Together in building a more just world
The 2006 General Chapter challenged us to look at the serious environmental issues on our planet. The management of water is, without a doubt, one of the international issues at stake in the XX1st century.
The Sisters and Associates of our Congregation have been urged to become fully involved in the educational stage of the proposed corporate stand to safeguard water. Together we are committed, not only for ourselves but for future generations. 200 Sisters and Associates gathered in St. Lambert for the launching of the process in Quebec. The EARTH CHARTER states that we have a responsibility toward one another. The SNJM Justice and Peace Network continues to be attentive to the poor who are exploited, especially, since 2006, when our Congregation took a corporate stand against human trafficking. In reference to the Charter, we maintain that just as “Women and children are not for sale”, nor is water for sale.
Considering the urgency to preserve water as a human right and a public good, we will once again use the See, Judge, Act process, such will be our double investment of time and energy.
Some concrete examples that will highlight our reflection:
- due to the bottled-water-profit-making industry in some countries, the wells in many villages have dried up.
- closer to home, the diverting of our water to arid land in the south, will cause the level of the Saint Lawrence River to drop and consequently be detrimental to the seaway.
- in Columbia, the management of the public water utility, taken over by a multinational corporation, forces families to buy drinking water at a cost equivalent to expenditures for food for 10 days…