Human Rights of Children and Teenagers -

An Element for the Implementation of the Salesian Mission

© Jean Paul Muller SDB

Johannesburg/SA, November 26^th, 2008

Dreams and hopes distinguish the life of 12 to 18-year-old teenagers all over the world. They are open to new things, wish to experiment and try to get to know their own person. Almost all young people who come to us, the Salesians of Don Bosco, our schools oratories, street children centres or workshops, belong to the underprivileged class of our societies. They perceive the world of adults as fragile and constantly changing. In Europe and Latin America, many teenagers mutate from being a child to becoming a consultant of their mother or father – the classical roles child – parents are not clearly defined any more. The life of young people in the poorer parts of our globe is characterized by the need to contribute to maintain a living, whether by hard labour or by other activities which are often illegal and dangerous.

There are many organizations and great celebrities out there who stand up for the rights of children for health, nutrition, education etc. who are fiercely fighting for protecting children from potential harm caused by pain, hunger, abuse and many other reasons – rarely, though, literature or panels perceive youth as a separate age group for the rights of which they become an advocate. Thank God, there are associations and groups promoting the best possible development of teenagers on their path to become adult members of the society, groups providing free access to education and professional training, prevention from drug and alcohol abuse and others - unfortunately, their number is still too small. In order to become an advocate for a successful life of young people (another term for the implementation of human rights of young people) means to fight against unfair treatment of people. As of today – even in our European countries – we observe that not all young people have the chance to put into effect their intellectual, social, emotional and musical abilities and talents. In Germany, a scientific research was performed over a couple of years proving that school performance is very often closely related to the social and economic status of the family. In this aspect it does not differ from South America, Africa or India, regardless of the fact that the abilities of the young people are a very important potential for their integration in the civil society and the church structures. To advocate the implementation of the most basic human rights of young people means to help our pupils, students and trainees to learn to observe, to reflect and to use their creative positive energies. To the extent that their cognitive abilities and the credible testimony from adult role-models help them to recognize the life-embracing message of the Gospel, they also receive the key to a human Christian configuration of their life, their relationships and their commitment in church and state. Thomas Vattathara SDB delivered a most interesting speech in 2007 how to best describe the role of educators - that means the Salesians - in implementing human rights of teenagers: ”Advocacy plays a central and crucial role in promoting or reinforcing a change in policy, programme or legislation of the state or nation. Advocacy means, actively supporting a cause, and trying to get others to support it as well. Advocacy will not provide direct support to the poor (here you may replace “the poor” by “teenagers”), but it aims at winning support from others by creating a supportive environment. Advocacy can also be the means to bring about social change so that weaker sections of the community get greater access to political power and economic resources of the community…¹”

The Salesian education shows another key to support the realisation and strengthening the teenagers: the direct approach of the young person. How effective this method is, can be found in the Gospel, when Christ meets the mourning widow in Nain whose only son has died. Jesus takes his hand and tells him „Young man, I tell you, arise!”². With this brief command, Jesus puts anybody at bay intending to paralyse the young man, making him unable to act or even killing him. We all are at risk to neglect our advocacy for young people by allowing ourselves to get distracted by administrative work, our search for quiet time, etc. The 26^th General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation (2008) appeals to all people to adopt Don Bosco as a role model to hear the cries for help of young people:

„Walking the streets of the world, we meet the faces of immigrated teenagers, children exploited by sex tourism and child work, drug addicts, HIV infected and AIDS victims, such with social behaviour issues, unemployed, victims of violence, war and religious fanaticism, child soldiers, street children, physically and mentally disabled and teenagers in danger. We are concerned about places where outcast teenagers live, such as the marginal areas of cities and slums, the situation of marginal groups such as refugees, aborigines, gypsies and other ethnic minorities.

We also recognise the expectations of teenagers poor in spirit and culture requiring our support: Teenagers who have lost their purpose in life, who are poor in feelings due to their family’s instability or who are disappointed and feel empty as a result of the consumer mentality, who are religious-indifferent or who are discouraged due to the permissive laxism, the ethnic relativism and the widely spread death culture.³ The response of the General Chapter to this text passage proves the historical roots of the Salesian commitment to human rights of teenagers, likewise it is a new appeal to us to become advocates for the rights of young people: “Don Bosco felt the Lord’s calling to answer the cry for help from poor teenagers. He felt that next to the importance of responding directly to their bad situation, it was even more important to prevent their causes. We shall take his example and follow him in his conviction that the most effective response to forms of poverty is preventive actions. We acknowledge the necessity to further deepen his educational system and to develop it with the goal of overcoming poverty and exclusion of young people by:

• Ethical education,

• Educating the dignity of the person,

• Social-political activities,

• Creating an active citizenship,

• Defending the rights of young people,

• Fighting against injustice and

• By building up peace.

Based on the knowledge that poor teenagers are open and ready for the Gospel, we bravely preach about Jesus Christ offering them ways of faith⁴.

If here in Johannesburg, today’s agenda is dedicated to the question where the actual connection between the implementation of human rights of teenagers and the Salesian education system can be found, there are at least two essential reasons for the motivation:

• Being a part of the Catholic Church, the preservation and advocacy of human rights is anchored as a duty in our annals

• As Salesians we invoke the holistic pedagogy of Don Bosco aiming at preventing any disruption in the development of a human being.

In the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II gave a specific direction in his Encyclical Letter “Redemptor hominis“ which is still valid as of today: the worldwide observance of human rights is closely related with the mission of the Church⁵.

Throughout the world human rights are generally defined as giving all people dignity and protection regardless of their differences in origin, race, gender and age. But why should we Salesians be so active in emphasizing such rights, in particular, the rights of children and teenagers, and why should we insist on the observance of such rights? Is this a result of our Christian history? Or are we trying to compensate for something we – or some of us – failed to observe? Or is it just “en vogue” to raise this topic since the entire world is celebrating the 60^th birthday of human rights and that we do not wish to be excluded? I affirm that the time is has come now (!) to deal with the issue ‘Rights of children and teenagers’, not because the spirit of the time should require it or because we feel we have to apologise, but because the teenagers need this form of advocacy from us right now (!). Here we continue the tradition of the Gospel by showing the young people the attention initiated by Don Bosco in his dealing with trade unions, state and church institutions at his time. Although there is no direct relationship between our Salesian tradition and the first declarations of human rights – in 1776, the Virginia Bill of Rights, in 1789, the ‘Déclaration de l´Homme et du Citoyen’ – we are still directly linked to the Gospel and its command that our neighbour has the same right to love and affection as we wish for ourselves. The Gospel’s Jewish roots are well-known teaching us “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.“⁶ During his Papal Inauguration on St. Peter’s Square on April 24, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that all people are children of God, that all people are equal before God from the first moment of their human being. “We are not the random and useless product of evolution. Each one of us is the fruit of one of God’s thoughts. Each one is wanted, each one is loved, each one is needed.⁷“

During reflections on our educational work, we Salesians of Don Bosco found that our schools and crafts workshops educate young people who take over responsibility in church, state, family and economy later in their life, some of which will hold key positions and will be able to shape public and ecclesiastical life. Therefore, it is our responsibility to educate these (thus, all) young people in our centres in such way that they are informed about their rights, that they put these in compliance with their mental and cognitive development, to gear them in future towards becoming advocates themselves for their own rights as well as the rights of underprivileged young people. The organs of our congregation on a global and provincial level, but also on a local level make a substantial contribution to the implementation of human rights. The education and professional training of our pupils and students provide us with various opportunities to transmit Christian values and to demonstrate the grace of charity and mercy against the person next to me, people of a different race, another gender etc. The documents of our church and of our last General Chapter indicate the obligation to defend human rights. Together with the church, but also as an individual order we must take our position regarding concrete events and developments within our society and the church in view of the changes and danger in conjunction with the globalisation. Wherever human right groups are being formed in our parishes and schools, we should support them by the means required and by granting them access to generally renowned organisations such as Pax Christ, Caritas International etc. Even in case of danger, we Salesians will advocate the people whose rights and dignity are being violated, whether there is direct danger or a latent subliminal threat.

On the 12^th of March in the Holy Year 2000, Pope John Paul II on behalf of the Church publicly asked victims for forgiveness who had suffered through members of the church. The named sins such as intolerance, violence, pride and hatred shall continue to be criteria for us to check our behaviour against other people and shall serve as a motivation to educate our young people to become citizens with higher values. This approach was seized by the 26^th General Chapter which calls each community of Salesians of Don Bosco to educate young people towards a culture of solidarity by assisting teenagers to interpret the economic and social structure forms of our time with a critical mind. Furthermore, the General Chapter states that the Salesians should involve the young people in initiatives and in support and development projects to challenge young people to participate in activities based on justice and solidarity. Such approaches can only be implemented if individual Salesians and laypersons valiantly, with creativity and intelligence get involved in the debate regarding education, development and upbringing of young people, while observing and evaluating the phenomena of the globalisation process and consequently preparing the young people for the future.

The challenges we Salesians of Don Bosco are facing - and all of us who are committed to protect and maintain the human rights of young people - are very complex. The globalisation brought our world to a turning point in the year 2007. For the first time in history, more people live in cities than in rural areas. More than half of the world’s population lives in cities of huge dimensions, each of which is home to more than one million inhabitants surrounded by wide soulless peripheral areas. These areas are especially difficult for young people to grow up in, also due to the lack of sense of community. In spite of a high population density, many elder people have to fight anonymity and loneliness. Urban areas are often characterized by violence and conflicts which are increasing worldwide, but mainly in cities. The world has become more violent because it is more urbanised than in the past. Traditionally, history was written by cities: They are not only going to determine our world’s future, but also offer a wide range of opportunities for Christians who wish to accomplish their mission nowadays.

Cities around the world show the impacts of globalisation: Borders vanish, for example, you see young people in Hong Kong wearing the same clothes as young people in Buenos Aires, Lagos or Madrid. They buy the same brands, wear the same sneakers, listen to music on the same MP3 Players, play the same computer games and visit the same Internet websites. Since the end of the Cold War in 1989 we have experienced a phase of globalisation characterized by an overwhelming growth of a market nobody is able to withdraw from. The western American model was adopted worldwide shaping each man and each woman into a hard-working consumer. As a result of the dominance of the market, we evaluate everything in terms of money or consumption. We live in a time of a globalised materialism.

The economic globalisation, however, has not achieved worldwide peace or unity nor safety and well-being as hoped. Some people, such as Francis Fukuyama, the author of “The End of History and the Last Man“, thought that globalisation would herald the victory of democracy and peace. But we continue to live in a world of chaos, full of conflicts, a world promising little freedom. Globalisation gains ground and converted China into a capitalistic country, but alas, not into a democracy. It also transformed China into a significant actor in Africa and converted India into a capitalistic country, too. It brought brands and products to the entire world which finally developed into one single huge market. Regardless of the fact that globalisation overcame many borders, this obviously borderless world has started erecting new walls, behind which the poor are increasingly being forgotten. New walls and new forms of Apartheid are being built up between the rich and the poor. The increasing gap between rich and poor, the growing disparity between North and South and in our cities, surely are some of the main sources of fear, insecurity and finally terrorism⁸.

Since we are here in Africa today, I evolve the thesis that the “Father of all human rights violations is the lack of education”. I know that this is a daring thesis, therefore, I invite you to discuss it at the end of my speech. The young generation has a right to education and we must not deprive them from this right. To them, the present is very important since the past has lost its significance due to the multitude of changes in society, politics and economy. The future is uncertain to them, which applies not only to Africa, but to all regions and places where we Salesians are working. Striking is the observation how often young people look at their life like an act on a stage from which they try to blend out or to withdraw to their body as the link to the present time. Young people are especially in danger because of their longing for sensual experience and because of their increasing lack of any relationship with religious values and authorities. In order to protect the young people and to promote their rights, we, the Salesians, are challenged to foster an education in our schools and training workshops where the young people themselves are the central characters. The General Chapter expressed this with the following words: Moving away from a helping mentality to a mentality involving the (poor) young people, which means to make them the primary responsible persons for their education who show commitment in the social and political area⁹. Besides, the General Chapter set two more requirements to be implemented in the coming years:

• Move from directly working for the victims of injustice to working in a network to fight the causes,

• Promoting the defence of rights of children and teenager by publishing violations with the bravery of a prophet and with educational sensitivity¹⁰

In this conjunction, I would like to draw your attention to another phenomenon frequently mentioned by Fr. Pascual Chavez, the Rector Major of the Salesians: Migration and its challenges for us Salesians of Don Bosco.

Migration – the trademark of our globalised world – is probably the biggest challenge of our time, in particular, to our cities due to the fact that most migrants move there in the hope for a better future. In summer of 1999, Europe was painfully confronted with the hopelessness and despair of young people from Africa. Yaguine Koïta and Fodé Tounkara, two boys from Conakry, the impoverished capital of Guinea, had tried to flee to Europe by hiding in the body of a Sabena aircraft. Shortly after the arrival in Brussels, their dead bodies were discovered. They only carried a letter addressed to the „Excellencies, Men of Honour and Responsible Citizens of Europe”, written in broken but formal French. “Our problems are wars, illnesses, malnutrition etc... Regarding the rights of children in Africa and especially in Guinea, we have too many schools, but at the same time a huge lack of education and professional training. Only private schools offer good school education and training, but they are very expensive. Our parents are poor, but they have to feed us. Besides, we do not have sports schools where we could practice football, basketball or tennis. This is the reason why African children and teenagers request the foundation of a large efficient organisation for Africa to facilitate progress. As you can see, we sacrificed and risked our lives to show you that we suffer in Africa and that we need you to fight against poverty and to finish the wars in Africa.”

This letter shocked the public opinion in Europe shaking it up from its vacation fatigue. But what have we learned from this letter, who still remembers the miserable death of the boys? Where are the advocates who stood up for them post hum? It is our foremost duty as educators to consciously include human rights into our everyday procedures of our perception, observation, thinking process and actions. To stand up for the human rights of a young woman or a young man in a given case or even in general, the implementation of just standards in the education program or training – these are often provocative challenges for us as teachers, friars etc. The practical questions arising from our own attitude to the benefit of young people can lead us into despair, since justice is very often decided on a local level, if justice-related decisions depend on organisations of a regional environment. Access to social services, education, lawyers and courts, medical care and others is facilitated or complicated on a local basis. The effort it takes for teenagers, individuals or families to move from their regional environment, their region (home land) to achieve a more just or better chance to provide for their needs, shifts the load to their shoulders¹¹. In view of the aforesaid the approach of the 26^th General Chapter of the Salesians gives the direction for the development of educational concepts, placing the value and dignity of the human being above the laws of market economy or politics.

The ”rediscovery“ of human rights at present must not become a fashion trend or a piece of jewellery to the western world. Much like seismographs, we must draw the attention to the above briefly depicted issues and the hazards connected with developing mega cities, the rising migration, the wars (in particular, on the African continent), the cultural and religious conflicts, the family circles, demographic factors and many more. These problems will continue to grow if we do not react accordingly. I can understand that with the increasing load on our co-friars, our structures and other resources, some co-friar, director or provincial may hesitate to demand a significant improvement of human rights, but I cannot approve of it, because this would mean denying part of our charismatic identity. Next to our belief that we neglect God if we allow for our teenagers to be harmed, there is also another reason urging me to become an advocate for the human rights of young people. In this context, I speak as a Luxembourg (European) citizen: We as a worldwide active religious order of the Salesians must contribute to give human rights more importance in view of the fact that, in particular, in modern societies they lose more and more its significance. “In an environment in which there is no personal suffering experience with nobody recalling any personal experience with injustice, human rights quickly lose the urgency and persuasiveness.¹² I just remind you of the current discussions regarding national security or regarding the ‘bad countries’. Many people are not conscious any more that the state can be a potential source of danger, but only the international terrorism. As a measure of protection against terrorism, human rights are being violated, migrants are being classified as potential terrorists, travellers are being detained, people mistreated and tortured.

The advocacy for the rights of our young people, their universal human rights to nutrition, housing, clothing, life, freedom, safety and protection against discrimination shall lead to many interesting and, surely enough, also painful experiences in our communities. It is still worth, though, to sacrifice our time, talents and health for the benefit of our youth, as Don Bosco tells us: “For you I study, for you I work, for you I live and for you I am willing to give my life.”¹³