Your choice:
You can stand outside the PAP Hospital and focus upon all the people who stayed home on cleaning day; all the youth who preferred to do nothing or else indulge in some small self-interest project...or you can focus upon the youth who did show up to work along side Tinapué, mothers, grandmothers, and fathers.
Red Cross and Civil Defense Youth:
Most of the youth in the above picture are connected to either the Red Cross or else to "La Defensa Civil" organizations. These groups are able to hand on to the next generation a spirit of self-sacrifice and volunteer service to the community. This is a remarkable achievement when one considers the huge propaganda machine on both the radio and television which seeks to indoctrinate youth into becoming mindless consumers of pleasure items like rum, beer, expensive vehicles and places of recreation.
Consistency:
The spirit of volunteer work which is evident in this photo forms part of a larger pattern of service. When the last hurricane came close to the Dominican shores, the youth in the above mentioned organizations were mobilized and spent many hours on duty, protecting children from the dangerous tides and high winds. They rode into the mountains to warn people who have no radios about the approaching storm.
Struggle:
The founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius of Loyola, created an image to describe the titanic struggle between good and evil. Being a former soldier, he imaged the encounter as a battle with two armies approaching from different directions on a vast field. One army had its general in the very front of the army. He wore the clothes of a servant and led through love. The other army had its general in the background and he whipped his soldiers into the fray by means of fear and hate.
Conviction:
In a country torn by political parties that have lost authenticity and the respect of the people, due to their unbridled selfishness and greed, the youth in this picture can be convicted of struggling on the side of the general who leads by service and love: Jesus Christ.
Next Step:
After a thorough cleaning of the hospital, we now await the arrival of medical functionaries from Salud Publica (Public Health Department). They need to look at the facilities and then grant their approval in the form of a license to offer emergency medical services to the surrounding community. We hope they will come today, but we have no way of knowing for sure, since all too many political functionaries are quick to give their word as a firm promise ... and then do something else.
