Christmas and poverty

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20061223.E01&irec=0

December 23, 2006

Editorial

A newly elected mayor, poring over the statistics for his city, saw that 7,000 of the 118,000 residents were living below the poverty line. But when he went out into the city to see for himself, he discovered the actual number of residents living in poverty was 19,000, or more than double the official figure.

This story was related by Sofyan Hasdam, the mayor of Bontang, East Kalimantan, during a discussion organized by the Habibie Center in Jakarta earlier this week.

Sofyan, who was elected earlier this year, has quickly turned Bontang into one of the best-managed cities in the country.

If other leaders followed his example, perhaps the country would not need outside help in determining the truth about conditions here. The country was shocked earlier this month when the World Bank released a report showing almost half of Indonesia's population of 220 million was living in poverty. That is roughly equal to the number of poor in all of the rest of East Asia, excluding China. The bank defines those earning less than US$2 per day as living in poverty.

The report, released just three weeks before Christmas, makes clear Indonesian Christians will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ amid a sea of poverty. Perhaps this fact will help people here better appreciate the spiritual aspects of the holiday.

Commercialism has turned Christmas into little more than merrymaking. Every year, hotels are fully booked and airline tickets are sold out. Christmas is a time for shopping and partying. For businesses, it is time for making profits.

There is a wide gap between the actual message of Christmas and the general party mood that surrounds the holiday. The World Bank's findings serve to remind us that things are not as rosy as we have been made to believe. There is deep poverty on one hand, and a hedonistic tendency on the other.

The country should take to heart a statement from its religious leaders, which reflects their acute awareness of the current situation.

At a year-end gathering Tuesday night, they called on the President to be more responsive in addressing the problem of poverty, as well as poor health and education services.

Their statement was terse but carried a lot of weight.

"Find aides who can truly implement pro-people programs, not those who just seek to retain their positions and provide glossy reports to please you," Raja Juli Antoni of the Maarif Institute was quoted by Antara as saying.

The leaders pointed to a string of woes afflicting the nation, including sharp increases in poverty, unemployment, school dropouts, suicides, deforestation, drug use, HIV/AIDS, violence and crime.

A former chairman of Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, said the problems facing the nation were not easy to resolve but the government had been too slow in responding to them. In his opinion, our leaders have become trapped by their own rhetoric.

"What we need are leaders who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the people. We do not need their rhetoric," he said.

It was a well-timed reminder for the government to wake up and begin seriously dealing with this country's problems.

For Christians, the life of Jesus Christ encapsulates the true meaning of sacrifice. He went so far as to sacrifice his life for the lives of others.

Sacrifice is a familiar part of all religions. For Christian leaders who refuse to sacrifice themselves, the question can be asked whether they are true Christians.

Christmas is a good time to reflect on this.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas with a party or a holiday. But also remember the millions of people who are living in poverty.

And be aware of the lure of commercialism and refuse to be carried away by this aspect of the holiday.

We wish all those celebrating Christmas a peaceful and merry holiday.