Pieces of a puzzle
by Fr Paul McCartin
I met a young missionary working in Sri Lanka. His church was in a small village 20 miles from the capital Colombo. He told me that one day he had some business to attend to in the capital. On his way out of the village on his motorcycle he met a carpenter he knew. The carpenter said no one in his family had ever been to Colombo, so the missionary decided to take his young son with him. In the city they came across a group of Japanese tourists.
Normally the missionary would think nothing of the presence of tourists, but this day their presence struck the missionary as problematic. "How can they afford to come all the way from Japan to Sri Lanka and stay in the best hotels, when this carpenter and his family can't afford even to travel 20 miles to their own capital city?" he thought. He decided to find out why the carpenter and his family were poor. He knew the carpenter was not lazy. True, there were times he had no work, but when he had work he worked hard and conscientiously.
The missionary started to read and ask people about economics and finance. Someone told him how the world's financial system is designed, how money is transferred around the world. This was a surprise. He had thought that finance was like the air and water, i.e. that it was a ‘given,' that it could not be changed.
He found that many banks make massive profits and also charge small depositors to access their own money. Many banks refuse to lend to small businesses, but the same banks have set up companies that do lend to small businesses but at high interest.
He read a book on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and found that international trade is designed to benefit the rich countries and big corporations. Rich countries sometimes exclude poor countries from negotiations. Susan George (through her books) pointed out that every year the amount of money flowing from the poor countries to the rich countries is greater than the amount flowing from the rich to the poor.
I was able to tell the missionary what I learned from the Jubilee campaign (to cancel the debts of the most impoverished countries). The rich countries are using the debts of the poor countries as a lever to exploit them. John Perkins, in his book ‘Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,' details how the rich use the debt to exploit the poor.
Jubilee campaigners in Latin America told me that from 1503 to 1660 Spain stole 185,000kg of gold and 16,000,000kg of silver from its colonies. (Spain is claiming the sunken treasure found by American treasure hunters early this year).
Scholars estimate that Japan looted around $100 billion from its colonies before and during World War II. It's the rich countries that set exchange rates and make the rules for international finance and trade.
Finally, the missionary read that at least since colonial times the poor countries have subsidized the rich.
The missionary knew many Catholics work in banks and state finance departments. He wondered if their decisions are influenced by their faith?
The Holy Father Benedict XVI has recently remarked: it is not possible to continue using the wealth of the poorest countries with impunity, without them also being able to participate in world growth - (Address to new Ambassadors, June 1, 2007 from L'Osservatore Romano).
Fr Paul McCartin has been involved in justice and peace issues in Japan for many years.are stablised by outriggers.
