TEACHER
AND FRIEND
by Pascual Chávez Villanueva
SALVO AND SEAN
Two other fruits of Don Bosco’s system are the past-pupil military policeman SALVO D’ACQUISTO and the volunteer SEAN DEVEREUX. I shall say something about their lives.
Salvo is a significant fruit of the preventive system, a past-pupil of whom all past-pupils of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and of the Salesians may be justly proud. He was one of those who really was “an honest citizen and a good Christian.” As a citizen in the police force he served the State conscientiously and with dedication. As a Christian he rose to the heroic heights of offering his own life to save that of many others. His sacrifice brought him close to Christ, of whom Caiphas prophesied: “it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people” (Jn. 11,50), or the exclamation of Paul to the Romans: “No one dies for himself alone!” (Rom.14,7), and to the Corinthians: “One has died for all” (2Cor.5,14). Even his name seems to provide a prophecy about his life. For more details about this past-pupil I refer you to the article by Carmine De Biase, on page 20 of this issue. For myself, looking again at D’Acquisto from a pedagogical point of view the first thing that strikes me is that his seems to be a life summed up in one incident. That’s true, but there could certainly have been no heroism if there hadn’t been a background of sound education that emphasised the great values of duty and sacrifice, essential elements in any education. So, if it is true that not all are called to martyrdom, it is equally true that we are all called to be prepared for it. Who would ever have thought that within that young man in uniform there was the hidden stuff of a hero? We know of other cases when as educators we feel frustrated by the situation which invites us to recognise and to develop the hidden talents of those we are called upon to educate. Once again it needs to be said that we are not simply what we are, but what we are called upon to become…
S
ean,
who
was born in 1963 in Yateley, England, was a pupil at the Salesian
College in Farnborough between 1975 and 1982.
After
taking a degree in geography
and education at Birmingham and a post graduate certificate in
education at Exeter, in 1986 he became a teacher in the Salesian
School in Chertsey, Surrey. During these years he was an enthusiastic
and active member of the Salesian
Cooperators
and of the Past
Pupils. He took part in
many activities for youngsters in England and overseas. In one of his
trips abroad, while taking part in a meeting of the World
Past Pupils he met John
Paul II in Rome. After that meeting he took an important decision for
his future life: he would leave for Africa as a volunteer
with the Salesians in Liberia. His realised his dream in February
1989 when he was able to leave for the Salesian Mission in Tappita,
where he began working in St. Francis School. When the school was
closed as a result of the outbreak of the civil war in 1990, Sean
began to work with the UN, as a volunteer, coordinating food
distribution, first in the more remote parts of Liberia, then among
the Liberian refugees in Guinea. The great decision of his life had
been made: he was in one of the poorest countries in Africa helping
children and youngsters; and he would have continued to do so until
his contract with the UN ran out. His opposition to the war created
problems for him with the rebels who on one occasion beat him up
badly. He returned home in 1992, and then began to work with UNICEF
and was sent to Kismayo in Somalia, 250 kilometres south of
Mogadiscio. It was September 1992. One of his letters written on 15
November gives a dramatic account of the sad situation of the
country: “No doubt you have been exposed to the horror pictures [on
TV] of starving children. Sadly it is a reality that has been brought
about by man’s greed and not by natural disaster … Life for
myself is very up and down. I get so frustrated and fed up when I
have to deal with the authorities, the guards and the contractors…In
contrast I get such a lift when I get a chance to move out into the
field and see how the feeding centres and health posts are running
and to regain contact with the more gentle face of humanity.” His
father says of him: “Sean found it terrible to have to bring help
to the starving in Africa, fighting against everything and everyone.
He spoke openly about the anarchy in a country where the people were suffering so much, and about the insensitivity that was around; he condemned the corruption of the leaders and the selfish exploitation. This could have cost him his life! In the port of Kismayo on 3 January 1993, after he refused the armed escort that was almost compulsory in that country, (he never concealed his contempt for the war and the war lords who profited from it), an assassin’s bullets put an end to the life of a courageous idealist. When we spoke to him about the dangers and the risks of his work his reply was always the same: «while my heart beats I have to do what I think I can do – and that is to help those who are less fortunate than me »”. Sean, the man with the bright smile, the man of courage, commitment, honesty, gave his life working to improve peoples’ expectations and future prospects, so as to restore their dignity and hope! Africa needs people like him committed to creating hope and a future.
