. The question here is: How long we are going to remain silent? How many more civilians, women, children and elderly must die or be displaced until the international community starts taking action and speaking in one voice and saying enough — enough carnage and grave violations of human rights law and international human law? In that regard, I would like to make the following points.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 7/19 First, Kuwait and Sweden, in response to the clear-cut demands of the United Nations on the humanitarian situation in Syria, have jointly submitted a simple and clear draft resolution that demands a cessation of hostilities across Syria for a 30-day period in order for the United Nations and its partners to be able to deliver humanitarian aid and services and provide critical medical evacuation to the sick and wounded, in accordance with the provisions of international law, and end the blockade on residential areas.Secondly, action on the part of the the State of Kuwait is based on our religious and national duty to our brothers in Syria. We have a legal, human and ethical responsibility to end their suffering. In that connection, we call on all Member States to support the draft resolution and vote in its favour. We should rise above our political differences to protect civilians.Thirdly, a failure to ende the systematic and horrendous carnage and bloodshed that has continued for seven years with various weapons would only serve to encourage the perpetuation of such crimes without accountability, as those who commit them are heartened by impunity.I now resume my functions as President of the Council.Ms. Eckels-Currie (United States of America): I thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his briefing, particularly his noting of the systematic targeting of civilians in eastern Ghouta and the toll that it is taking on the people there.Yesterday, Russia's Permanent Representative requested this meeting in order to "make sure that all parties can present their views". The view that Mr. Lowcock presented today is, as the Secretary-General said and others have repeated, one of hell on Earth for the people of eastern Ghouta. I would also like to share the vision of some of the people of eastern Ghouta.Bilal is 22 years old, with a wife who is five months pregnant. He says, "We are waiting our turn to die; this is the only thing I can say". Abdullah is a construction worker, with a wife and six children. He says,"Bombs were falling everywhere near our house. We have been spending the last week digging into the rubble of nearby areas with our bare hands."Malik is a doctor treating the wounded. He says,"The hospitals have been overflowing with blood. We are doing what we can to help, but the situation is becoming unbearable."Those are just a few of the overwhelming number of horrific stories coming out of eastern Ghouta everyday. The pictures and videos are everywhere — screaming parents digging through rubble to find their children; doctors working frantically with no medicine and no equipment in underground hospitals to save whoever they can. Those are not terrorists showing up in these makeshift emergency rooms — they are civilians. They are ordinary people, under attack by a barbaric Al-Assad regime that is bent on levelling eastern Ghouta to the ground, with no regard for the 400,000 men, women and children who live there.No one needs to use their imagination to know what the Al-Assad regime is planning. It is exactly what we saw in Aleppo in 2016, and in Hama and Homs before that. The Al-Assad regime wants to bomb or starve of all of its opponents into submission. That is why, except for two small deliveries of aid, the regime has not allowed any medical convoys or deliveries of food into eastern Ghouta since November, and the bombing attacks have been relentless. The regime wants to keep bombing and gassing these 400,000 people, and the Al-Assad regime is counting on Russia to make sure the Council is unable to stop their suffering.Yesterday the Russian representative asked for the parties to present their views, and has put forward a deeply cynical one today. Those present have now also heard from the United Nations humanitarian leader and from people, like Bilal, Abdullah and Malik. The assault from the regime is relentless, and the suffering is overwhelming. The Russian Permanent Representative also asked that we "come up with ways of getting out of the situation." Yet it appears to be intent on blocking any meaningful effort to do so.None of us on the Council need to look very far for the way out. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our colleagues from Kuwait and Sweden, the way is sitting in front of us. We have a draft resolution establishing a 30-day ceasefire to help shield the people of eastern Ghouta and allow for deliveries of food and medicine to arrive. All 15 of us have spent the past three weeks negotiating that text, patiently attempting to work with each other, including the Russian delegation. We believed we had an agreed text. There are no surprises here. The United S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 8/19 18-04815 States is ready to vote on the draft resolution — right here and right now. All of us should be ready. Sweden and Kuwait have consulted everyone on that text. They have done their part. There is no reason to delay. Literally, the minute this meeting ends, the Council can take the clearest possible step to help — vote for a ceasefire and vote for humanitarian access.What the people of Eastern Ghouta need is not complicated, and do not just take our word for it. The International Committee of the Red Cross head of delegation in Syria summed it up, "This is madness and it has to stop". The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid, asked,"How much cruelty will it take before the international community can speak with one voice to say enough dead children, enough wrecked families, enough violence, and take resolute concerted action to bring this monstrous campaign of annihilation to an end?"UNICEF can hardly put words on a page. All UNICEF said in a haunting statement was, "No words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones". The Secretary-General made his point clearly yesterday. He supports the cessation of hostilities because eastern Ghouta cannot wait.Yesterday Russia's Permanent Representative asked what we should do about eastern Ghouta. The people of eastern Ghouta, United Nations officials, humanitarian and human rights leaders and, indeed, pretty much the entirety of the Council have answered: stop the bombing of eastern Ghouta and allow medical assistance in. The rest of the Council is ready to act. We urge the Council to move forward with the ceasefire and humanitarian draft resolution immediately.Mr. Ma Zhaoxu (China) (spoke in Chinese): I would like to thank Russia for its initiative in convening this meeting. I also thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his briefing.Recently, the security situation in parts of Syria, including its capital, Damascus, and the eastern Ghouta region, has escalated, causing significant civilian casualties, which is drawing broad attention from the international community. China would like to express its profound sympathy to the Syrian people for their suffering. We condemn all acts of violence that target civilians and civilian facilities and harm innocent lives. China has always believed that there is no military solution to the Syrian issue; it would only aggravate the suffering of the Syrian people. A political settlement is the only way out.The present situation is now such that the international community needs to support the Syrian parties in the resumption of dialogue and negotiations under the United Nations mediation as soon as possible and in seeking a solution that is accepted by all parties through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process. That is the only way to fundamentally ease the humanitarian situation in Syria and rid the Syrian people of their suffering at an early date.Terrorist organizations are still launching attacks in Syria, which have caused significant civilian casualties and impeded humanitarian relief efforts by the United Nations. The international community should strengthen its cooperation on counter-terrorism, adopt unified standards and resolutely combat all terrorist organizations designated as such by the Security Council.As part of the Syrian issue, the humanitarian aspect in the country is closely linked to Syria's overall situation, in addition to its political process. Actions taken by the Security Council on Syria's humanitarian issue should not only help ease the overall humanitarian situation in the country, but also help consolidate the momentum for a ceasefire in Syria and be conducive to the bigger picture of a political settlement to the issue. China calls upon the Security Council to remain united on the issue of Syria, speak with one voice and create favourable conditions for substantive progress in Syria's political process at an early date.Mr. Delattre (France) (spoke in French): I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock for his enlightening briefing of the situation of the inhabitants of eastern Ghouta. Mr. Lowcock has said it all — the torrent of fire that is indiscriminately falling eastern Ghouta is relentlessly pushing the limits of horror and human suffering. There are no words to describe what is taking place in eastern Ghouta as we speak.The regime is not merely bombing its own people. It is methodically targeting hospitals and vital infrastructure for the population with the macabre aim of ensuring that the injured who have not perished during the shelling do not survive the wounds inflicted upon them. We must insist that the attacks against hospitals and health-care personnel constitute war crimes, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 9/19 The reports we have received from non-governmental organizations and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights are unbearable. Twenty eight attacks struck 20 hospitals in eastern Ghouta since January. More than 700 individuals are in need of urgent medical evacuation. Those evacuations are systematically blocked by the Damascus regime, which has been the case for months. More than 400,000 people, including 130,000 children, have been besieged for months by the regime as part of a siege that is reminiscent of the Middle Ages.We should make no mistake: the Syrian regime and its allies are brandishing the fight against jihadist fighters, the need for which no one is disputing, as justification of an offensive aimed at entirely different goals. Its real intentions are indeed to annihilate any and all opposition and break the morale of civilians by indiscriminately massacring them. The offensive against eastern Ghouta, which has seen an unbridled acceleration in recent years — the worst of which is undoubtedly yet to come — has added to both the methods and consequences of the new Aleppo. Let us recall that in that city the intensification of bombing preceded a reconquest operation and unknown levels of violence that never sought to shield civilians or rule out the use of chemical weapons. We shall be particularly vigilant on the latter.Yesterday, through President Macron, France emphatically condemned the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. We called for the immediate establishment of a ceasefire to enable medical evacuations and humanitarian access to the people. The Secretary-General also spoke resolutely along the same lines. As was recalled this morning by the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, any lack of action is an indication of guilt. We must act swiftly, for the Council has the means at its disposal, if the willingness is put forth.Sweden and Kuwait, the commitment of which France commends, have proposed a draft resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities to enable humanitarians to evacuate the wounded and gain access to the people. The draft resolution before us does not seem to me to be a political judgement. It conveys the humanitarian imperative that, as such, must bring us together. Accordingly, we have noted Russia's intention to propose changes to the draft resolution. We will consider them, but it is crucial that we quickly adopt the draft resolution so that a cessation of hostilities takes place immediately, as addressing the situation on the ground is of the utmost urgency.A cessation of hostilities is not a concession. It is the minimal form of response to the repeated requests of the United Nations and humanitarian actors, which have been communicated by members of the Council. Subsequently, it is up to the regime's supporters to ensure full respect and to respond to all calls for access to humanitarian assistance and medical evacuations under international humanitarian law. It is inconceivable to us that a Council member could be opposed to that.At the same time, we must — and France stands ready to — redouble our efforts to establish a neutral environment that will allow for a credible political process and the holding of elections in Syria. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, France has consistently advocated for the priority of achieving a negotiated solution to the military situation and of finding a political solution that satisfies the aspirations of the Syrian people, ensures lasting peace and stops terrorism in its tracks. France will not deviate from the road map adopted by the international community. We have already said, and will say once again, that only a political, inclusive solution, established under the auspices of the United Nations through enabling a political transition within the framework of the Geneva process and resolution 2254 (2015), will end the suffering of the Syrian people in a credible and lasting manner.I should like to conclude with both a warning and an appeal. Not only has the situation in Syria reverted to the tragic darkest hours of the crisis, but, if we fail to react robustly and immediately — let us make no mistake — the worst is yet to come. The worst is the endless escalation of the humanitarian crisis that is crushing the people, any semblance of humanity and the very values underpinning the United Nations. A widespread ground campaign directed against eastern Ghouta might well be the next deadly stage. The worst is also the expansion of the conflict. The combination of circumstances before us today might lead to a potentially major regional or even international confrontation. That risk must be taken very seriously.In the name of our shared values and interests, I call on every member of the Council to join and act together. We owe that to the civilians who are dying by the hundreds in the hell in eastern Ghouta. We owe it to the security of the region and of the world, which S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 10/19 18-04815 we have the collective responsibility to protect. We owe it to upholding the credibility of the United Nations, which is our shared heritage. Let us beware that the Syrian tragedy does not also become the grave of the United Nations.Mr. Meza-Cuadra (Peru) (spoke in Spanish): We thank Mr. Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his briefing today on the tragic situation facing the more than 400,000 people living in eastern Ghouta and in other cities.We heard with dismay that, in that area, the basic principles of international humanitarian law and human rights continue to be disregarded. That has been evidenced by the incessant and merciless bombardments resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties — many of whom are women and children — on a daily basis. Far from decreasing, the bombardments have intensified over the past several days and weeks, as has been the case with regard to the number of people with urgent medical issues who are dying because they cannot be evacuated. We deeply regret that humanitarian convoys are unable to reach besieged and difficult-to-access areas, such as eastern Ghouta, among others, despite repeated appeals from the United Nations and various countries, including Peru, to facilitate immediate, safe and unrestricted access in eastern Ghouta, as well as other areas of Syria.All those facts, which are ultimately allowing for and fuelling a hell on Earth, as the Under-Secretary-General just pointed out to us, warrant our strongest condemnation. We must remind all parties, including the Syrian authorities, of the responsibility to protect the civilian population. The United Nations has determined various actions that can be taken to alleviate the suffering of civilians in eastern Ghouta and other affected areas. We stress the importance of the immediate implementation of a 30-day cessation of hostilities to allow for providing aid and setting out and implementing the humanitarian assistance response plan and the five priorities that Mr. Lowcock mentioned. Those are all indispensable and urgently needed measures that Peru fully supports.Implementing them will require a genuine political will to reverse direction and turn them into a reality. Accordingly, we thank Sweden and Kuwait for their generous efforts to reach a consensus on a draft resolution on a cessation of hostilities, which we hope can be adopted as soon as possible. It is of the utmost importance that Council members, in particular those who are able to exercise their influence on the ground, show the world their unity, sense of duty and willingness to compromise, and that we send a clear signal that prioritizes human beings over other interests.The Council must be able to rise to the occasion and fulfil its sensitive and important responsibilities. All can count on my delegation's commitment to carrying out actions that will alleviate the human suffering in eastern Ghouta and throughout Syria.Mr. Van Oosterom (Netherlands): We thank the presidency for convening this meeting, and I thank Mark Lowcock for his sobering briefing. I will address the following three points: first, the escalation of violence in eastern Ghouta, secondly, international humanitarian law, and, thirdly, action by the Security Council.First, with regard to the escalation of violence in eastern Ghouta, we are meeting at a moment of grave distress for the people in eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria. We have seen the extreme escalation of violence in Idlib and eastern Ghouta, which was initiated a few weeks ago by the Syrian regime and its allies. That has severely intensified over the past several days and continues without pause, as Mark Lowcock clearly described. We condemn all indiscriminate attacks directed against civilians. Communities in eastern Ghouta have experienced the most intense bombardments since the beginning of the siege in 2012. Mortars are also being fired into Damascus. Families do not have a safe place to hide. Women and children are dying. Last Monday, the United Nations reported, over a period of just 13 hours, at least, 92 civilian deaths in eastern Ghouta, and the total death toll since Monday appears to stand now at approximately 300.We continue to receive reports of attacks on hospitals and of the renewed use of chemical weapons, thereby leading to the inhumane suffering of civilians and those who try to help them. We pay tribute to the humanitarian efforts of the White Helmets. We condemn targeted attacks against them. While the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian-populated areas continues, desperately needed humanitarian aid, including medical aid, for the people of eastern Ghouta cannot be delivered. We condemn the incessant violence and the barbaric tactics of besiegement. We have seen those tactics before. If we think back to Aleppo in December 2016, the same scenario took place. The regime turned 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 11/19 that city into an unlivable hell where civilians were imprisoned, constantly targeted from the air and cut off from any form of aid. The Council should not stand by and watch a repetition of such events in eastern Ghouta.Secondly, concerning the erosion of international humanitarian law, in witnessing the sheer disregard for human life, we must ask ourselves: What has become of the hard-won gains in the area of international humanitarian law? The lack of compliance with the Geneva Conventions by parties to the Syrian conflict erodes the very norms enshrined therein. It also erodes the rules-based international order. We cannot let that happen. The carnage in Syria must stop. The Council must take effective, credible and decisive action today. The world is watching. We call upon all parties to the Syrian conflict, in particular the Syrian regime and its allies, to stop the targeting of civilians, stop the attacks on hospitals and facilitate immediate access for humanitarian organizations to deliver much needed aid.That brings me to my third point, which is action by the Council on the cessation of hostilities. We thank penholders Kuwait and Sweden for negotiating a draft resolution during the past two weeks that addresses the dire situation in Syria. We pay tribute to the prudent, inclusive manner in which Sweden and Kuwait have organized negotiations on the draft resolution. We wholeheartedly support the Swedish-Kuwaiti appeal to support their text.The draft resolution includes clear and implementable measures. We fully support an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria to enable aid convoys to deliver food and medicines to all those in need, and the safe medical evacuation of the critically ill and wounded. That must happen as soon as possible. Parties to the Syrian conflict and those with influence on them have a heavy responsibility to assure the safety of humanitarian operations and to ensure that no forced evacuations of civilians take place.In conclusion, some Council members say that the draft resolution cannot be implemented because it is not realistic. But with sufficient political will on the part of the parties involved in Syria, the cessation of hostilities can become a most urgently needed reality. The Council showed forceful action when it adopted resolution 2393 (2017) in December 2017 to alleviate the suffering in Syria by allowing for vital cross-border humanitarian aid. Let us again show forceful action. Let us prove to the world that we can agree to put the safety of civilians first, throughout Syria.The human suffering in Syria, in particular in Ghouta, must end. We need a cessation of hostilities now. We call on the Russian Federation in particular to use its influence, do its utmost to achieve that objective and allow the Council to act effectively. Let us adopt the realistic, clear and balanced draft resolution as it stands, end the violence and allow access for humanitarian assistance.Mr. Alemu (Ethiopia): We thank Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock for his briefing. We appreciate his efforts and understand the challenges he faces.We are deeply concerned about the military escalation in eastern Ghouta and its devastating impact on civilians. We are also equally concerned about escalating conflict in other parts of Syria. The continued reports of attacks against medical facilities, resulting in a number of civilian deaths and injuries, is indeed extremely worrying. We stress that it is absolutely imperative to protect civilians in eastern Ghouta and other affected areas.Nonetheless, we should never overlook the fact that the capital, Damascus, is being shelled from eastern Ghouta — one of its suburbs. All the same, it is impossible to deny the fact that life-saving aid must reach all Syrians in need of urgent assistance. In that regard, while we welcome the fact that the United Nations inter-agency convoy delivered life-saving assistance to more than 7,000 persons on 14 February, we acknowledge that, given the severity of the humanitarian situation, it is obviously not enough.To address humanitarian needs, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners should be allowed safe, improved and unhindered humanitarian access. As the Secretary-General recalled in his statement on 20 February and through his strong appeal yesterday in the Chamber (see S/PV.8185), a cessation of hostilities is desirable to enable humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuation. We see no problem with reaching a consensus on the matter. In that connection, members of the Council have been engaged in constructive discussions on how to ensure the implementation of a cessation of hostilities.As the situation on the ground becomes increasingly complex, we understand that implementing a humanitarian pause will not be easy. We understand S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 12/19 18-04815 the concerns of some in that regard. We do not ignore the possibility that terrorist elements might exploit that tool to advance their goals. It will require the political will and tangible cooperation, in good faith, of all Syrian actors, as well as of all States with influence over the parties. Let us not forget that the situation in Syria is becoming extremely complicated and that the humanitarian situation has not remained unaffected. We are extremely worried about the current trajectory.As a human tragedy unfolds before our very eyes, it is expected that the Council will take meaningful, collective action that could help save lives on the ground. That is why we have reiterated that the Council should extend its unified support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations and its partners. Only by working together will the Council convey a strong and unified message that could help facilitate the much-needed humanitarian work of the United Nations and alleviate the continued suffering of the Syrians. In that regard, the humanitarian draft resolution will perhaps provide us with a good opportunity to demonstrate our resolve for concrete action. It may not be a perfect text but we believe it paves the way for all parties to coordinate their existing efforts to halt hostilities for the sake of civilians who are in an extremely difficult situation.Let me take this opportunity to thank the two penholders Kuwait and Sweden, which have been working tirelessly to achieve a consensus outcome. We hope they will continue their much-appreciated efforts until the last minute to address the concerns — real, legitimate concerns — of all delegations.Let me conclude by reiterating that the escalating violence in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria should reinforce the importance and urgency of finding a comprehensive political solution, without which the suffering of Syrians will continue unabated.Ms. Wronecka (Poland): I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock for his briefing.As our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jacek Czaputowicz, stated yesterday with regard to eastern Ghouta, there is no justification for the indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians, including children, or on civilian infrastructure, such as health facilities. They must stop immediately and all parties to the conflict must strictly comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. We would like to stress that all actors should use their influence to bring about immediate and improved conditions on the ground.Once again, we urgently call for the cessation of hostilities in the whole of Syria. Attacks against civilian targets, including medical facilities, must stop now in order to relieve the enormous and unreasonable suffering of the Syrian people. We therefore call upon all parties to alleviate the suffering of civilians, including children, by granting them urgent, free and safe access to humanitarian assistance.With regard to the de-escalation zones, which include eastern Ghouta, I should recall that they were aimed at ensuring a ceasefire and humanitarian access in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law. In the light of this fact, I call on all parties engaged to respect their ceasefire-related commitments. I also call on States members of the Security Council to use their leverage on the parties in order to implement relevant previous commitments and to create conditions for a permanent ceasefire.In conclusion, I would like to stress the importance of maintaining the unity of the Council on the question of humanitarian access. We should find a mutually acceptable way to express a clear position of the Security Council in this regard. Accordingly, Poland would like to reiterate its support for the work of Sweden and Kuwait as penholders of the draft humanitarian resolution for Syria. Now more than ever do we need to make every possible effort to adopt the draft resolution as soon as possible. It is the Council's responsibility not to fail to stop the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the eastern Ghouta.Mr. Hickey (United Kingdom): I thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his very detailed and clear briefing today. It was very powerful to hear through him the voices of the people of eastern Ghouta.Russia called this meeting today to allow us to present our understanding of the situation on the ground and come up with ways of getting out of the situation. We have heard very clearly from Under-Secretary-General Lowcock today and from the Secretary-General yesterday about the situation on the ground (see S/PV.8185). This is hell on Earth; the scale of the human suffering and destruction is unbearable. The suffering of the Syrian people, while primarily the responsibility of the Syrian regime, brings shame on all of us in the Security Council.Let us be very clear about the main cause of this hell on Earth. It is the direct result of an escalation by 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 13/19 the Syrian regime of its aerial bombardment of civilian areas, using cluster bombs and chemical weapons and systematically killing hundreds of its own civilians. As others in this Chamber have said today, these are breaches of international humanitarian law and are war crimes. The United Kingdom will be unrelenting in its campaign to ensure accountability and justice for these crimes using all mechanisms at our disposal.We owe it to the people of eastern Ghouta to highlight the utter devastation facing them and then to take measures to stop it. According to the Syrian American Medical Society, in the first 48 hours of this week, 250 civilians were killed and 460 injured. Those who survived these attacks have been further targeted by the regime while trying to get help for their injuries. There have been 22 separate attacks on 20 different hospitals in the three days since Monday. We applaud the incredible work of the brave doctors on the ground who risk their own lives to save others. And like the Netherlands, we salute the heroes of the White Helmets who have demonstrated incredible bravery, courage and resilience to save the lives of thousands of Syrians on all sides of this conflict.From the start of the conflict, the Al-Assad regime has peddled the myth that all of those opposing Al-Assad are terrorists. This is manifestly not the case. The people of eastern Ghouta are not terrorists. Jabhat Al-Nusra has only a small presence in eastern Ghouta; its fighters number less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the population of that area. Nothing can justify the barbaric bombardment we have seen in recent days or the blocking of humanitarian aid or the denial of medical evacuations. We also condemn the mortar shelling from eastern Ghouta of civilian areas of Damascus and attacks against the Russian embassy in that city.The Security Council has failed to uphold its responsibilities in Syria. We all know why this is the case, but we have all agreed that there can be no military solution to the conflict — only a political one. The actions of the Al-Assad regime in recent weeks and the military escalation in an area guaranteed by Russia and Iran as a de-escalation zone show cynical disregard by the regime for every member of the Security Council and for our resolutions. It is therefore vital that we all send a clear and unified message in response.The solution to the situation is not difficult. We need to see an immediate cessation of hostilities, including an immediate end to the aerial bombing of eastern Ghouta. If everyone in this Chamber were to commit unequivocally to this today, it could have an impact on the ground. It could save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children who are being killed as we speak here in this Chamber today. We therefore welcome the draft resolution put forward into blue by you, Mr. President, and by the delegation of Sweden, and we look forward to a vote later today.In conclusion, yesterday we discussed the principles of the United Nations Charter, which our predecessors drafted in the name of the peoples of the world to help save succeeding generations from the scourge of war (see S/PV.8185). It is clear that we have fallen woefully short of this aim. We have failed the people of eastern Ghouta. But let us reverse this trend today. Let us adopt the draft resolution and take the concrete actions needed to ease the suffering in this zone of death and destruction.Mr. Ndong Mba (Equatorial Guinea) (spoke in Spanish): Equatorial Guinea thanks the Russian Federation for convening this meeting of the Security Council and hopes to contribute to the adoption of a decision aimed at alleviating the enormous suffering and regrettable loss of human life in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria. We thank the representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Mark Lowcock, for his informative briefing.For the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the changing humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta requires urgent action to alleviate the critical state of affairs of the most vulnerable members of the civilian population. In recent days, the number of victims and amount of material damage to infrastructure have increased considerably, and the international community is obliged to take some urgent action so as to halt the ongoing loss of lives, mostly of children and women.We reiterate the appeal made by the delegation of Equatorial Guinea on 14 February for the parties to the conflict to allow humanitarian aid to reach those most in need (see S/PV. 8181). The cessation of hostilities is imperative in order to ensure safe access for relief teams, the distribution of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the wounded and sick. Equatorial Guinea calls on all parties to the conflict to take the necessary steps to cease hostilities.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 14/19 18-04815 Frank, direct and inclusive dialogue is the only viable way out of the Syrian crisis. The Council must redouble its efforts and persuade the opponents to return to the negotiating table. In that sense, resolution 2254 (2015) remains a valid instrument. The recent history of this conflict has taught us the devastating implications that it can have for the entire region. A definitive and sustainable solution to the conflict is in the interests of all the countries of the world.The Republic of Equatorial Guinea urgently calls on all parties to the conflict, be they directly or indirectly involved, to declare a ceasefire with immediate effect that will be respected and guaranteed by all parties so as to allow for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of medical care, drinking water and food that will save hundreds of human lives. Even as we debate this issue here in the Chamber, the people of eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria are on the verge of perishing. We must consider any proposal to be submitted from the humanitarian perspective, taking into account the suffering of the population of eastern Ghouta and Syria.Mr. Llorentty Solíz (Plurinational State of Bolivia) (spoke in Spanish): My delegation thanks the delegation of Russia for having asked the presidency to convene this meeting, for I think it very important to exchange views about what is happening in Syria. We also grateful for the briefing by Mr. Mark Locock.Bolivia reiterates its regret that the crisis in Syria has to date led to so many lives being lost and so much destruction. According to Mr. Lowcock's office, more than 500,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict, 13.1 million people require humanitarian assistance, of whom 2.9 million are trapped in besieged or hard-to-reach, and 6.9 million persons have been displaced internally. We regret that recent events have led to more people dying or needing humanitarian assistance. We call for the earliest possible beginning of demining operations and for the provision of humanitarian assistance — such as to the city of Raqqa — in order to facilitate the safe and dignified return of the families that were displaced as a result of the conflict.We also regret that the latest events in Syria have once again served to underscore the urgent need to revitalize the Geneva political process, while strengthening the tangible results achieved in Astana and Sochi, in consultation, of course, with all the parties concerned. We reiterate what several of our colleagues have said during this meeting: there is no military solution to the situation in Syria, only a political one.We also again reiterate our great gratitude for the work being done by the staff of the humanitarian assistance agencies and groups on the ground. We demand that the parties involved comply with their obligations under international law, in particular international humanitarian law and international human rights law.We reiterate to the parties involved that they must respect the agreements and the de-escalation zones, as well as avoid attacks on civilian facilities — such residential areas, schools and hospitals — in line with international humanitarian law, so as to ensure the protection of civilians and unrestricted access for humanitarian agencies to provide much-needed assistance.I understand that we all agree with those principles, as they are basic, fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Each and every one of us has spoken repeatedly about the obligations of the Security Council under the Charter of the United Nations, including its highest responsibility in terms of the maintenance of international peace and security. Nevertheless, my delegation cannot agree with double standards being applied on any issue, and much less on humanitarian ones. We must not drag down the Security Council by using it as an instrument for a different agenda. Nor, as we have also said several times, should we allow the Council to become an echo chamber where we repeatedly recite well-known areas of war.In referring to double standards, I will desist from referring to the humanitarian situation in other places around the world. I will limit myself just to Syria. My delegation is surprised, and does not understand, at how the Security Council has not even been able to express itself on the terrorist attacks on the Russian Embassy in Damascus, a member the Council. We have counted six such attacks in the past two weeks, followed by silence on the part of the Council. That should draw our attention as to double standards.I repeat that we totally reject the politicization of any humanitarian issue. We know that the situation in Syria is urgent. We need to think very carefully about how we can address each of these situations, given that each has its particular characteristics.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 15/19 With regard to the draft resolution that has been circulated for the Council's consideration, first of all, my delegation would like to sincerely express its gratitude for the efforts of the delegations of Sweden and Kuwait. We have seen them work with great dedication, consulting with the various delegations as part of what of course is a complicated process. That is the nature of negotiations. We hope that the various calls for the Council to do something will come to fruition. . However, I think we have to recognize that putting to a vote a draft resolution, as several delegations have called for today, in the knowledge that it will not be adopted by the Council shows that the goal is not of a humanitarian nature, the aim is political. Putting to a vote a draft resolution while knowing that it will not be adopted means that the goal is not to alleviate the humanitarian situation but to garner a few headlines in the media. That is why we say that we should avoid making the Council an instrument for political ends.We very much welcome the fact that the Russian delegation has put forward language to enable us to continue the negotiations, which is essential. I agree with what my colleague the Ambassador of Sweden said, that is, the Council is being tested in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Syria. The Council is indeed being tested, and that test is to achieve unity in the Council. If we do not, then the meeting at which the draft resolution is put to the vote will go down in history as just a few headlines. But it will come to nothing and will in no way alleviate the humanitarian situation in Syria.I therefore issue a fraternal call on my colleagues the members of the Security Council — especially my beloved brothers the Ambassadors of Sweden and Kuwait — that we do everything we can to send out a signal for there to be a change in direction with regard to what the Council has been doing repeatedly over the past months, and show that by being united we will in some way be able to meet the expectations of the rest of the membership and meet the responsibilities assigned to us by the Charter.Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue (Côte d'Ivoire) (spoke in French): At the outset, I wish to thank the Russian Federation for having called for this meeting.I also thank Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, for his helpful briefing on the latest developments in the humanitarian situation in Syria, which has reached a critical threshold.Côte d'Ivoire remains deeply concerned by the ongoing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, largely due to the resurgence of fighting on the ground, particularly in eastern Ghouta where since Monday, I regret to say, 40 civilians have been killed and more than 150 wounded, and many hospitals and schools have been destroyed. In the face of this extreme escalation of hostilities, my delegation would like, following the call issued yesterday in this Chamber by Secretary-General António Guterres (see S/PV.8185), to appeal to the sense of responsibility of the parties involved to end the tragedy of eastern Ghouta. It urges them to exercise restraint with a view to an immediate cessation of hostilities in order to enable the resumption of the delivery of humanitarian aid, including medical evacuations, to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian population.Côte d'Ivoire reiterates its conviction and principled position that the response to the crisis in Syria cannot be military. On the contrary, it should be pursued through an inclusive dialogue and political process, as provided for in the road map set out by resolution 2254 (2015).Finally, in the light of the tragic humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta — which Mr. Lowcock so somberly described earlier — Côte d'Ivoire supports the draft resolution proposed by the delegations of Kuwait and Sweden, calling for a cessation of hostilities for a period of 30 days with a view to allowing immediate humanitarian access to the besieged populations of the region. The Council must set aside all political calculations and other distractions and undertake the commendable task of rescuing the inhabitants of eastern Ghouta and other regions of Syria, who also happen to be Syrians, from the hell in which they are living.Mr. Temenov (Kazakhstan): We thank the delegation of the Russian Federation for initiating this open briefing on the very critical humanitarian issue in Syria, and thank Mark Lowcock for his update.Like others, we express our serious concern about the continued severity of the devastating humanitarian situation in Syria, including in eastern Ghouta, Idlib and northern Hama governorates, Rukban and Raqqa. Kazakhstan urges all parties within and outside the country to prevent further violence and enable humanitarian organizations to access and assist people in need. Since early February, with the military offensive against eastern Ghouta, there have been more than 1,200 civilian casualties.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 16/19 18-04815 We truly need a cessation of hostilities and all military operations throughout Syria to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and services and the medical evacuation of the critically sick and wounded, in accordance with international law. Kazakhstan considers it critical for the Security Council to adopt a workable and effective resolution on a cessation of hostilities in Syria, a draft of which is now being considered by Council members. Kazakhstan calls on all parties to find consensus and unite in their efforts to undertake an immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria, allowing humanitarian aid to reach all those in need, as well as the evacuation of all patients requiring urgent treatment that cannot be provided there.My delegation supports the five requests identified by the Emergency Relief Coordinator on 11 January during his mission to Syria, and calls upon all parties to facilitate the implementation of these five requests and others, as specified in relevant Security Council resolutions, so as to ensure principled, sustained and improved humanitarian assistance to Syria in 2018. In this context, we look forward to a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the guarantor countries of the Astana process — namely, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Iran — who intend to gather in Astana in March to discuss all issues related to recent developments on the ground. The timing and the specific agenda are currently being specified. In this regard, the next round of the Astana process itself is scheduled to be held after the aforementioned meeting of the Foreign Ministers.Lastly, in May 2017 Kazakhstan welcomed the adoption of the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic. They have lessened hostilities between the conflicting parties. However, the ceasefire agreements in these zones are currently being violated. We attach the utmost importance to compliance by all conflicting parties with ceasefire agreements and their enforcement by the guarantor States. Likewise, each of the agreements reached in Astana should not remain on paper, but must be strictly complied with.The President (spoke in Arabic): I give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic and urge him to limit his statement to five minutes in accordance with Security Council note S/2017/507.Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): The delegation of my country was not aware of your decision, Sir, to limit my statement to five minutes. I oppose that decision and therefore reserve the right to express the views of my country in this important meeting devoted to the situation in my country.The President (spoke in Arabic): The representative of the Russian Federation has asked to make a further statement.Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We fail to understand, Sir, why you have proposed limiting the statement of the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic on the important issue under discussion. His country is directly involved and where everything being discussed is taking place. We must afford an opportunity for the representative of Syria to speak for the full amount of time required to deliver his statement. I do not believe we need any artificial limits on his statement.The President (spoke in Arabic): I did not make a decision. I simply encouraged the representative of Syria to adhere to the provisions of note S/2017/507.I again give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): Once again, I reiterate that we were not aware of note S/2017/507. I believe that this act is unjust and raises many issues to which I already intended to refer in my statement. I hope that everyone will be patient enough to listen to the statement I shall make on behalf of the Government of my country. I shall not deliver a personal statement. All speakers have spoken on behalf of their Governments, and I shall do the same. I encourage all members to listen carefully to what I have to say.As I talk here at this moment, hundreds of rockets and mortars are targeting the capital, Damascus. To date, they have injured 37 people, including six children, and led to a number of martyrs, including two children. That comes as no surprise. As the Council is aware, every time a Security Council meeting is held to discuss the Syrian situation, there is a massacre here and a suicide bombing there, as well as the killing of civilians in some Syrian cities. We have seen not dozens, but rather hundreds of massacres over the past seven years. Mr. Lowcock did not get this information the way he gets messages from what he calls humanitarian workers in eastern Ghouta who know about international humanitarian law. Mr. Lowcock 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 17/19 did not solicit the views of the Syrian Government, which we have expressed in hundreds of letters sent to him and to the Council. All those who in this meeting have used the word "regime" to refer to my country are neither objective nor impartial. They reveal their countries' involvement in the ongoing terrorist crisis in my country.We thank the delegation of the Russian Federation for convening this meeting to give us the opportunity to once again present the reality of the suffering of civilians as a result of the practices of armed terrorist groups or, as some call them, moderate armed opposition groups. Over the past seven years, they have been sowing death and destruction wherever they have operated. They have used civilians as human shields. They have targeted hospitals and schools, turning them into military centres. They have hurled missiles and rockets indiscriminately at residential and populated areas.Of course, as the Permanent Representative of France said before leaving this meeting, all of this is a form of resistance. He referred to the terrorists who bombard Damascus as the "resistance" that the Syrian regime is trying to suppress. This meeting is particularly important, as some actors — especially the United States of America and the so-called international coalition — have moved from the stage of aggression by proxy through their support for terrorism to the stage of direct aggression. Those actors have recruited terrorists from all four corners of the world. They call them jihadists and send them to Syria. Whenever terrorists have failed, those actors have been there — militarily, politically, through the media and the United Nations — to intervene in order to achieve what their terrorist proxies failed to achieve.Let us be clear. Some Council members — and I specifically mean the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France — would like to deprive the Syrian Government of its constitutional and sovereign right to defending its territories and people, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations back when we had wise founding fathers and international law and as guaranteed by all United Nations resolutions on counter-terrorism.Today, I have heard references to the draft resolution contained in document S/2018/146, on humanitarian issues. The penholders, Kuwait and Sweden, have been working on it for several weeks. I thank them for their efforts. However, those efforts are deeply flawed. The penholders did not coordinate with the Syrian delegation at all. They did not even ask to hear my country's view on the draft resolution that concerns it.Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used the Bois de Boulogne as a centre to target civilians in Paris, launching dozens of missiles every day. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian truce to give the moderate armed French opposition the opportunity to regain its power and launch missiles targeting Paris?Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used Central Park here in New York as a centre to target civilians in Manhattan, and had launched dozens of missiles every day. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for the medical evacuation of the moderate armed American opposition?Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used Hyde Park as a centre to target civilians in London, launching dozens of missiles daily. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the moderate armed British opposition? Would we have seen statements by high-level Secretariat officials, such as Mr. Lowcock, calling for stopping the fight against armed groups that they describe as non-State armed opposition groups? Unfortunately, that is how United Nations documents refer to terrorists nowadays — non-State armed opposition groups.Of course, those are all hypothetical scenarios that might seem far-fetched. However, that is the reality in Syria. It is the tragedy that we are seeing in Syrian cities every day, including the city of Damascus and its inhabitants. It is a bitter reality that the Syrian Government is facing as a result of the erroneous approaches adopted by the United Nations and the positions of some of its Member States. Damascus is the oldest populated city in history. It is seeing destruction, death and sorrow every day as a result of missiles, mortars and rockets launched by armed terrorist groups operating in eastern Ghouta. These terrorist groups — the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, the Al-Nusra Front and affiliated groups — are designated as terrorist groups in the Security Council. Today, 8 million people live in Damascus, among them hundreds of thousands who fled armed groups that attacked their villages and their homes in many parts of Syria, including eastern Ghouta.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 18/19 18-04815 The United Nations today is going through a professional and moral crisis that is unfathomable. High-level Secretariat officials see no harm in adopting the positions of Governments that sponsor terrorism in my country. They are directly involved in distorting facts, manipulating figures, using insidious phrases and terminology, and depending on unreliable sources in their statements and reports. Of course, I cannot list all of those scandals today. I will only remind the Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Fact-Finding Mission report (S/2017/567), issued in June 2017. The report states that among the open sources on which it relied was the testimony of British doctor Shajul Islam. For those who do not know who Mr. Islam is, he is a foreign terrorist fighting for the Al-Nusra Front in Idlib. He was convicted in the United Kingdom and was not allowed to practice medicine there as he was involved in crimes related to terrorism, such as kidnapping British journalist John Cantlie. That is but one example of some misleading reports issued by the Secretariat.We are convinced that those abhorrent practices will not stop and that some United Nations officials will ignore the serious information that we have conveyed to them about armed terrorist groups fabricating the story that the Syrian Government used toxic chemical substances against civilians in eastern Ghouta. Those groups are training some of their members to pretend that they have been exposed to toxic substances. Of course, those scenes are broadcast by well-known networks and correspondents of Mr. Lowcock, and the Syrian Arab Army is blamed for it. Although we have sent hundreds of letters to the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council and specialized United Nations agencies specialized in counter-terrorism and the prohibition of chemical weapons, we are sure that some at the United Nations will not hesitate to believe that story and blame the Syrian Government. That is simply because certain agendas in the Organization compel some to join in the extortion of the Syrian Arab Republic and its allies that are fighting terrorism on behalf of all those present.For over two months now, the Syrian Government has been sending letters almost daily to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council documenting the number of missiles used, which have amounted in the past few weeks to almost 1,200. We have been also documenting the human and material losses of civilians in the city of Damascus as a result of being targeted by terrorists groups in eastern Ghouta. However, in its statements and appeals the Secretariat has no problem ignoring the suffering of 8 million people in Damascus. It has not hesitated to participate in the misleading campaign launched by some States to protect a few thousand members of armed terrorists groups in eastern Ghouta. They are sacrificing 8 million civilians in Damascus to protect a few thousand terrorists in eastern Ghouta. This is scene in short.Both international and United Nations sources are spreading news of a stifling siege on eastern Ghouta. That is not consistent with the indisputable reality on the ground. We are talking here about a vital area that is the main source of food for the city of Damascus. Commercial trucks constantly move back and forth to Ghouta. The Syrian Government has facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in eastern Ghouta, when conditions on the ground have allowed. We have also approved medical evacuations to Government hospitals in Damascus. The truth that we all know, and even high-level Secretariat officials know, is that armed terrorist groups are controlling the humanitarian aid that enters eastern Ghouta. They distribute it among its members and deprive civilians of any of it.There is another truth that the Secretariat is ignoring. Residents of eastern Ghouta have taken to the street in protest against the practices of terrorists who point their guns at innocent people. Of course, those besieged innocents are also sending messages, but Mr. Lowcock's radar is not receiving them. I would like to ask the Secretariat the following. How does it justify ignoring the reports and information that the Syrian Government has presented on thousands of hostages and kidnapped people being detained by armed terrorist groups in eastern Ghouta in the so-called Attawba prison? They require immediate medical evacuation. The United Nations is ignoring video footage posted by armed groups showing women and children, among the hostages, being pushed into metal cages and left on the street. It is a painful scene reminiscent of the times of slavery. It is true insanity that the Secretary-General spoke of yesterday and has been echoed by some colleagues today. Yes, there is terrorist insanity in eastern Ghouta and we must put a stop to it.What is even worse is that some in the Secretariat are trying to use the agreement on de-escalation zones to distort the facts and ignore repeated violations perpetrated by these armed terrorist groups. They are 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 19/19 being instructed from the outside by actors that some of them are present in this Chamber. They are instructed to target Syrian military sites and launch attacks using rockets, missiles and car bombs on residential neighbourhoods in Damascus.These groups operating in eastern Ghouta that kill civilians in Damascus daily are armed terrorists groups, regardless of any change to their names, affiliations or alliances. Today they are Jaysh al-Islam, the Al-Rahman Corps, the Dawn of Islam and Ahrar al-Sham. Yesterday they were the Islamic Front, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the Al-Nusra Front. I invite all members of the Council to take a look at the websites of those groups and the satellite television channels that Western satellites are helping broadcast. It will become apparent that they all share the same Wahhabi terrorist ideology, and that they all call for takfiri ideas and the annihilation of others. Any attempt to change their names and description by calling them moderate opposition or non-state armed groups will not change their terrorist reality. It will not prevent us, as the Government, from defending our citizens with the support of our allies, and fighting terrorism pursuant to the Council's resolutions on counter-terrorism.Some among us today are exploiting the suffering of the Syrian people and trading in their blood. They are demanding accountability while being direct partners in supporting and defending terrorism. They are involved in direct military aggression against my people, as was the case in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Africa and Latin America. The dilemma that we are facing today is that the mechanism of work inside the United Nations is being held hostage to political and financial polarization. As a result, this mechanism of work completely disregard the crimes of the so-called international coalition led by the United States of America.As mentioned by my colleague the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, the international coalition completely destroyed Raqqa, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying shelters, infrastructure and bridges over the Euphrates river and everywhere in Syria, under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It used internationally prohibited weapons against civilians in Syria, including American Napalm, just as it did in Viet Nam. The international coalition targeted Syrian armed forces and allied forces more than once in order to break the siege on ISIL. The coalition and its militias made a deal with ISIL so that ISIL fighters, their families and their heavy weapons could leave Raqqa and other places in order to fight the Syrian forces and their allies elsewhere.The United Nations is completely disregarding the repeated aggressions of Israeli occupation forces on our territories as part of its support to armed terrorist groups. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is clueless as to what is going on in the Golan. The United Nations itself is completely disregarding Turkish aggressions and violations against Syrian sovereignty, and the direct military aggression initiated now by Turkey on Afrin. Nobody has addressed this issue in their statements.In conclusion, responding to those who fear that eastern Ghouta might become a second Aleppo, I invite them to go to Aleppo today and see with their own eyes how millions, not thousands, have resumed their normal lives after Aleppo was liberated from terrorism. Indeed, eastern Ghouta will become a second Aleppo, as will Idlib and all areas that have suffered under the terrorism of armed groups in Syria.We will not succumb no longer to the extortion of those who have supported terrorism in Syria. We will not be complacent to the plans of the Governments of the five States that met in Washington, D.C., last month to divide Syria and ensure the failure of both the Sochi conference and the political process as a whole. That news was reported today in the United Kingdom. We will not sit idly by while those who use terrorism, take unjust economic measures and wage direct military aggression against the Syrian people seek to achieve their cheap political agendas. Rest assured that history will soon admit that we and our allies have fought a war on behalf of the entire world against terrorism, which is being supported by Governments that soon will be held accountable by their people and world public opinion. Those Governments have invested all they can in terrorism until it reached their cities, their own citizens and all safe places throughout the world.When I look at some of the faces in the Chamber and see the political hypocrisy therein, I recall the famous adage by the Great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who said: "Rest assured, hell is big enough for everyone. There is no need for people to compete so fiercely to be the worst."The meeting rose at 2.10 p.m.
Issue 57.6 of the Review for Religious, November/December 1998. ; Review for Religious is a forum for shared reflection on the lived experience of all wbo find ~bat the church's rich heritages of spirituality support their personal and apostolic Christian lives~ Tge articles in the journal are meant to be inforntative, practical, bistorical, or inspirational, written front a tbeological or spiritual or sometimes canonical point of view. Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bi-mouthly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393. Telephone:314-977-7363 ¯ Fax: 314-977-7362 E-Mail: FOI~PI~MA@SLU.I~I)U Manuscripts, hooks for review, and correspondence with the editor: Review for Religious ¯ 3601 Lindell Boulevard ¯ St. Louis, MO 63108-3393. Correspondence about the Canonical Counsel department: Elizabeth McDonough OP 1150 Cedar Cove Road ¯ Henderson, NC 27536 POSTMASTER Send address changes to Review for Religious - P.O. Box 6070 ¯ Duluth, MN 55806. Periodical postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. See inside back cover for informatiou on subscription rates. ~1998 Review for Religions Permission is herewith gra,ated to cop}, any ,naterial (articles, poe,ns, reviews) contained in this issue of Review for Religious for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific library clients within the li,nits outlined in Sectious 107 and/or 108 of the United States Copyright Law. All copies made under this per,nission must bear notice of the source, date, and copyright owner on the first page. This permission is NOT extended to copying for commercial distribu-tion, advertising, institutional promotion, or for the creation of new collective works or anthologies. Such permission will only be considered on written application to the Editor, Review for Religious. for relig i ous Editor Associate Editors Canonical Counsel Editor Editorial S~aff Advisory Board David L. Fleming SJ Philip C. FischEr SJ Regina Siegfried ASC Elizabeth.McDonough OP Mary Ann Foppe Tracy Gramm J~an Read James and Joan Felling Kathryn Richards FSP Joel Rippinger OSB Bis.hop Carlos A. Sevilla SJ David Werthmann CSSR ' Patricia Wittberg SC Christian Heritages and Contemporary Living NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1998 ¯ VOLUME 57 ¯ NUMBER 6 contents 566 578 religious vocations Common Threads: Are We Weaving or Unraveling? Catherine Bertrand SSN~D surveys the terrain of apostolic religious life regarding attitudes and concerns about future membership. The Decline in Religious Vocations: ¯ A Weberian Perspective Shanti P~beyasingha cssR looks at effects of the "routinizing" of a foundational charism and then peers beyond them with a hope that embraces new risks in changed circumstances. 588 595 ,life in the spirit Spirithil Maturity John Blake More reflects on some of the qUalities of a spiritually mature person. A "Spiritual Turn" for Catholic Moral Theology Dennis J. Billy CSSR explores some of the ways in which a deeper understanding of the relationship between spirit and reason has =oncrete implications for the_future of moral theology. consecr.ated life 605 ~ Consecrated Life: Anointed with Joy Regis J. Armstrong OFMCap presents.ways of understanding joy and its intrinsic relationship to consecrated life. Review for Religious 622 The Future of Authority in the Religious Community John Carroll Futrell SJ describes what authority needs today as it exercises its ministry of making an apostolic community of love. spiritual limitations 628 Ground of Grace Marie Beha OSC uses the parable of ~he seed in looking at the limits we bring to the transforming action of grace. 640 Guigo I 'on Avoiding Suffering Kenneth C. Russell offers us some of the homely wisdom of an early Carthusian regarding the ensemble of this world and the ,next. departments 564 Prisms 650 Canonical Counsel: The Evangelical Counsel of Obedience: ConcreteExpression and Practical Consequences 656 Book Reviews 666 Indexes to Volume 57 November-Deconber 1998 prisms T imagery of the Holy Spirit as an iconographer"holds an age-old place in the tradition of the Eastern churches. The Hol~ Spirit is painting us in the image and likeness of Goff~ But, of course, we acknowledge Jesus Christ as THE image of the invisible God (Col 1:15). Consequently, in working with us as a painter does with an icon, the Holy Spirit continues throughout our life to bring out in us another face of Jesus, As we enter the Advent preparation for Christmas, this way of understanding our relationship to the S'pirit seems especially appropriate. The Holy Spirit is always laboring to bring to birth within us a fuller identity with Jesus. Our life can be understood as an Advent season in which we are being prepared over the span of our earthly life for the reality of our life-with-God 'forever in Christ. At the same time, from our meditation upon the Gospels and from our following in Christ's footsLeps, our daily life can be seen as one spent living in imitation of the hidden and public life of Jesus. With every stroke of his painter's brush, the Spirit inspires, encourages, and strengthens us to live "like Jesus," to live as Christ-ians. For the Spirit, according to Jesus' promise, is the one who "remains" with us, the one who will "be within" us (Jn 14:17). From the Gospel of St: John, we learn that the Holy Spirit is a gift to us--Jesus' "gift to us of "another Paraclete" (that is, one who functions just like Jesus him-self, who is our first Paraclete) or, perhaps stated with more theological precision, a gift from the "us" of Father and Son. Fumblingly struggling to say something about Review for Religious the identity and life of our triune God, our theological tradition at times expresses it in this way: The Father gives himself over fully to the Son, and the Son gives himself over fully to the Father, and the fullness of the Love shared between them is a Gift-Person, a Love-Person. As a result, our Trinitarian God is caught up in a life of relationship, of total giving, of total sharing--a God who is Love, a God who is all Gift. The Spirit, whose very relational identity within the Trinity is Gift and Love, plays this same role in God's outreach to cre-ation- for example, the imagery of the brooding of Spirit over the waters of creation and the Spirit's overshadowing of Mary in the' an~aunciation scene. From revelation and from our experi-ence, we know that God relates to us through all of creation as "gifts"--gifts that are meant to help us to know, to love, and to serve God by our proper appreciation and use of these gifts. God relates to us through Jesus as gift of identity with us as human. jesus is called the new Adam because we human beings in the Jesus-Gift have .become truly new and original. God relates to us in baptism, confirmation, and all the sacraments and sacramentals of our Christian life in the gift of the one we~call the Holy Spirit. The process of our growing in grace or~ as the Eastern churches say it more daringly, the process of our divinization continues as God's Spirit-Gift stays with us. We CFiristians, made newly human in Christ, have come to understand God in a new and original way: a triune God, a Gift-God, a God of Love. At Christmas, then, we see again, with eyes of faith, God's gift of identity with us through Jesus. Year after year, all the won-der of this gift seen and remembered as a baby fills the heights and depths of our soul. But, in this year dedicated to the Spirit, we recall anew, especially in this Christmas season, how much the Holy Spirit--God-Gi~---keeps giving us the way to be Christ for our times. We pray to the Spirit to bring forth more fully in us the icon of Jesus each of us is created to be--~.made in the image and likeness of God. David L. Fleming SJ That the Spirit paint his icon more fully across the fabric of your life is the Chris~as wish fro,. all of us on the staff of Review for Religious. .November-Dece~ltber 1998 religious vocations CATHERINE BERTRAND Common Threads: -,Are We Weaving or Unraveling? In the last year, as I have traveled nationally and interna-tionally, tit has become clear that certain "threads" are shared, by a considerable number of congregations of women and men religious, especially those that describe themselves as active or apostolic. This article, examining some of these "threads," asking some questions, and offer-ing some answers, is not the last word. There are no sweeping statements to capture the experience of every religious. Rather, I hope to generate further discussion among congregational members as they together examine their own reality and explore what their own future might look like. Many active or apostolic congregations were founded one or two hundred years ago in .,response to particular ministerial needs in various parts of the world. The found, ing purpose often had'more to do with ministry than with a particular spirituality or rule. These congregations, with some help from Vatican Council II, are struggling with the articulation of their charisms and the interpretation of their founding purpose in light of today's church and world. This has often caused the various congregations to remark more' similarities than differences among them- Catherine Bertrand SSND is executive director of the National Religious Vocation Conference (5420 South Cornell Avenue, Suite 105; Chicago, Illinois 60615). Her article was first pub-lished in its quarterly journal, Horizon. Review for Religious" selves, Given this observation, what are some of the common threads evident in these congregations as they look toward, the future? Deepest Longings , Sociologists have noted that the two unmet desires of our age, the deepest longings expressed to~tay by peopl~ of all ages, are for.spirituality and for a sense of belonging. Vocation ministers in both. women's 'and men's congregations can validate these find-ings in their work with potential candidates. Consistently those considering religious life express their reasons as having to do ,with a longing for God and a desire for community life. Meanwhile, longtime members of these congregations seem to be asking themselves whether this in fact 4s .what religious are about, or what their life has to offer today. A thread common to English-spea.king countries worldwide is discussion of the need to take another look at quality community life. Some religious will contend that it is yet to be discovered what that means for active/apostolic congregations whose very foundation and history were overshadowed and strongly influ-enced by monastic rules and traditions. Be that as it may, not only are new members and potential candidates asking for quality com-mon life, but longtime members as well are saying they need to take another look at this. My guess would be that there are as many ideas of what community life could look like as there are people discussing it. There is no going back to what was, although some members ~ would desire that: Others, who have experienced community life in the past as uniformity and sameness, fear that this could become the case again. Some feel that"the struggle to be in a ministry that Is satisfying and in a living situation that does not take every ounce of energy has been long in coming: "Leave it alone!" Others, especially those who entered after Vatican 11,,came because of the common life and shared ministry, and continue to seek ways to have that happen. Some believe community can happen only under one roof. Others believe that such a configuration of community has nothing to do with the direction for the future. Some question~the value of vowed membership, while the expe-rience of others tells them that only when there is clarity about vowed membership does any other way of associating make sense. November-Decentber 1998 Bertrand ¯ Common Threads Although some oflthese concerns differ.in various communities, and may take on different nuances in men's and women's con-gregations, the common threads, the similar questions, are there. Fundamental Changes and Different Realities Over recent years, some definite realities in religious life have given community.life a whole new look. The following paragraphs attempt to describe some of those changes. Space, or how space is regarded, has changed how ~relikious live in community. Many local communities ofwomen'~ congre-gations suffer from limited living space. For a variety of reasons, including some very healthy ones, there.has been a move to smaller living spaces, with fewer people. Unfortunately, religious often end: 'up--mostly for economic reasons--in crowded places with little common space beyond their own bedrooms. There is no room for guest, s, potential new members, or even one's own community members. There is no space, for common prayer, and no room to welc0m~e groups of guests. Religious congregations are not family; they al:e communities of adults; for whom the family model is not helpful. To live simply does not necessarily mean that there can be .no space. Although men's communities may have more space, rJaey seem to be challenged to look at how eas-ily the members can become independent, developing a board-ing- house mentality. Governance, too, has changed how religious live together. Many local commtinities have been trying a more circular model of leadership wherein various responsibilities of leadership are shared. Men's communities seem to 'be less dialogic, to function more expeditiously. No form of governance, however, seems to go without challenge, and no one model is ideal. , Age has also made a difference in how religious live together and ~relate to each other. There are more older members, and fewer new ones. The tendency to settle in bectmes stronger unless deliberate efforts fire made to retain vitality, ' which has little to do with.,age. New members help a community to keep growing and changing. Difference in community size calls for different skills. The abil-ity to b~ self-discl6sing is critical. Where it may once have been considered the. greatest of virtues to be silent, now it is crucial in community to be able to articulate one's thoughts and feelings in Review for Religious an appropriate manner. The smaller the group, the more essen-tial to have healthy members who are able to enter into this kind of sharing. Professionalism and ministry demands certainly affect community life today. Because urgent needs demand responses and because mission is the ov~rriding concern for many religious congrega-tions, this is where most time and energy are spent. The nature of ministry, especially with many women religious now in parish settings, places new demands on quality time in community. Self-Definition Countless efforts among religious focus on the identity and image of religious today: who religious are and what they are about. It appears that often religious define themselves by the work(s) they do. They seem to fall sho~rt when it comes to know-ing how to share some of the other elements of their lives that grow out of the communal dimension: Is' there clarity about those essential elements? Are the spiritual and communal elements of their lives seen as having the power to attract others, not just to new vowed membership, :but also to the varibus ways people can be in part-nership with religious 4ongregations? To religious who are concerned that potential candidates seem to focus only on God and com-munity and have little Or no sense of mission, I offer this thread. From interviewing and assessing candidates for priesthood and religious life, I have found, that among them service is a given. They deeply desire to be of service~ They may not always understand how to direct that generosity within a particular congregation, but what draws them to religious life is a unique context in which to offer service. Most candidates come assuming that Jesus, the Eucharist, and a link to the universal church are foundational to religious lif~. The community they seek is not a warm nest or surrogate family, but a group that will help them serve in a way that they could'not do alone. New members ,help a community to keep growing and changing, What Attracts Young Adults When two hundred young' adults from all over the United November-December 1998 Bertrand ¯ Common Threads States joined more than five hundred vocation directors at the 1996 National Convocation of religious vocation ministers, they spoke to the questions of what was attractive and unattractive . about religious life today. On their application forms they were asked to describe any of their .current involvements in volunteer work, paid ministry, civic activities, and so~forth.Their responses were both amazing and impressive. The candidates that religious congregations would hope to attract are already engaged in ser-vice. They told us that ministry alone will not draw people to religious life. They come because of the community context in which the ministry is situated. They also see community life as happening under one roof. Many times they have no clear idea of w~hat they are asking for When they speaLof their desire for com, munity, but they clearly do not envision it as a "let's get together now and then" experience. Another thread I see in numerous congregations is the sincere desire of many religious to respond to that desire expressed by young people. Most congregations want to have a future and therefore are serious about attracting new members. A thread that is becoming more common in many congregations is being spun in conversations about being local communities of hospi-tality. Much as congregations would like it, this phrase does not describe every local community. Newer members are~well aware of struggles to find suitable, community situations to live in, Longtime members, too, know all too well thee feeling of panic when it comes to finding a local community upon Changing min-istry locations. Some congregations are creatively encouraging some of~their most "life-giving" members to consider housing situations that would allow for an extra room so that communities of hospitality become realities. These delibera~te efforts by some are invitations to all congregational members to take seriously the responsibil- -ity for hospitality. Community as Ministry Religious take seriously their commitment to ministry. Who can argue with that? But is mission understood as being synony-mous with the work they do? I 15elieve that one of the strongest sections of Vita consecrata deals with this very question. It states that community life plays a fundamental role in the spiritual jour- Review for Religious ney of religious, both for their constant renewal and for the full accomplishment of their mission In the world: [The church] wishes to hold up before the world the exam-ple of communities in which solitude is overcome through concern for one another, in which communication inspires in everyone a sense of shared responsibility, and in which wounds are healed throu~gh forgiveness and each person's commitment'to communion is strengthened. The life of communion in fact "becomes a sign for all the world and a compelling force that leads people to faith in Christ . in this way communion leads to mission and itself becomes mission"; indeed, "communion begets communion: In' essen~.~e it is a communion that is missionary." (§§45-46) Do religious believe that community life itself is key to the mission and their ministries? For active/apostolic congregations it seems to be an ongoing struggle. How do congregations arid individuals integrate or balance that healthy or not-so-healthy tension between ministry and community life? Have religious come to define active/apostolic religious life only by works, and often very individualized ministries at that? In many ministry situations there may b~ only one person of a particular congregation on the scene. A developing scenario seems to be that it is in ministry that one receives the greatest affirmation and.the deepest satisfaction, that one's affective needs are met, and that the most creative energy arises. This poses a sharp contrast to the less than life,giving local community situa-tion that religious often describe. Another dimension in this sce-nario is that today religious~ have less knowledge about or understanding of each other's ministries and therefore have fewer opportunities, to be supportive and affirming, ~ ~" : Another thread deserving further consideration is the amount of time and energy given to ministry. I have heard younger, newly professed religious comment that they came from homes where they were aware that everything, including family, always came second to their parents' dareers. They are often surprised to find that in religious life they have that same sense. They seem to respond in one of two ways. Either they quickly fal.1 into the work mode, or they choose to leave. On one occasion a speaker address-ing an audience of religious suggested that, if a congregation is serious about new membership, it may need to reevaluate its min-isterial commitments. Even to think about it brought an audible gasp from the audience. November-December 1998 Bertrand ~ Common Threads Often religious try to accomplish with fewer people what was once done by many more people. No doubt women and men reli-gious are responding to urgent needs in our church and world in creative and heroic ways. Many times, it seems, the very people who top the list as wonderful community members are also the most overextended in ministry. Where is the balance in all of this? What choices are congregations making in addressing these challenges, not just f~or the sake of new members, but for the sake of present membership? . . Some congregations are responding by honestly saying to each other and to others that they prefer to go onliving and working just as they are. Other congregations see a need for some changes. I have attempted to name some of the common reali-ties in religious life that have had an impact on community life. These include models of governance, ways of praying,' living space, aging members, and ministry demands. I would contend that, to the extent that realities in religious life have changed, religious are. invited to develop new skills for living contemporary religious life, giving new shape to religious community life. Skills Needed What are some of the skills to be considered?~ The following list is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but I offer it as a help toward further consideration and dialogue: ' ¯ The need for self-disclosure heads the list, in part because this element of religious life has changed radically in recent years. The change affects not only how one,share~ in dialogue, but also how one participates in prayer with one or more persons. There is an increased need both for sharing and for keeping a healthy sense of boundaries. . ¯ Skills for other-centeredness are key. It is no small challenge to be able to enter into the reality of another, to be generous, to listen. It means taking time for people and situations in commu-nity that may not always be one's first choice of how to use time and energy. It may mean not allowing ministry demands to always come first. ¯ Hospitality As an "in" word these days, but in some situa~- tions it may be as basic as developing social and conversational skills that make life better as occasions arise for religious to invite others into their homes and into their lives. This is particularly key Review for Religious in attracting new members. People cannot choose or ~upport what they do not know, unders(and, or experience. ¯ Skills for healthy sexuality and intimacy are critical elements in the life of any person, and these impact,community life. They affect the way individual religious express who they are, how "at home" they might be as loving, intimate, sexual human beings. They assist religious in having .a sense of self that can support o~hers in their celibate choice and can help still others under-stand celibacy as a viable option. A healthy sexuality includes developing friendsl~ips within and outside community life. It also involves doing whatever is necessary to be a physically and psy-chologically healthy person, someone with whom others would like to share community. ¯ A healthy spirituality is another key element in quality com-munity life, having both a communal and individual dimension. It means looking for ways to be supportive of the spiritual life of others in community, participating in the liturgical life of the church, and expressing the shared spirituality of a particular con-gregation. It also means finding ways to participate in the ongo-ing revelation of God through individuals and in community. ¯ Skills for shared living involve negotiating living space, being attentive to the little .things that can make or break community liv-ing, These skills make it possible for religious to choose to live with one or more fellow religious when it would be easier to live alone, or they may suggest ways of creatively sharing life with others if particular circumstances' demand living alone for a time. They help one to be open to sharing life with a variety of people, in a variety of ways, ways that are life-giving, not death-dealing. ¯ To be attentive to ongoing learning and enrichment demands that one strive to be updated about religious life, spirituality, the, ology, and so forth, in: addition to fulfilling~"professional" demands for ongoing education. It also means being attentive to one's development as an "interesting" person who can contribute.to community discussions and learning. It means taking time for enrichment, alone and with others. ¯ Friendship in community also involves skills, though no one can make friendship happen. One must look for ways to come to know the people .with whom one shares life, and must do whatever one can to create a community to.which people want to come home. Friendship skills include being able ~nd willing to cele-brate people .and events 4n the company of others. November-December 1998 Bertrand ¯ Common Threads ¯ Leadership ski'lls need to be nurtured in every community member even though such skills will be expressed in many dif-ferent ways on a variety of levels. These skills include taking indi-vidual responsibility within a community of adults, having a voice and being honest and up-front in using that voice for the good of the whole, getting involved in the workings of the congregation ~3n the local level and beyond, and keeping actively in touch with congregational leaders. ¯ Conflict-management skills invite the convictitn that each person is worth the time it~takes to live together well. They involve being honest as well as kind with feedback, being account-able for any effort or lack of effort at being a positive presence in a community. Conflict management calls for a healthy sense of self that allows one to deal with issues, not destroy persons. These are some skills that seem key to living contemporary community life. Some Other Threads .There continue to be questions. Are religious setting them-selves up for failure,and disappointment in taking another look at quality community life, another look at that particular thread? Is this a challenge beyond them? No one can make 'a significant responge alone, not the. congregational leader or any individual member, not a new member or potential candidate, not the voca-tion director. A significant response requires the efforts of as man, y as possible--many interwoven threads. There are people among us who lack either the desire, the aptitude, or both for living community life in this day and age. There are ministerial situations that demand different ways of being community. But in many congregations a substantial group of peo-ple have both the desire and the aptitude to make co.mmunity life work, even under one roof. Community life takes time and energy. There 'is no way around that, even in the best-case scenarios. If congregations want the future to be different, some radical decisions must be made in the present-'if not always big deci-sions, then some smaller ones that are no less radical: These are the ones that touch the day-to-day living of the entire community. How willing am I to be "inconvenienced" for the sake of our future, ~for the sake of not just new members, but also present members? This question is screaming for anoanswer.from indi=' Review for Religious vidual religious and from congregations. The answer may mean reclaiming community as ministry, community as mission. The final thread I will touch upon is perhaps stating the obvi-ous. Vocation ministers, who are some of the most hopeful peo-ple around, indidate time and again that in their work the greatest challenge 4s their own congregational members' lack of aware-ness and response. They do not assume ill will, for they see that people are very busy, involved in many things. How, then, are communitymembers to be made more alert to ways of promot-ing vocations? Congregational leaders are critical players 'in these efforts, b~t congregational members are no less important. Do we pas-sionately desire another generation of religious for the sake of God's people? Are we willing to invite new generations to consider religious life as a viable option, or by our silence have we made the decision for them? The responses to these questions cannot be postponed, to be considered at some other time, Our only time is ,' Questions for Individuals and Communities Something to do now is raise some of the ,following questions in the privacy of your o~n mind and heart--but also to raise them in discussion with other religious in your own congregation, in your own local community, or in any number of other settings.,~ Skills for Self-disclosure What in your life indicates that you have a sense of legitimate boundaries, your own and those of others? What enables .you to express your thoughts and feelings in dialogue and in faith shar-ing? How do you nurture mental and emotional health that allows you to be self-disclosing? How do yob develop healthy self-esteem, self-confidence that allows you to share yourself with others? What gives you the sense that others enjoy being with you? Skills for Other-cehteredness How do you balance self-maintenance with generous pres-ence and service? What gets most attention and energy in your local community? How do you foster local' community life that reaches beyond itself?. What enables you to enter into the re~ility of another? How do you present religious life as a viable option Noventber-Decentber 1998 Bertrand ¯ Common Threads for someone else? How do you share ministry with each other, even if you are in different settings? What sharpens your ability to be a good listener? Skills four Hospitality What do you do to develop social and conversational skills? How are you willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of wel-coming others? What do you do to encourage, potential new mem-bers and to invite them, and others as well, into yo~ur life and into your home? How do you cope with diversit'v? What prevents you at times from being hospitable and welcoming? Skills/:or Healthy Sexuality and lntimaey How would someone, describe your outlook on life? What helps you .to be happy and hopeful? How do you express that sense? How do. you express your celibate choice? How do you describe it? How are you generative in your celibate choice?. What steps do you take to develop and sustain healthy friendships? How does the way you live speak to health and wholeness? Skills for a Healthy Spirituality How :are you faithful to personal and communal'prayer? What other elements of your life indicate a seritusness about your rela-tionship with God? How do you participate in the liturgical life of the church? How does your prayer life reflect the .spirituality of your congregation? How does your spiritual life reflect and support a concern for others? ~ Skills for Shared Living How does the shared living space where you live facilitate quality community life? When are you~generous or territorial in your useof common space and, goods? How are you attentive to the "litde things" that can cause friction or tranquillity in a shared living space? How willing, are you to negotiate, and sometimes settle for conditions that are not to your liking? The persons you live with--what keeps your expectations of them realistic? Skills fo, r Ongoing Learning and Enrichment ~ What steps do you take to keep updated regarding religious-life trends, spirituality, theology? How do you make time for cur-rent reading, awareness of world issues, which can be shared in Review for Religious community? What do you do for enrichment and leisure, indi-vidually and as a local community? What are some of the best ways to "waste time" together? Skills for Friendship in Community What helps you to come to know and appreciate the people with whom you share community life? How do you reflect an openness to potential friendship in community without demand-ing it? What about you would give other people a desire to live in community with you? What about local community makes it a situation to which you want to come home? How do you make choices for quality community time in the face of ministerial demands? How do you celebrate people and events in your local community? How do you share your family and friends with your congregation? How do you give yourself and others a sense of freedom in community relationships? Skills for Leadership What is the role and understanding of leadership in your local community? How do you participate in those responsibilities? What is your expectation of those in congregational leadership in relating to local communities? In what ways do you take ini-tiative in your local community? Sk(lls for Conflict Management , What helps you to be honest and up-front in dealing with conflict in community? How do you give helpful feedback to peers, and how, do you receive it from them? To whom do you hold yourself accountable for trying to live quality community life? For you, what elements of local community can become sources of conflict? What are the most effective ways for you to resolve conflict in your local community? Are you, are we, weaving or unraveling? November-December 1998 SHANTI ABEYASINGHA The Decline in Religious Vocations: : ,A Weberian Perspective y-783 _ religious life, that many who join religious congregations give up halfway, and that some leave even after final profession are things that merit inquiry. For many a religious congregation, vocation questions and vocation promotion are top priorities. A superior of a women's religious congregation told me that she and the sis-ters were trying desperately to get young girls to join because comphter statistics had shown that the congregation would die out if a hundred or more new persons did not come in every year. Deaths each year were outnumbering the entrants, and, accord= ingly, aging.itself had become a more serious~problem too. There are instances where some congregations in the West have come to Asia, Africa, and Latin America (places with more .vocations) in search of candidates. The phenomenon of men;'and women religious coming from the West to work as missionaries also seems to be a thing of the past. In fact, the reverse process seems to be taking place. Religious congregations with branches in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are asking them to come up with volunteers for missionary work in other lands. These instances and others would seem to indicate that religious life is in disarray. Shanti Abeyasingha CSSR has held administrative positions in his order, has done socioeconomic development work in Sri Lanka, and has con-ducted retreats and missions in Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia. His address is: Redemptorists, Santa Maria; George E. de Silva Mawatha; Kandy, 20000; Sri Lanka. Review for Religious The interesting thing, however, is that the problem of a lack of vocations, which many modern-day religious congregations are facing, was seldom an issue for the founders and foundresses ofireligious congregations~ They do not stem to have had diffi-culty getting people to join their ranks. As their histories often tell us, .people were attracted to the particular work they started and to their commitment and deilication. Many a °person was ready to give up everything and join them. God's Fidelity and Religious Congregations' Continued Existence The Bible speaks again and again about the faithfulness of God. Evenothough we humans are unfaithful, God is shown as the one who is ever faithful to his pr~mises. Along with his faith-fulness, his caring love is always there, ever ready to come to our aid. This' love is brought out clearly in the Exodus experience. The words "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry 'because of their taskmasters; I know their suffering, and I have comedown to deliver them" (Ex 3:7- 8) expresses it all. vWhen God makes his covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the people experience and~ understand their God precisely as one who always intervenes on their behalf to alleviate suffering and oppressiom All through human history we encounter human suffering and misery. These are vestiges df sin and .are manifest in the self-ishness of persons who do not care 'for their brothers and sisters. God continues to care for these unfortunate persons all through history. He continues to prove his faithfulness .and concern by raising up women and men who dedicate their lives in the ser-vice of people whom others oppress or ignore and even history forgets. These charismatic personalities emerge especially in moments of, crisis and,decadeffce in society. They, like Moses, are inspired to do God's bidding on behalf of his people. They are in line'with ~the prophets, who denounced oppression while at the same time announcing to the people the good news of liberation and deliverance. In the line of the prophets, these founders of congregations interpreted the signs of the times and responded vigorously. They highlighted something ~hat answered a need in society. They manifested through their actions the faith~lness andthe ¯ November-DecembD" 1998 L -79 Abeyasingba * The Decline in Religious Vocations caring presence of God as he continues to come down and deliver his people from their bondage. Here we have the actual reason for the beginning and the continued exi~stence of religious congre-gations, namely, t~o be extensions of God's presence in the world. The "Routinization" of a charism Max Weber has something to say about such charismatic lead-ers. He says that charismatic leaders are creative and do things that are not in line with the normal run of things in society. He is quick to add, however, that such charismatic leaders do not last. They are a passing phenomenon in society. They appear at cer-tain times in history to answer particular needs of the time. In the course of time, especially after the death of the charismatic leader, his or her original insight becomes traditi~nalized or ratio-nalized or both.~ Weber adds: "It is only in the initial stages, and so long as the charismatic leader acts in a way which is completely outside every day social organization, that it is possible for his followers to live communistically in a community of faith and enthusiasm.''2 Thus, according to Weber, it is only a question of time before the initial charism of the leader becomes "routinized.''3 Usually this takes place after his or her death. In this transformation into a permanent routine structure, one of the first things altered is the anti-economic character of the original charisma.4The followers pursue security and economic stability (as part of security) to. make up for the absence of the founder. Everyday needs and the ordi-nary details of administration necessitate such an adaptation. This process took place even in the church after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. With routinization comes an attempt to preserve the leader's thought and way of life. Normally this takes the form of pre-serving his or her letters, instructions,- documents, and sayings, along with eyewitness reports, accounts from the~first companions, and so on. Guidelines are set for the training of future followers. These are usually spelled out in documents such as rules, consti-tutions, and statutes, which are updated from time to time by general chapters and by special commissions appointed by them. The result is a system of organization different from that which existed during the time of the charismatic leader. During the leader's lifetime, the way of making decisions, the way of act- Review for Religious ing, and in short the whole way the group functioned could be said to have been somewhat arbitrary and unpredictable. There was no formal or well-defined way of doing a particular thing. The leader's personality was the key factor, and it overshadowed what-ever structures and procedures were already in place, regarding the community and its mission. Max Weber says that "the routinization of charisma also takes the form of the appropriation of powers of control and of eco-nomic advantages by the followers,or disciples and of regulation of the recruitment of these groups.''5 In other words, the rou-tinization process in a congregation includes the manner and the basis of choosing leaders, the training or tests of eligibility of the new recruits, the way of governing the members, their rights and duties, and so on.6 Also, it is very much akin to the adaptation that constantly takes place in economic life--for the economy is on~ of the principal and continually operating forces in everyday life. In the whole question of routinization, the economic condi-tions play a leading role'and do not constitute merely a dependent variable.7 Bureaucratic Org.anization and Religious Life From the foregoing it will be clear that accompanying the whole process of the routinization of a charism is the attempt to coordinate activities. Weber calls this the process of rationaliza-tion or the process of bureaucratic organizatipn. He goes on to say that this is a distinctive mark of the modern era. Bureaucracy has shaped modern politics, the modern economy, modern technol'- ogy, and modern church life and religious life too. Max Weber considered the bureaucratic organization to be technically supe-rior to all other forms of administration. He says' also that only through this device, namely bureaucracy, has large-scale planning of the modern state and the modern economy become possible,s The main characteristics of a bureaucratic organization are: ¯ It is organized according to rational principles: rules, con-stitutions, and statutes. (This is something that developed in religious congregations.) ¯ The offices are ranked in a hierarchical order. (Religious congregations, too, have a hierarchical order, that is, gen-eral, his or her consulto~rs, the different secretariats, provin-cials, vice-provincials, and so on.) Novetttber-December 1998 Abeyasingba * The Decline in Religious Vocations Efficiency has hhd the effect of making religious congregations inefficient in answering the changed needs of the times. ¯ The operations (of offices) are characterized by imper-sonal rules. (The various offices in religi~ous congregations, too, have clearly defiiaed procedures.) ¯ The members are governed by methodical allocation of areas of jurisdiction.(Today the members of religious con-gregations fire allocdted 'into provinces, vice-provinces, regions, and so on.) ¯ Appointments to offices are generally made according to specialized qualifications. Those who can fit into the bureaucratic administrative set-up are the ones who are normally considered for s~h offices. Just as bureaucracy has its advantages, it also has its draw-backs. Its very strengths are also its weaknesses. Because of its rationalized organization, bureaucracy sometimes becomes unwieldy and even stultifying in dealing with individual cases. Modern rationalized and bureaucratized systems find themselves incapable of dealing with particularities. In other words, the individual's initiative and creativity are submerged under a deluge of reasons that are derived mechanically from the 0 code of behavior.~° Depersonalization is another result of bureaucratization. The organization seems to take precedence over the personhood of the individual." In the last analysis, although bureaucratization and rationalization may have increased the efficiency of the o.r, ga: nization, this very efficiency threatefis to dehumanize its ere-ators. 12 In such a setup, 0there is little room for charismatic personalities to emerge. , From what has been said, one sees the implications of bureau-cratization for the functioning~of religious life. While on the one hand it has organized and systematized administration, on the other hand it has stifled some new initiatives and new thinking. Persons who propose changes in hitherto :accepted ways of doing things could very well find themselves isolated or labeled rebel-lious or considered excrescences that need to be removed because they are a hindrance to the smooth running of the ihstitute. Worse still would be the sad refility of some finding themselves outside the institute because their ideas do not find acceptance with the Review for Religious administration. To put it in another way,. this very efficiency has had the effect of making religious congregations inefficient in answering the changed conditions and changed needs of the times. Understanding Vatican II's Renewal Guidelines Something that should not be forgotten is that the intention of these charismatic leaders was to answer particular needs in society. They were answering a local need. What took priority was the need of the people, not the organization of a group with rules and. regulations. Only much later, as numbers increased and in some cases lived far from the original local area, did the group give ,special attention to its own formation. This fact should be kept in mind when we speak of the inspiration of the founder or foundress. As has been explained, with the death of the charismatic ,leader, the routinization process took. over,' bringing .to the now more organized institute a corresponding sense of securityoand stability ,among the members. This in turn created a certain insen-sitivity to the actual needs of the people, espec!ally the poor. It is in this context that one has to understand the appeal made by the Second Vatican Council: The appropriate renewal of religious life involves two simul-taneous pr%cesses: (I) a continuous return to the sources ~ 9f all Christian life and to the original inspiration b~hind a given community and (2) an adjustment of the community to the changed conditions of the times. Clearly, the council envisaged two simultaneous processes for the renewal of religious life. It went on to enumerat.e certain princi-ples in accord with which such renewal was to proceed: to follow Christ, to participate in the life of the church, to seek to identify the institute's,particular character and purpose, and to be aware of contemporary human conditions and of the needs of the church. Renewal in the Context of Max Weber's Routinization With such an impetus given by the council, one could have noticed certain initiatives taken by various communities. Many congregations set up commissions to study their roots, going into the history of their founding inspirations. General chapters made it their chief objective to redraft their respective rules and con- Novonber-Dece~nber 1998 Abeyasingba * The Decline in Religious Vocations stitutions according to the mind and spirit of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. That the various congregations made a sincere effort to adjust themselves to the changed conditions of the times cannot be denied. In the renewed constitutions one could notice that provision was made for individual initiatives. Furthermore, units of the congregation in various countries were given the freedom to adapt and change according to their par-ticular situation. These were praiseworthy changes indeed, which by and large were done after a general consultation of all the members. One could not help noticing, however, that the final outcome was worked out within a bureaucratic setup.which was hierarchical in its composition. Any new efforts were to be tried out within a certain organizational framework of the congregation. Furthermore, the starting point of such ventures was a position of economic security. This meant that the inSecurity, the uncertainty. the risk--very much a part of the life and experience of the fouflders when they first set out to answer the need of the hour!- was not there. Also~ the Vatican Council's guidelines for adjusting the com-munity to the changed conditions of the times were not followed fully. There was a general move towards a more simple lifestyle. Institutes made changes in their religious garb, in food customs, in their cloister regulations, and so forth. There was, however, no sign of a change of structures in keeping with what the founders had had during their lifetime. Changes took place only within confines that ensured that the boat would not be rocked too much. It had to be so, inasmuch as the process of roudnization was firmly entrenched. Adjusting to the changed co.n.ditions of the times (at the coun-cil's direction) was, then, not an easy task. In practical terms, con-gregations, in spite of all their goodwill and efforts to be relevant in the present day, found themselves up against a bureaucratic system incapable of providing room for the charismatic figures who might have renewed them by making the necessary paradigm shifts. By and large this could be attributed to the routinization of the charism that religious congregations underwent after the death of their founders. As a result, the religious-life renewal that the council proposed could not be realistically achieved. If the needs of people in the various areas had been met, there would have been no dearth of vocations in the religious congregation. In Review.for Religious other words, there is no need for advertising a product that is selling and is in demand in the market. Efficiency or Effectiveness ~Max Weber's sociological observations, when applied to a reli-gious institute, do indeed seem to throw some light on the reasons for the'almost universal decline in religious vocations. As long as a bureaucratic way of life governs religious congregations, they will almost always manifest a certain efficiency in whatever work they do. The work, however, ma3i not be effective, for such a system of administration does not always respond in a vigorously prophetic manner to the urgent and crying needs of the people. ' The history of the church shows that ~hange has often come from areas off the beaten track, where some indi-viduals had found a way for themselves. In modern religious cong.regations, organized in the way they are, it is almost impossible to accommodate such trailblazing elements. It can be noted historically that only the dark eras of history witness the emergence of new religious congregations. Critical times almost always bring about a breakdown of existing systems, but it is .in these chaotic and confusing situations that charismatic per-sonalities seem to apEear out of nowhere. The late Mother Teresa's Missionaries of:Charity were such a response to a chaotic situation in one of the most populated and crowded' cities in the-world, Calcutta. Her prophetic voice of compassion and kindness to the poorest of the poor cut through such barriers as caste, religion, and class. Her living witness and work proclaimed to all people the dignity of each and every per-son, which a world had lost sight of in its quest for power and wealth. Her response had a universal and global character. Her message is clear, something that religious congregations could ponder as they rethink their charisms while they and the world step into the 21 st century. The decline in religious vocations is not an entirely negative thing. A search through the crisis will make us see the reasons It is in chaotic and confusing situations that charismatic personalities seem to appear out of nowhere. L5"_S.5"__ Noventber-December 1998 Abeyasingba ¯ The Decline in Religious Vocations why such a situation has come to pass. Instead of looking at pres-ent- day confusion with tunnel vision, one should see it in.a global perspective and as a precursor of growth. Mother Teresa's e~tam-pie could help towards such a rethinking. So also could the obser-vations made by Max Weber. They can facilitate taking stock and analyzing the present situation of religious congregations. From thls starting point religious congregations could proceed to make the drawbacks and weaknesses that are found in current struc-tures irrelevant. They could make themselves ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. Weber's.Ansights, by helping us learn the truth about ourselves, can ready us to proceed to generatiye and creative actions. They can challenge us to do some honest and humble soul searching about our present situation, In St. Paul's words (2 Co 12:10), "When I am weak, then Iam strong." Notes l Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organizqtion, trans. A.R. Henderson and Talcott Parsons (U.K.: William Hodge~ and Company, 1947), p. 334. :2 Weber, Theory, p. 337. 3 "Routinization" is Max Weber's term for the phenomenon of an original idea (here, that of the charismatic leader) becoming organized a~d conceptualized in the course of time. This is the result~of the interpret-ing, analyzing,, rationalizing, and so forth that take place when congre-gations study the writings of their founders, the accounts, of' their immediate companions and a.ssociates, the recollections of others Eho knew them, and so forth. 4 In their initial insight, almost all charismatic leaders are anti-eco~ nomic; they set t~p almost no economic system for collecting or raising funds. It is the personali.ty of the leaders that attracts others~' td them and also brings in donations and gifts. The aim of charism~itic le'aders is to achieve a special goal (filling a need of the society at that time, usually serving the poor), not to meet their own day-to-day needs. SWeber, Theory, p. 337. 6 The original basis of recruitment was the founders' personal charism. A .charism is something that can only be ;'awakened" and ".tested," not something that can be taught and learned. Novitiates arid houses of for° marion, however, tend to assume a teaching stance. See W~eber, Theory, pp. 337-338. 7 Weber, Theory, p. 342. s When religious congregations spread beyond their original geo-~ graphical area and the routinization process had been set in motion, there was no preventing a bureaucratic organization. Review for Religious o Lewis A. Coser, Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971), pp. 230- 231. 10 Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber, An Intellectual Portrait (Garden City, N Y.: Doubleday, 1960), p. 421. ~ Bendix, pp. 421-422. 12 Coser, Masters, pp. 231-232. ,3 Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life (Perfectae caritatis), §2. the departed say we are not dead see ohr faces hear ohr voices when you leadt expect like neighbors visitihg unhnnounced we are'some~lace ~ withih view within earshot like others in your house but we are, at liberty to come and go without weight.or circumscription like winds in harp strings like real answers to your real questions Avis Kunca Kubick Novetttber-Decetttber 1998 JOHN BLAKE MORE Spiritual Maturity ife.in the spirit Reading my first Thomas Merton book back in my early twenties, I came across the phrase "spiritual maturity," an expression that delighted and fascinated me even though I had no clue of what it was designed to express. I won-dered about it for several months and even reflected on its possible meaning, but then it receded into the less acces-sible regions of my consciousness and enjoyed untroubled slumber for some time. But not forever. Over the years, as I have become more life-mature and more di'scernibly chronologically mature, the phrase "spiritual matur!ty" has--through reading, conversation, and simple observa-tion- returned to my sight and consciousness many times, to haunt me but also to stimulate me to explore further its possible meanings and its probable connections to every-day life. What would.a spiritually mature person look like or act like? Am I a spiritually mature person? Is it possi-ble for me to become one? Do I know any spiritually mature persons? All this questioning and thinking over the years has led me to formulate tentatively some answers, some ideas that I think have helped me and that I want to share with others. Some of these ideas are derivative: I got them from other folks. Others are either original or synthetic, fash-ioned from items found in reading and conversation and from observing the behavior and attitudes of people I meet. John Blake More, new to our pages, writes from Tejtn 34 - Sm. 20; Cancfin Quintana Roo; 77500 Mexico. Review for Religious A spiritually mature person is probably creative. At least one religious tradition holds that we are made in the image and like-ness of God, and, if we ask ourselves in what this image and like-ness really consist, we naturally come up with the notion that we are like God because we are creative as he is creative. We are ere- ~tive because God made us that way. He made us free and there-fore creative. As humans we show our creativity in at least three 'important spheres (and here I follow Paul Ricoeur): having, power, and valuing. Having. In the exercise of creativity all people, even the spir-itually mature, need to have some material.goods for their own use. Maybe a little, maybe a lot. But the major religious tradi-tions and the spiritual values they represent do not seem to place much importance on the acquisition of wealth, do they? In fact, they see great riches as a disvalue. So spiritually mature persons are not much concerned with acquiring wealth and possessions beyond what they need to get along decently in life. On the other hand, people who have lots of possessions have greater opportu-nities to be creative. They can create new jobs for others, build libraries ~nd museums, or Simply give some of their excess money to .people who need it to survive. In itself; possessing wealth really seems to be spiritually neutral. If one sees possession as steward-ship, it can be something positive. If, however, people believe they are the outright owners without considering that God has entrusted them with these possessions and that they must appor-tion them responsibly, then they are probably not much con-cerned with growth in the Spirit. ~ 0 Power. Spiritually mature persons are probably aware of their own need for power, but are also conscious that everyone else has the same need. We need, in the first place, power over ourselves: self-determination to decide where to live or work, who our friends and associates will be, what kind of lifestyle we will adopt or develop for ourselves. We also need to be able to exercise power over others, but this must be legitimate power, the kind of power society assigns to us and expects us to exercise intelli-gently for the cbmmon good. We have to make choices for, our children. We have to determine the ~activities of our employees if we have any. But, in these activities and others like them, if we allow strength and power to become force and coercion, we can be pretty sure we are not much interested in becoming spiritually mature. We are dismayed when we read of dictatorial aggression, November-December 1998 More ¯ Spiritual Maturity ruthless kidnappings, tribal wars, but force and coercion can occur in little things of daily life and they can have the appearance of being extremely civilized and in the best of taste. :Valuing. In the sphere of valuing, we show our creativity by making determinations about the relative worth of things and activities. Nowadays it is out of fashion to be what people call "judgmental" "because, if you tell p6ople they are doing some-thing wrong, like putting a round peg into a square hole, the~ may feel threatened or embarrassed, feelings which may be owing to a kind of paranoia rather than to comments one may offer con-structively. Spiritually mature persons seldom if ever "condemn," but th.ey must in certain situations be judgmental.Th'at is why ¯ we':haSte crii:ical faculties: to make decisions about what is worthy and what is not, to be ab!e.to distinguish between the junk and the good stuff. And that is what prophecy is all about: shouting from the housetops when you see injustice and abuse.The spiritually mature person, then, distinguishes between healthy and modest criticism done in a spirit of love, and foolish or malicious remarks made in some other spirit. We must evaluate or criticize our cul-ture, our government, our friendships, and of course ourselves. While smiling permissiveness is no virtue, it is also true that unwavering tolerance and spiritual maturity have .always been on the closest terms. One good sign of spiritual growth is a weakening of our most cherished prejudices. When we hate, fear, or feel threatened by another person simply because he is different from us, then we are failing to appreciate the image and likeness of God in that person. These are three general areas that merit consideration as we ponder the nature of spiritual maturity, but other things, too, should be looked at. Frie.ndship is of great importance in the spir-itual life. All the grea( figures of the .important religious tradi-tions, those who had the ,primal mystical experience that gave .rise to those traditions, had friendships with other people. They loved their friends dearly and openly. We, too, are right to treat, our friends lovingly, with tenderness. We look forward to seeing them and spending time with them. We talk with them about'our desires and aspirations, and we confide to them our fears and failures. We inspire them and corisole them.Sometimes we revive ~them when their spirits droop. ,Some people who are mature in the spirit experience some' difficulty in maintaining, friendships for reasons of transport, distance, or schedule, but such difficulties are ! Review for Relig4ous not insurmountable. People can ha-be a firm and meaningful frien'dghip by correspondence. Sure, by mail. Why not? If you know someone whose values and outlook are compatible with yours, you can have an ongoing correspondence with him or her that will be significant for both your live~, and also enriching. You do not have to write anything world-shaking or mind-bog-gling. Writing takes a little more time and effort than a face-to-face chat, and it does not offer the same consolations and pleasures as real face-to-face togetherness, but it is still something of great worth. Growth in the spirit is closely connected to skill in the ~ine art of listening. When I told a friend that some-one had said I was a good conversationalist, he answered that what she really meant was that I am a good listener. I wonder how right he was.'The plain fact, though, i~ that people do like to be listened to, and the spiritually mature person is a master at listening lovingly, corn-" passionately, but also selectively. By this I do not mean the kind of selective listening that'~ filters all I hear through my own ego supports in order to register only those things that satisfy or interest me. Although an interchange between friends may involve a recounting of events or a descrip-tion of facts, when I listen to a friend I am not trying to acquire factual information. I am trying to get a sense of his or her state of mind and soul. This is not always easy, in view of personality differences and of people's varying ability to articulate their inner dispositions. But~ When we listen, we need to care mostly about the person we are listening to. Spiritually mature persons have a delightful sense of child-like wonder that makes everything new. Sophisticated people who have seen it all and done it all, or just do not want to get involved, area lov less fun to be with than men and women who have a deep spiritual sense of wonder. Wonder leads to openness and surprise, contentment and faithfulness, curiosity and enthusiasm. It also brings an appreciation of the uniqueness of each person along with a sense of brotherhood and equality. " Surprising as it may seem, spiritually mature people are hardly ever highly disciplined people. This is because they are loving persons. They do everything that has to be done, they do it at the appointed time, and they 'do it right--not because they have discipline, but because they have love. They are.motivated to read Friendship is of great importance in the spiritual life. November-December 1998 More ¯ SpiritualMaturity Surprising as it may seem, spiritually mature people are hardly ever highly disciplined people. books and wash floors and get to work on time because they live out Augustine's dictum "Love and do as you please." A sullen-faced p4rson probably has too much discipline and too little love. When the persons I am talking about look out at the world, they-see a lot of ambiguity and they embrace it heartily as a major component of human life. If the Creator is good, why does he allow us to suffer so much? Why should I help the poor if poverty is not eradicable? This kind of ambiguity is embraced and accepted by mature .persons of all spiritual tradi-tions, and in the case of Christian spir-ituality there is the model of the ambiguity of the cross. Why should I forgive these people if they are killing me? Why should I ask my Father for help if he has abandoned me? And, putting the two questions together, why should I ask my Father to forgive these people who are killing me if my Father has already abandoned me? For the spiritually mature these are actually non.questions, even as they represent realities that have to be faced. Not because maturity pro-duces historical or social blindness, but because serious consider-ation of such issues leads to acceptance of reality. Such questions, when formulated as questions, are not answerable. And even here ~here is a further ambiguity: how can I accept the reality of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, rampant poverty and ignorance, and on and on, and still work to change all these social ills, to provide some alleviation to all the suffering they cause? Does "That's the way the world is" mean "why try to change it!"? Language use, too, has to be considered in connection,with spiritual maturity. As little children we learn to use language as an instrument to further our own designs and to get others to behave in ways that promote our own interests. If we learn this skill well as children and then refine it as adults, we become wonderful manipulators or even politicians, and this is why. spiritually mature people hardly ever go into politics. They lack skill in using lan-guage instrumentally. They say what they mean and they mean what they say. They use language to inform or to persuade, but never to.manipulate. Modern societies view independence as a positive andhighly desirable virtue. Mos't parents say they want their children to Review for Religious become independent. We admire the "independent spirit." Actually, such independence is a fiction and a most undesirable one. In reality, each of us is highly dependent on at least a few other humans, and we should be. Living in human society means being interdependent: I depend on you and you depend on me. This is an important ingredient in the cement that holds human society together and promotes the development of culture. Instead of~insisting on their independence, spiritually mature persons consider themselves autonomous--which suggests the ability to live and act in freedom from outside control, coercion, or manip-ulation. That is different from independence because in my free-dom I acknowledge that I depend--sometimes radically--on others, and they on me. In our day most of us are aware (sometimes painfully aware) that the subject matter of life (the real business of human exis-tence) is change and that, in the best case, change takes the form of transformation of the person into an ever more human creature. Being human is a good thing and does not mean, as the cynic 'believes, unremitting egotism and venality. Before he started feel-ing hi.s oats, Adam was so perfect that he had conversations with God as they walked "in the cool. of the day." Being human should mean changing arid becoming perfect, as our Father is perfect. Since most of us consider such perfection an unrealizable ideal, persons who think about becoming spiritually mature prob-ably have a set of unattainable goals that they take quite seriously and adhere to assiduously. They have probably formulated a set of precepts which relate to these goals and which articulate their creatureliness and humanness during their inner conversations with themselves and with' the Spirit of God. In my own thinking about becoming mature in the Spirit, I have come up tentatively with three precepts that reflect my own human creatureliness, but are also ordered toward my capacity to become a "partaker of the divine naturE." I use them to talk to myself. Let me offer them here. Deepen your understanding of reality. Try to get a good grasp of reality by asking the ~right questions. The right questions always have three distinguishing characteristics: they.are unanswerable, they always lead to other and better questions, and they almost always begin with why. Acquiring knowledge requires study and learning from good teachers and good books, along with the will-ingness to undergo the suffering involved in replacing stale beliefs November-December 1998 More ¯ Spiritual Maturity with new data. It also dem'ands increasing connectedness to the culture in which I live and awareness of how life is lived in other cultures. What I should be looking for are meaning and connec-tion: the ultimate unity of all being and its essential oneness with the Absolute. ' Refine your tastes. Begin by distinguishing the merely attractive or pretty from the truly beautiful. If you were brought up on rock music, Mozart probably leaves you cold. Praxiteles probably has little to say to you if you think Schwarzenegger and Stallone are beautiful, Biat we should perhaps not consider ourselves less wor~ thy humans if we are drawn.to the merely attractive or pretty. ' This happens in the best of families, doesn't it? As young peo-ple, when we are most curious about the world and our place in it, we are bombarded with sounds and images and esthetic val-ues from the popular culture. Butwe eventually grow out of that; we ~"put away the things of a child," as St. Paul says. Evil is, of course, the ultimate ugliness, and our involvement in it dimin-ishes our humanity and tarnishes the image of God in us. ~ Formalize your ethics. Here we make a distinction between for-mal and material moral norms. Material norms deal with specific actions and decisions such as killing, steal!ng, and lying (not rec-ommended); and with praying, respecting authority, and being faithful (highly approved and even urged). There is only one norm for those who follow the way of formal ethics: Always seek the good and avoid what is evil. This norm is assimilated and interi-orized by spiritually mature persons to the ext~nt that it becomes part of their nature. In all their decisions and actions, attitudes and dispositions, they keep both eyes on the truly good: good for themselves, their family, their society, their nation, their 151anet: The more this single norm gets imprinted on their souls, the less they have to run through a mental checklist of material norms (do's and don'ts) to see what is prohibited and what is approved. "Seek what is good and avoid what is evil." 'Finally, spiritually mature persons are surely happy persons who radiate to o~hers their joy at living in this world with other people and at spending periods of time in prayerful silence com-muning with the Absolute. Their joy is increased by the knowl-edge that whatever spiritual maturity they may have attained is in fact a free gift from a loving and gracious God. Review for Religious DENNIS J. BILLY A "Spiritdal Turn" for Catholic Moral Theology MGY first encounter with Bernard H~iring,'ithe renowned erman Redemptorist who wrote such significant w. orks as The Law of Christ (1954)~and Free and Faithful in Christ (1978- 1981) and whom many have hailed as the father of contemporary Catholic moral theology, came during a' congress of Redemptorist moral theblogians held at Aylmer; Quebec~ 26-30June 1989. Or/ the second day of the congress,, after he had given an insightful presentation to the general assembly on the state of moral theol-ogy since Vatican Council II, I found myself sitting next to him at lunch as hemused out loud in his weak, barely audible voice (from his long and difficult battle with throat cancer) on the future of moral,theological reflection within the Catholic tradition. Then, as now, a single thought stood out from all the rest: "We have lost sight of the Holy Spirit. In the future, moral theology must give more emphasis to the role of the Spirit. Otherwise, all is lost." Hiiring was so insistent on ~his point that he stated it out-right .at a later session in a rare personal intervention from the floor, For more than eight years, I hav~ been p~ndering the mean-ing of these quiet, unassuming words perhaps in ways which he himself might not have accepted. Retrieving the Spirit Given the vast varieties of pseudo-mysticism in the history of Christianity and the great facility with which the name of the Dennis J. Billy CSSR, a frequent contributor, writes again from Rome, where his address is Accademia Alfonsiana; C.P. 2458; 00100 Roma, Italy. November-December 1998 Billy * A "Spiritual Turn" for Catholic Moral Theology Spirit can be and has been invoked as a way of avoiding critical moral reflection, it is easy to understand how, quite early on, within orthodox circles a latent (and sometimes overt) suspicion grew of anything that even vaguely resembled a charismatic ren-dering of truth by a small "Spirit-filled" elite. To a large extent the church's magisterial structure (that is, its emphasis on apostolic succession and the role of tradition) took shape as a result of its struggle against the esoteric (and sometimes laxist) tendencies of Gnostic mysticism, on theone hand, and the rigorist tenets of Montanist spiritualism, on the other (to name two of the more prominent examples). Historians point to the church's institu-tionalization of the Spirit in the office of the episcopacy and its subsequent control of the sacramental life of the Christian faith-ful as the predominant means by which, down through the cen-turies, it has safeguarded itself from similar threats. One of the unfortunate by-products of this process of insti-tutionalization was the gradual marginalization of the Spirit from the inner workings of Catholic theological reflection. As the mag-isterium became more and more centralized, it consolidated its hold over what it considered the "authentic" utterings of the Spirit and helped to create an atmosphere in which theologians were constrained to pursue their goals within increasingly limited notions of rationality. The gradual shift in Western hermeneuti-cal thought from allegory to syllogism to induction gives evi-dence to this effect, as does the roughly parallel movement in rational theory from analogy to univocity to equivocation. By most counts, this momentous restructuring of the rational pro-cesses of Western thought was as much a function of rising mag-isterial control of the sacred as of an ever changing philosophical terrain (as witnessed in the successive preeminence of Neoplatonic, Aristotelian, and Nominalist thought patterns). Localizing spiritual authority in ecclesiastical institutions, in other words, had the unforeseen .effect of gradually .disassociating ratio-nal discourse from its roots in the intuitive dimension of human existence, that side of human nature most likely to sustain a close experiential rapport with the Spirit. To speak in broad historical terms, the "despiritualization" of human reason had barely begun in the patristic and monastic traditions of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages (when the centralization of ecclesiastical power was hardly underway in Rome), had made recognizable progress during the early Scholastic period (near the time of the Gregorian Review for Religious Reform and the Investiture crisis), was in full swing with the rise of Nominalism in the early 14th century (not long after Boniface VIII's proclamation of Unam sanctam in 1302), and had reached its highest stage of development during the Age of the Enlightenment (just before Vatican Council I's proclamation of papal infallibility). Putting aside the more difficult task of discerning which histor-ical progression was influenced by which, and recognizing the probability of a circular relationship between the two (as well as the likely involvement of other discernible historical factors), one cannot help wondering if the present-day postmodern disillu-sionment with human reason--itself a reaction against the failed hopes of Reason's .coming of age--will herald an attempt to retrieve reason's lost association with the spiritual. If so, one would also have to wonder if the present tendency in the governing structures of Roman Catholicism toward increased centralization is nothing more than a momentary stay in a larger process of decentralization, the forces of which were at work long before the opening of Vatican II and will probably continue. An Anthropological Turn t Such a retrieval or "reinvestment" of reason's ties with "things spiritual" must proceed from the ins'~ghts of a sound Christian anthropology. In the present circumstances, the Pauline body/soul/spirit arrangement as formulated in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 proves especially helpful: "May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your ~spirit and soul and' body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here Paul provides an anthropology that construes the human person as a union of three distinct (albeit intimately related) ele-ments: body (soma), soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma). These ele-ments exist together in the human person and cannot be isolated one from another (as if a human body can be separated from the soul and spirit and still be examined intact). So closely are they related, in fact, that one cannot speak of spirit outside the context of soul and body, and vice versa. Since Paul proposes these anthro-pological terms while addressing the community of believers in the church at Thessalonica, care must be taken not to isolate his understanding of human existence from either its inherent social context or the life of faith. Account must also be taken of the fact that, although he insists on their intimate union in the human m Noventber-Decentber 1998 Billy * A "Spiritual Turn" for Catholic Moral Theology person, he actually says precious little about how body, soul, and spirit relate to one another in the concrete circumstances of daily living. Given these significant contextual details (or lack thereof), the following claims appear generally continuous with the main lines of Paul's anthropological vision and offer correctives to pres-ent- day exaggerated emphasis on the rational. (1) In addition to body and soul, a person can also experience his or her spirit. ,(2) A retrieval or "'reinvestment " of reason's ties with "things spiritual" must proceed from the insights of a sound Christian anthropo!ogy. The mutual relationship between body. and soul suggests a similar rapport between soul and spirit. (3) The spirit touches ~he body through the medidtion of the soul.~(4) Generally speak-. ing, the Holy Spirit touches an individual by communicating its grace first to a person's spirit and then through the .spirit to the person.'s soul and body. (5) God and the human person can enjoy a close interpersonal rapport by.virtue of their communing spirits. (6)People relate to one another on the level of body. soul, and spirit. (7) The Spirit unites the Body of Christ, the church, not only theologically (that is, to God), but also anthropologically (that is, among its members). (8) It does so primarily on the .level of human spirit and only secondarily on the other dimensions of human existence. Elicited from the Paulin4 anthropology of 1 Thessaloni~ns 5:23, these anthropological claims provide the parameters by which a discussion abo,ut reason's "spiritual renewal" may pro-deed. Key to this discussion is the need for all theologians (and moral theologians in particular) to recognize the competence (and the limits) of reason's rule. Just as reason extends to the body through its ordering of the passions (and is thereby "enfleshed"), so the spirit extends to the soul (the seat of the rational faculty) by means of its quiet in.tuiting presence. Clearly, both movements have moral significance that must be taken into account for the future of moral theology. The Criteria of Reason's Spiritual Rebirth What,might such limits be? Without exhausting the possi-bilities, the following list provides some guidelines for discerning Review for Religious the genuine ways in which reason and spirit mutually influence one another. 1. An anthropological relationship of circularity exists between spirit and reason; that is, the insights of one complement the scope and competence of the other in such a way that, when taken together, their interaction generates a field of understanding unique to themselves and which neither would be fully capable of penetrating on its own. Spirit .brings intuition and moments of keen insight to the movement of discursive thought; reason artic-ulates through language something of the inexpressible utterings of the human spirit. Authentic theological reflection taps into this relationship of circularity and allows it to open up for each succeeding generation the meaning of the symbols of the Christian faith, ~. 2. The spirit influences the mind through prayer, and vice versa. When a person.'s spirit communes with God's Spirit, there is a natural reverberation (however slight) in the other, anthro-pological dimensions of human existence. This subtle influence, which will become a veritable overflowing (redundantia) in the beatific vision, strengthens the transcendent orientation of an individual's rational operation. A "spiritua!" person tends to Con-centrate on holy things and seeks to view all things with th'e mind of God. The person?s prayer (contemplative prayer in particular) plays a transforming rather than merely ancillary role in reason's spiritual homecoming, 3. The human spirit is not "irrational," but "supranational." It does not ask reason to go against its own internal principles, but seeks continually to broaden reason's, scope by providing intu-itions that challenge previously unquestioned (and possibly falla-cious) arguments. When reason is in tune with wholesome human spirit (and even more so whefiit is in touch with God's Spirit), it is. constantly prompted to reach beyond itself and to stretch the boundaries within which it normally functions. This extended x~ange is a welcome corrective to that narrowing univocity which nowadays often masquerades as the sole legitimate face of ratio-nal inquiry. ~ 4. Theologians who reintegrate spirit and reason demonstrate a guarded yet profound respect for church authority. The gradual marginalization of spirit from the center of theological reflec-tion, which came at least in part as a result of magisterial cen-tralization and control of the sacred, does not mean that a November-December 1998 Billy ¯ A~'Spiritual Turn"for Catholic Moral TheoloKF .--7- 600 "respiritualized" reason will ignore or, worse, openly disdain the valuable hermeneutical role the magisterium has played in the history of the Catholic tradition. On the contrary, a reintegra-tion of spirit and reason should bring about an even closer work-ing relationship between theologians (in. their concern for reasoned clarity and the e.xploration of' the faith) and the magis-terium (in its concern for the preservation and purity of the faith). While neither will always agree with the other, a close working relationship between them will provide helpful correctives against the extremes of overrationalization and pseudo-mysticism that can all too often get in the way of and even obscure sound theo-logical reflection. 5. A closer working rapport between spirit anal reason will require a reintegrated understanding of the various theological disciplines, especially dogmatic, moral, and spiritual theology. The unfortunate breakup of theology in recent centuries into sep-arate and highly specialized disciplines can itself be understood as a symptom of reason's ongoing despir, itualization. A renewed or "respiritualized" understanding of reason will operate success-fully only in a context ~at seeks to preserve the unity of theology in the midst of its highly specialized and sometimes .seemingly disconnected parts. 6. Renewing reason's link with the spirit will also move a per-son's sense of vocation to the center of theological reflection. No longer will theology, be construed as something existing "in the abstract," as if proceeding outside the theologian's own personal and communal faith experience. Any presentation and consequent systematization of the symbols~of the faith will be valid only to the extent that it remains faithful to and. authentically expresses the deepest sense of a,person's call in life before God through the church and in the world. One's reflection on God, in other words. must tak~ place in the context of one's sense of self in the presence of God and the community of believers. 7. The reason/spirit relationship sheds greater ligh~ on the importance of there being a continuity between theologians' pro-fessional work and their moral behavior. Sound theological reflec-tion stems from a stable interplay between spirit and reason. It reflects the contours of individuals' calls from God in this life and reaches its fullest expression when it is enfleshed in the con-crete circumstance~ of their daily existence. This cannot happen, however, if reason is deprived of all access to the nourishing roots Review for Religious of the spirit, where the human person communes with the Spirit of God through a grace that is freely given and freely received. Sound theological reflection challenges the theologian to int~- grate reason and spirit, theological discourse and personal sanc-tity. The church needs theologians who want to be saints, who admit this desire without false humility, and who bring this desire to the forefront of their theological inquiry. 8. Finally, a reintegration of spirit and reason would sustain within theological reflection a healthy tension between "theol-ogy as science" and "theology as art." Reason's desire to ver-ify corfipl~ments the spirit's yearning for m3?stery, and vice versa. Together they provide useful correctives to the ten-dencies of overrationalization and exaggerated rhetoric, which lessen theology's scope by seekings to turn it into something it is not and should not be, Theology is more than science and mole than art, It Future moral,theological discussion will have to develop a greater sensitivity to the ethical content of humanity's symbolic xpressions. is science and.art, a rare "field-encompassing" discipline which touches all areas of human knowl-edge in its attempt to convey the meaning of the Christian faith to each successive generation.1 By preserving this tension, theo-logical reflection retains a ~.ay of expressing the faith ever anew yet always ina~cord with th~ church's theological tradition. New and creative insights emerge from the tradition precisely in this way, .thereby allowing it to expand its theologic.al horizons and to move 'forward. Implications for Moral Theology The above criteria represent just some of the ways in which a deeper understanding of the relationship between spirit and reason would change ~he way in which theology itself is conceived and carried out. As one might expect, they have very concrete implications for the future of moral theology. 1. Moral theology would be challenged to break out of its hylomorphic rendering of the human (that is, moral) act that has "get the parameters for serious discussion within the Catholic tra- Noventber-December 1998 Billy ¯ A "Spiritual Turn" for Catholic Moral TbeoloKF ~dition since the time of Aquinas. A human action is more than just an expre~ssion of body (as the object of the external action) and mind (as the internal movement of deliberated will). Greater sen-sitivity mu~t be given in futur, e moral-theological reflection to the influence which a person's spirit brings to moral action. A good place to begin would be to apply the insights of Aquir~as's teaching on grace (which, intere~stingly, he considers under the New Law at the end of his treatment of the fundamental princi-ples of morality, that is, Summa tbeologiae, I-lI, qq. 109-114, to the Pauline rendering of 'human anthropology as body (soma), soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma). 2. Eor ~this to occur, a shift must take place in the under-standing of the nature and role of rationality in current moral-the-ologiEal reflection. In its attempt in recent years to model itself after the empirical and social sciences, theology in general (and moral theology in particular) has adopted a univocal understand-ing of rational inquiry that prevents a balanced interplay of rea-son and spirit from entering into the legitimate bounds of serious theological refledtion. The result has been an unfortunate nar-rowing (some would say "impoverishment") of theology's rightful scope. The current deadlock in the deontologist/proportionalist discussion is but one symptom of this reductive theological under-taking. 3. Since the spirit expresses itself more .through images than in the "clear and distinct" ideas of rational discoul:se, future moral~ theological discussion will have to .develop a greater, sensitivity to the ethical content of humanity's symbolic expressions. To modify Aristotle's definition: Man is not just a rational but also:a symbolic animal. In developing this sensitivity, moral theology will draw closer to the arts than ever before (at least within recent memory) and begin to effect a transformation of the genres and literary style in which it expresses itself. It will also spark a renewed interest in the ethical Content of the images and sym-bols found in the Scriptures and the church's liturgy. 4. Future moral-theological discussion will develop close ties with the three levels of Christian spirituality: (1) the experien-tial, (2) the sapiential, and (3) the analytical.2 Ethical kngwledge will be understood as something to be-garnered from the whole of human experience (that is, throughout the body/soul/spirit continuum) with special emphasis given to the social .aspects of human moral-spiritu.a! discourse and to the role of prayer and~ Review for Relig4ous discernment in moral decision making. This heightened awareness Of the spiritual aspects of its theological heritage will give moral theology a deeper awareness of its own most distinctive traits and enable it to make serious contributions in discussions with other ethical traditions. 5. Given its decision to approach moral knowledge through a reintegrated understanding of the rapport between spirit and rea-son, Catholic moral theology would do best to enter into future dialogue with other ethical traditions--be they philosophical or theological--not by seeking a least common methodological denominator (usually fully acceptable to neither side), but by maintaining without compromise its position on the close anthro-pological (and hence ethical) connection between human reason and human spirit. It is precisely on this level that an answer to the question of the existence of an autonomous Christian ethics will be found. An I~tegral U, nity, a Spiritual Turn" No longer can the Christian life be artificially divided into the way of the law and the way of ~erfection. Precept and coun-sel, .commandment and beatitude, virtue and gift are,all bound together in an integral, inseparable unity. If moral theology is to give more emphasis to the role of the Holy Spirit (as H~iring sug-gests), it must first retrieve' its lost ti~ with the inner movements of the human spirit--the place within the person where the divine and human meet. Only by including th~s neglected anthropolog-ical dimension in moral-theo!ogical reflection will the human perspective of those concerned be broad enough to allow foFa proper discerfiment of the divine. The future orientation of Catholic moral theology will depend to a large degree on how its spokesmen, both magisterial and pro-fessorial, construe (or perhaps "reconstrue") the relationship between rationality and spirituality. Reintegrating these key aspects of the tradition would have two important theological and institutional effects. On the one hand, moral decision making would evidence a notable swing toward prayer and spiritual dis-cernment in helping to solve the dilemmas of conscience that arise among the faithful. This marked "spiritual turn" would move Catholic moral theology away from its present fascination with the problem-solving machinations of quandary ethics to a relational November~December 1998 Billy ¯ A "Spiritual'Turn"for Catholic Moral Theology paradigm rooted in the divine-human encounter. Bishops and theologians, on the other hand. would move away from their all too often adversarial positions to a more collaborative, mutually supportive stance. The changed dynamics would show the impor-tance of rooting moral-theological reflection in the fullness of human experience (that is, body, soul, and spirit) while at the same time highlighting the complementary ways in which the magis-terium and church theologians elucidate the tradition. What is the future of moral theology? The answer to this question is as elusive as time itself. For the moment, let it simply be said that, while the moral theology of the~future will invariably include many things, it cannot afford to exclude or marginalize "the life of the Spirit." In the present context the latter phrase refers to rational theological reflection rooted in a profound awareness of the human spirit as it opens itself up to God's Spirit and allows the word of God to take shape and utter itself, however softly, within the cor~fines of the limited words and deeds by which ¯ we construct our human exp, erience. Such a word, however spo-ken, would resonate with authority and not return in vain. Notes t The notion of a "field-encompassing" discipline comes from Van A. Harvey, The Historian and the Believer: The Morality° of Historical Knowledge and Christian Belief(Philadelphia: Westminister Press, 1966), pp. 81-82. A similar application to spirituality appears in Sandra M. Schneiders, "Spirituality in the Academy," Theological Studies 50 (1989): 692. 2 These levels of spirituality are developed under a slightly different nomenclature in Walter H. Principe, "Toward Defining Spirituality," Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses 12 (1983): 135-136. See also The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, ed. Michael Downey (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1993), s.v. "Spirituality, Christian,", by Walter H. Principe. Review for Religious REGIS J. ARMSTRONG Consecrated Life: Anointed with Joy A passage once "noted with pleasure" by the New York Times Book Review was one by Albert Camus, whose writings express a strong current ofthe, pessimism in EuroPe in the wake of.World War II. It contains these words: "One of the temptations of the artist is to believe himself solitary. But this is not true. He stands in the midst of all, in the same rank,' neither highe~ nor lower, with all those who are working and struggling. His very vocation is. to give a voice to the sorrows and the joys of all."~ . Artists whose vocation is "to give a voice to the sor-rows and joys of all"--this could well be a description of consecrated persons standing with "all those who are working and struggling." It is a description of people called to identify deeply with the mission of Jesus, who came among us and stood in. the midst of all,,.giving voice to their sorrows and joys. How does one assume the stance of "artist" of some-thing so elusive, inexpressible, paradoxical, and fragile? To become such an artist demands entering into the pathos of life and experiencing compassion deeply, that is, as com-passio, suffering or feeling deeply with another. How does one give voice to joy at all? "Silence is the perfectest her-ald of joy," Shakespeare's Claudio says wisely in Much Ado Regis J. Armstrong OFMCap presented this paper (here some-what revised) at the annual conference of vicars of religious held in San Antonio in March 1998. His address is St. Fidelis Friary; 7790 Country Road 153; Interlake6, New York 14847. consecrated life November-Decentber 1998 Armstrong * Consecrated Life About Nothing.2 Joy, thenl is perhaps best ex~pressed transparently, whether one's focus on so paradoxically universal and personal a subject be psychological, sociological, cultural, philosophical, the- 916gical, spiritual, or liturgical. Perspectives From a biblical perspective'~ joy is an incredibly rich theme. In the Old Testament, profound joy is the chosen people's response to Yahweh's redemptive presence or, in the lager tradition, to Yahweh's ever present hesed or lovi'ng mercy. Various forms of the word joy appear in the Old Testament well over a hundred times, giving an inkling or anticipation of the New Testament, of Mary's proclamation of joy in "God my Savior'; and Paul's dramatic exhortation to the Philippians "Rejoice in the Lord always." Over and over agaifi Luke colors his Gospel and Acts with joy:'"To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation . and to those in sorrow, joy." If Yahweh is the supreme joy and the greatest delight for the pegple of the Old Testament, the self-giving of God in Christ provides those of the New Testament an essential quality of life, joy. The Holy One of Israel is now incarnate in the person of Jesus: the unfathomable, ineffable joy at the heart of God is now tangible. The Dictionnaire de Spiritualit~ Asc~tique et Mystique offers a variety of perspectives from which to reflect on joy. In its entry on joie, the reader can find, in addition to biblical considerations, summaries of the different theologies.3 There are considerations ' of people such as the early theological giants Origen .and Augustine, the. medieval mystics Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi, and the much later doctors of the church Francis' de Sales and Thdr~se Of the Child' Jesus. Each of these writers, the author maintains, offers a different interpretation of the same reality. For Origen, knowledge of the gospel was a source of joy, a joy epitomized in the reaction of the aged Simeon when hd had the Infant in his arms.4 Augustine found joy in the Lord's ever-for-giving mercy, but saw its fullness in the eternal bliss of heaven;5 while Bernard repeatedly disEovered it in God's love.6 Francis of Assisi sang its praises in' hiE descrip.tioia of True Joy,7 and Francis de Sales urged his audienc~ to find joy by putting aside the plea-sures of this world and focusing on those of heaven,s Thdr~se wallowed in the joy of faith when her Beloved seemed most Review for Religious absent,9 From that vantage point alone, Franqois Bussini, author of the Dictionnaire's study, offers a variety of rich ways of study-ing joy, that is, through, the different traditions of,spirituality that provide insights into the meaning and gift of joy. ~' Gaudete in Domino Bussini might easily have added one significant name to his list of "theologians of joy": Paul VI, the author of the first papal doc-ument on the mystery of Christian joy, Gaudete in Domino, 9 May 1975., From his days as cardinal archbishop of Milan to the address of hi~ very last audience on 2 August 1967; four days before his death, joy was a leitmotif of his, a theme to which he continually returried. He offered an insight into the reason for this when he rhetorically asked the people of Milan:: "Have you ever met a saint? And, if you have, tell me: What is the characteristic you found in that soul?" His response to those questions suggests how closely he associated joy with~ the pursuit of happiness: "It will be joy [that you have found], a happiness so tranquil, so pro-found, so simple, but so true. And it is this transparency of joy that makes us declare: That is truly a good soul, because he has joy in his heart.''1° It is not surprising that as pope he took the opportunity to write a major statement on the Christian pursuit of joy. In addition to being an exhortation to pr~y for tile gift of joy, Gaudete in Domino expre~ssed in the mid- 1970s the pope's firm belief that peoples throughout the world desperately desired this "fragile and threatened" gift. ¯ Paul VI introduced his apostolic exhortatiori with a simple description of the need for joy in the contemporary ~orld (GD §1) and con'cluded with three others describing the cry of humanity, especially of the young, for the gift of joy. "We should be atten-tive to the appeal tliat rises from the hearts of humanity," Paul exhorts, "from the age of wondering childhood to serene old age, as a presentiment of the divine mystery" (GD §1). From this atten-tiveness or focusing on the joys of our hearts, Paul discovers an While never losing sight of the fact that joy is a ~timension of human life, Paul Vl found that the mystery of the Incarnate Word transformed its meaning. November-December 1998 Armstrong ¯ Consecrated Life energy and enthusiasm to share the reason for our joy with oth-ers. "In no way," he says, "can [joy] encourage the person ~vho enjoys it to have an attitudd of p.reoccupoation with self. [It] is the result of a human-divine communion, one that aspires to a com-munion ever more universal." In retrospect, Gaudete in Domino provided an insight into the call of Evangelii nuntiandi issued seven months later, which many. consider the Magna Carta of Paul VI'S papacy. There he dramatically exhorted all Christians, and espe-cially religious: "The privileged means of effective, evangeliza-tion" is to proclaim with joy "the joyful news of the fulfillment of the promises of the covenant offered by God" (EN §§69 and 6)~ At the core of the seven brief chapters of Gaudete in Domino, written in his elegant poetic style, Paul sketched the biblical foun. dations of both the Old and New Testaments and the enduring heritage bf Christian joy found in the lives of the saints. The pope may well have had Bussini's article before him,.-especially as he reflected on those saints who expressed joy in their lives and writ-ings. But it is striking how, in addition to Francis of Assisi and Th&~se of L!sieux, Paul draws special attention to the joy of the Conventual Franciscan Maximilian K01be, whom he had canon-ized a few years earlier: "His interior peace, serenity, and joy somehow transformed the place of suffering [Auschwitz]--which was usually like an image of hell--into the antechamber of eter-nal life, both for his unfortunate companions and for himself" (GD §4). While never losing sight of the fact that joy is a dimension of human life, Paul vI found that the,mystery of the,Incarnate Word transformed its meaning: Jesus himself knew, appreciated, and celebrated a whole range of human joys. More wonderfully, how-ever, Jesus revealed the s'ecret.of the unfathomable joy of.the "secret life of the Trinity," that is, the joy of living in God's l~ve (GD §3). "The ~ather is seen here," Paul teaches, "as the one who gives himself to the. Son, without reserve and without ceas-ing, in a burst of joyful generosity, and the Son is seen as he who gives himself in the same way to the Father, in a burst of joyful gratitude, in the Holy Spirit" (GD §3). The joy revealed by Jesus of Nazareth, then, "is the reverberation in human consciousness of the love that he has always known as God in the bosom of the Father" (GD §3). As the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus revealed a new, infinite dimension of joy, one that makes the human soul restless and ever eager to partake of its fullness. "In essence," Review for Religious t Paul e~iplains, "Christian joy is the spiritual sharing in the unfath-omable joy, both divine and human, which is in the heart of Jesus Christ glorified" (GD §2). But, more ~than reflecting on the rev-elatory dimension of Jesus' joy, the pope accentuates its paschal dimension as he underscores that by his death and resurrection Jesus poured the Spirit into the hearts of believers. "The Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son and is their mutual love, is henceforth communicated to the people of the New Covenant and to each soul ready for his secret action. Together with him the human heart is inhabited by the Father and the Son" (GD §3). This, then, is experience of a joy that is truly spiritual, the fruit of the Spirit's presence and a characteristic of fill Christian virtue (see GD §3). Shortly before his death Paul VI shared with John Magee, his secretary, "the secret of my spirituality": .I have to recognize God the Father's action in his Son in my regard. Once I acknowledge that God can work in me through his Son, he gives me grace, the grace of baptism. After the grace of being reborn to God's life, my life becomes a tension of love with God drawing me to him-self. Always, in all of us, there is this tension betwe.en my mise-ria and God's misericordia. The whole spiritual life of every one of us lies between these two poles. If I open myself to the action of God and the Holy Spirit and4et them do with me what they will, then my tension becomes ioyous and feel within myself a great desire to come to him and receive his mercy; more than ever I recognize the need to be for-given, to receive the gift of rnercy,l~ This passage offers a m~arvelous insight~in,to'Paul's preoccupa-tion with the gift of Christian joy. That "tension of love" that stretched or expanded his entire life and made him continually aware of his sinfulness and the overwhelming love of God became joyous and made him ever more desirous to possess the joy of God's presence. Evangelica testificatio, Paul VI's apostolic exhortation on the renewal of the religious life, was significant in this regard. It expresses his conviction that the joy radiating from religious com-munities would be proof of the validity Of religious life. Joy, he maintained, would be "proof to everyone that the state of life which [religious] have chosen is h~lping [them] to realize the greatest possible expansion of [their] life in Christ." Moreover, November-Decentber 1998 Armstrong ¯ Consecrated Life it would be a magnet attracting the young to understand the appeal of Jesus, and be "the most effective invitation to embrace ttie religious life" (ET §55). Vita Consecrata Twen~ty-one years later John Paul II published his postsyn-odal apostolic exhortation Vita consecrata. Curiously, Vita conse-crata contains only scattered references to joy, fourteen in all. There are certainly echoes of Paul VI's Evangelica testificatio in phrases such as "the joyful witness [of consecrated life] to [God's] loving concern for every human being" (VC §16). Unlike Paul vI, however, John Paul II seems more concerned with the dwelling on the foundations of consecrated life. He only touches on the joy that the consecrated life brings through monasticism (VC §§6, 2.7), virginity (VC §7), and common life (VC §51), rather than off the dynamics of a spirituality of joy. Does .this mean that Vita con-secrata does not assist us in understanding consecrated life as being anointed with joy? No, but Michael Novak's observatior~ into the thought of John Paul II is apropos. The pope, Novak claims, is an artist at home in the world of the intellectual as well as in.that of the poet. To understand these dimensions of his thought, it is important to remember that he is a phenomenologist. "Simply put," Novak maintains, phenomenology is a sustained effort to bring back into phi-losophy everyday things, concrete wholes, the basic expe-riences of life as they come to us. It wishes to recapture ~those quotidian realities from the empiricists, on the one hand, who analyze them into sense data, impressions, chem-ical compositions, neural reactions, etc., and from the ide-alists, on the other hand, who break them 6p into ideal types, categories,and forms.12 -.To understand his thought, then, demands being attentive to both his language and the underpinnings of his thought. In addressing religious communities and consecrated persons "in the introduction to Vita consecrata, the pope writes of the "dif-ficult and trying period" .and of the "time of tension and struggle" in which they live. By referring to,Acts 15:31, he expresses his hope that consecrated women and men will receive the document as 'the Christians of Antioch did; by being joyful at the hope and encouragemen't which it gives. Immediate!y, however, he turns Review for Religious his attention to the entire people of'God and expresses his hope that the document will increase their joy as they become more aware of the consecrated life and, as a result, "thank almighty God for this great gift [of consecrated life]" (VC §13). Does this mention of consecrated life as a "great gift" provide a hint at the underpinnings of John Paul's understanding of what it means to be "anointed with joy"? Even a superficial reading of ¼"ta consecrata reveals John Paul's view of the consecrated life and the evangelical counsels as gifts. This perspective undoubtedly flows from his per-ception of Vatican II's emphasis on the profound reality of ecclesial communion, "in which all gifts ¯ converge for the building up of the Body of Christ and for the church's mission in the world" (VC §4). Seventy-three times he writes in Vita conse-crata of the gifts of consecrated life, of the evan-gelical counsels, of the radical gift of self for love, of the gifts of consecrated communities that com-plement one another, and so on. From John Paul's perspective, then, an awareness of the great gift of consecrated life, an awareness of being gifted; is a source of joy as well as a reason for thanksgiving". Thus Vita consecrata clearly offers an under-standing of conse, crated life that clearly supports seeing it as "anointed with j6y," for consecrated women and men have been gifted, have been sin-gled out as recipients of a special love tha~ brings joy. Fourteen times these gifts are specifically attributed to the Holy Spirit, a reminder that adds an extra note of joy~ Joy'flows from a conscious-ness of being loved--and thereby gifted. The joy of consecrated life flows from a consciousness of being '.'plunged into the fir~ of love which burns in them and which is none other than the Holy Spirit" (VC §26). It implies being gifted with an energy that pushes them beyond any joy this world offers. Like all joy, it leads to two things: a fuller.dove or union and a more profound eagerness or restlessness tha't this love be expressed and known. The joy of consecrated life demands, in the pope's words, that consecrated life "become one of the tangible seals which the Trinity impresses upon history, so that people can sense with longing the attrac-tion of divine beauty" (VC §20). From J~ohn Paul's perspective, then, an awareness of the great gift of consecrated life,. an awareness of being gifted, is a source of joy as well as a .reason for thanksgiving. Novetnber-Decen*ber 1998 Armstron~ ¯ Consecrated Life Were we to attempt a summary of John Paul's understanding of the consecrated life, we might choose this one sentence of Vita consecrata: "This special way of 'following Christ' expresses in a particularly vivid way the Trinitarian nature,of the Christian life and anticipates in a certain way that eschatological fulfillment toward which the whole church is tending" (VC § 14). Expressing those two dimensions of consecrated life--the Trinitarian and the eschatological--seems to form for John Paul lI the challenges of consecrated life and the foundations for joy. To live that conse-crated life as anointed with joy implies doing the same: reflecting in a joyful way the inner life of God in which we are caught up and, at the same time, expressing our restless pursuit 'of the full-ness of joy that will be achieved only in heaven. Our contempo- "rary struggles in rethinking the role of consecrated life in the mystery of-the church suggest two fundamental questions. First, have we plumbed the depth of the gift of the Holy Spirit that ¯ consecrated life is? And, second, have we developed a passion for the ~onsecrated life that makes it "a daring adventure of love" driving us to "that eschatological fulfillment toward which the whole church is .tending.''13 Answering those two difficult ques-tions has not been an easy enterprise. The answers seem to be as elusive as the full meaning of "anointed with joy." The Trinitarian Nature of Consecrated Life The contemporary sensitivity to inclusive language has under-scored a fundamental problem of contemporary Christian spiri-. ,tuality, namely, the failure to pay adequate attention to its Trinitarian underpinnings.14 If this is the case, focusing on the joy inherent in consecrated life through the prism of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which demands reflecting on the Trinity, might bor-dernot on being risky, but on being reckless. Language becomes a mjnefield not only because of images, for example, masculine and feminine, but also because of the elusive, transparent, incon-spicuous nature of the Spirit itself. Wind, power, light--these are some of the poetic images used to express its presence. Never pointing to itself, the Spirit cries,out "Abba!" and "Jesus is Lord!" While it is our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit pos-sesses us and catches up our unique spirits as its own. Following the teaching of Augustine, medieval theologians remark that within the mystery of.the triune God there is an Review for Religqous energy or quality expressed in two words: esse ad, "to be to" or "to be for" the other.~5 The phrase is undoubtedly another way of expressing that God is love, but it implies that that love means being present to or for another. Richard 6f St. Victor and the relation-oriented theology of the 12th century paved the way for Bonaventure, who identifies the Holy Spirit as the nexus or the bond joining the Father and the Son, the power of mutually being to or for the other. The Spirit is the love with which the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. Therefore, the Spirit brings to both Father and Son the fruit of its presence, joy. It makes them esse adl present, to and for one another. Bonaventure goes a step further. The Spirit, he maintains, is the love with which the Father and Son love us: It is that power of love or, as Paul vI describes it, that "tension of love" which draws us into the infinite love of the triune God. It is that which enables us to respond to that divine love with the same love. Being overwhelmed by and responding to love--that is the meaning of a graced or gifted life; It makes us restless for the perfectioh of love. It is that which lifts us above ourselves, challenges us to let go of everything and be filled with love. Of necessity it calls all J Christians to a mystical embrace'of God', one that flows from the knowledge that the gift of the Spirit sweeps those who are gifted into the very heart of God. As Thomas Merton writes in Life and Holiness, "To be a Christian is to be committed to a largely mys-tical life,., to live within the dimensions of a completely mys-tical revelation and communication of the divine being." 16 What this means, of course, is dependent on the mystery of the ~ncarnate Word, for he is the revelation of the triune God. What it means to be loved by God is dependent on our knowledge of h~ow Christ reveals he is loved. As John Paul II tells us, "In the countenance of Jesus, the 'image of the invisible God' (Col 1:15) and the reflection of the Father's glory (see Heb 1:3), we glimpse the depth of an eternal and infinite love which is at the root of OUl~ being" (VC ~ 18). What it means to respondto that"love depends on our awareness of the kenosis, the self-emptying of Jesus. It makes our struggle as Christians--and, more to the point, as con-seerated women and men--to be essentially this: being Christ-centered. Understandably, then, Vita consecrata speaks of those called to consecrated life as persons called to "let themselves be seized by this love [to the point of] abandoning everything" (VC §18). He speaks of them devoting themselves "with undivided 1-6-1"November-December 1998 Armstrong ¯ Consecrated Life heart" (VC §1), making a "choice of total ~elf-giving to God in Christ" (VC §2), and expressing themselves "in a radical gift of self for love of~the Lord Jesus Christ" (VC §§.3,.12). This becomes a never ending recognition of philokalia, or the love of the divine beauty revealed in Jesus, and a progressive following of the Spirit's lead,to conformity with Christ (see VC §19). E~chat~logical Dimensidn of the Consecr~ated Life This ~focus onthe revelation of God's love in.the person of Jesus, however, leads John Paul to the secon~d dimension of con7 secrated life: its eschatological charhcter. "It is the duty of,the consecrated life," he maintains, "to show that the incarnate Son of God is the eschatological goal toward which all things tend, the splendor before which every other light pales, :and the infinite beauty which ~alone can fully satisfy the human heart" (VC §16). Here. too the gift of the Spirit is of quintessential importance. It enables "new men and women;to recognize the appeal of such a demanding choice, . . . awakens .the desire to respond, fully, . . . and guides the growth of this desire" (VC §19). "By allowing them-selves to be guided by the Spirit on an endless journey of purifi-cation," the pope maint~ains, "they become, day by day, conformed to Christ, the prolongation in history of a special presence of the risen Lord" (VC §19). In Vita consecrata John Paul II speaks of the Holy Spirit ninety-five times. The Spirit of Vita consecrata is power unlimited (VC §25), ,works without ceasing (VC 921), continually animates (VC §25) and gives strength (VC §30), and shapes and molds the hearts of those who are called (VC §19). The work of the Spirit as it guides us on its purifying journey is clearly one of calling, us beyond ourselv~es and beyond our limited experience of God's love~ Although ¼"ta consecrata clearly expresses this traditional, oth-erworldly spirituality, the pope also sees that the ardent expecta-tions of those consecrated persons demand an expression in the world in which~they live. Since "here we have no lasting city" (Heb 13:14), their longing "expresses itself in work and mission through a spirit capable of giving rise in human society to effec-tive aspirations for justice, peace, sglidarity, and forgiveness" (VC~ §27). These are the ones who "bring.hope to their brothers and sisters who are often discouraged and pessimistic about the future, . . . ~ hope founde~ on God's promise con~tained in the revealed Review for Religious word: the history of humanity is moving toward 'a new heaven and a new earth'" (VC §27). The hope they have discovered in the mystery of God's love, in other words, makes them eager to encourage others. And so their eschatological spirituality calls for active and renewed involvement in programs of systemic social change that are sensitive to the signs of the times, to the prefer-ential option for the poor, and to the promotion of,justice (see VC, §§81, 82). "Eschatological expectation becomes mission," John Paul teaches, "so that the kingdom may become ever more fully established here and now" (VC §27). Above all, however, this eschatolog- ~ ical thrust is oriented toward the future, a theme the pope introduces fourteen times in his exhortation. "By their charisms," he states, "consecrated per- ,~ sons become signs of the Spirit point-ing to a new future enlightened by.faith and.by Christian hope" (.VC §27), Thus the gift of the Spirit:is always prompting (VC §§1, 19, 22, 25), guiding (VC §§19, 63), awakening desire (VC §19), and teaching the hearts of those who are ca!l.ed, ~for it is the "educator par excel-lence of those who are consecrated" (VC §60). The Spirit's role in shaping the~future of consecrated life is perhaps best captured in the phrase "the creative guidance," in a section that speaks of the future (V.C §63). The phrase is similar to another, "creative fidelity," found earlier in the. document where the pope invites consecrated women and men to propose anew and with courage the enterprising initiative, creativity, and holi-ness of their founders and foundresses in response to the signs of the times,emerging in today's world" (VC §37). The Spirit's creative energy, then, flows throughout ¼"taxonsecrata, as the pope sees it, fashioning new expressions of consecrated life (VC §§ 10, 12), pointing to a new future (VC §27), and rejuvenating the Bride of Christ by the consecrated life (VC §64). "You haveonot only a glorious history to remember and recount," he declares, "but also a great history still to be accomplished" (VC §110). There is a built-in dynamic here. Rahner called it "The Dynamic Element in the Church" and suggested that it could very easily be a point of tension between the hierarchy and consecrated religious. Recent The Spirit's role in shaping the future of consecrated life is perhaps best captured in the phrase "the creative guidance.'" November-Decentber 1998 Armstrong * Consecrated Life history has shown us that it can easily be a point of tension among consecrated religious themselves, especially between the more traditional and the more creative brothers and sisters or between those without grounding .in the tradition, frequently older mem-bers, and those willing to "try anything" new without the tradi-tion's guidance. "Proposing anew the initiatives, creativity, and holiness of founders or foundresses" or developing "a dynamic fidelity to their mission" is easie'r said than done. Nevertheless, it is this very energy of the Spirit that John Paul II understands as revitalizing consecrated life and enabling new men and women to recognize its appeal. In this context, too, itis striking that John Paul writes of "the perennial youth of the church" and sees it integrally tied to "the new spiritual and apostolic impulses" of "new or renewed forms of the consecrated life" (VC §12). VChere is joy in all this? Perhaps it is found best in John Paul's image of "the perennial you. th of the church." No one could ques-tion the pope's concern for the young; his repeated meetings with and addresses to young people throughout the world are proof of that concern. The prerogative of the young, he frequently reit-erates, is to be concerned about the future, to dream about its unfolding, and to be excited about its shape. Is it not precisely in their dreaming and excitement that they find joy, a joy that is contagious and that enlivens even the more depressed? An echo of"ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam" may be heard here, "to God who gives joy to my youth." As G.K. Chesterton observed, "The ~arpe diem religion is not the religign of happy people, but of very unhappy people. Great joy does not gather the rosebuds while it may; its eyes are fixed on the immortal rose which Dante saw. Great joy has in it the sense of immortality; the very splendor of youth is the sense that it has all space to stretch its legs in." 17 The pope's eschatological vision wisely notes the perennial youth that flows from the energy of the Spirit and keeps it ever young. With that alone comes joy! Tucked away among the more mystica! passages of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets is one that is appropriate here: "The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation." 18 Eliot reminds his readers that the incarnation, is the only prism through which "to apprehend the point of intersection of the timeless with time ¯. something given and taken." A marvelous description of Con-secrated life! The Johannine tradition undoubtedly offers' the strongest Review for Religious :hints about the mystery of joy. The term chara, joy, occurs nine times in the Gospel of John and once each in the three Letters. Of all the references to joy in the Gospel, all but one are in the Last ~Supper discourse (15:17; 16:20-24; 17:13), where it is a future possibility opened up for Jesus' followers by his victorious death and th
