Justice and Peace

Dominican Sisters of Adrian: Dominicans Accompany, Advocate for Displaced Farmers in the Dominican Republic

December 3, 2019, Seibo, Dominican Republic – The plight of displaced farmers from Seibo, in the western part of the Dominican Republic, has drawn the solidarity and advocacy of Dominican Sisters and Friars from both the Dominican Republic and the United States.

Luisa Campos, OP

About three years ago, the farmers were displaced from their homes and land with the arrival of a sugar corporation. “Every day the media brought news of the mistreatments [the farmers] had suffered at the hands of the landowner, who with his economic power and influence had evicted them from, and destroyed their plantations,” said Adrian Dominican Sister Luisa Campos, OP, a native of the Dominican Republic who ministers at Centro Antonio Montesino in Santo Domingo. She added that 12-year-old Carlos Rojas Peguero was killed during conflicts over the land.

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Third Sunday of Advent: The Human Rights Situation of Women in India

As we remember the Dominican Month for Peace in India in Advent…

We remember:

Women, who comprise nearly half the population of India, suffer social and economic discrimination and lack of social liberty with a dominant life experience of oppression, restrictions, violence and exploitation.

While they play a vital role in managing the family and contributing to the family economy, their contribution goes unrecognized as they are treated as subservient to males. Deprived of education, equal opportunities for productive expression and political decision-making, largely confined indoors and subjugated relentlessly, women continue to face grave violations of rights.

The persistence of patriarchal social norms and inter and intra gender hierarchies leads to women being exposed to a continuum of violence in the home and in society throughout their life cycle.

2016: 338,954 reported incidences of crime against women. These included:

  • 7,628 dowry deaths
  • 225 cases of acid attack
  • 110,434 reported cases of cruelty by a husband or his relatives
  • 1,183 cases of human trafficking
  • 39,068 rape cases
  • 39,953 cases of assault on women
  • 27,422 sexual harassment (National Crime Records Bureau)

Census 2011:

Literacy rate for men = 82.14%; for women = 65.46%

2011-12 National Service Scheme:  Participation rate of women in employment was less than half that of men.

Urban:  54.6% men; 14.7% women

Rural:  54.3% men; 24.8% women

2014:  Women representation in the Lower House of Parliament was 11.9% and 11.4% in the Upper House.

Human trafficking in India, although illegal under Indian law, remains a significant problem. Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage, especially in those areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favor of men. Men and boys are trafficked for the purposes of labor, and may be sexually exploited by traffickers to serve as gigolos, massage experts, escorts, etc. A significant portion of children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers.

Women in disadvantaged situations are being empowered to challenge gender violence and exploitation and to insist on gender equality and more political participation. This is done through the formation and facilitation of women’s groups, socio- legal training, skills building and assistance in acquiring livelihood opportunities, along with the facilitation of dialogue in families and communities.

To show solidarity, Dominicans worldwide are urged to act and pray.

  1. Pray each day for the Dominican Family in India and for the people who suffer and those who work to alleviate their pain, especially:
  • For women and the wisdom, courage, and strength they need to challenge violence and exploitation
  • For those who have been trafficked in the past that they find healing and new life in the days to come
  1. Learn more:

Prayer:

Today we hear from the Prophet Isaiah, “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God… comes with vindication; with divine recompense. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared” (Isaiah 35: 4b – 6a)
As we pray in our third Sunday of Advent for the people of India around the world, may we pray for the way of transformation in India for dignity and respect for women. 

Second Sunday of Advent: A Voice Cries Out in the Desert for Respect for Tribal Peoples in India

As we remember the Dominican Month for Peace in India in Advent….

We remember:

  1. The tribal population of India, per the 2011 Census, is 104.3 million constituting 8.6% of the total population. 97% of them live in rural areas. Some of the major issues faced by tribals are land alienation, displacement, enforced migration, poverty, and exploitation.
  2. In 2015, a total of 6,275 cases of atrocities against tribal peoples were registered in India. In addition, tribals lack access: to quality education in remote regions, to health care centres. Tribal peoples in the Northeast face problems of insurgency, atrocities under cover of Armed Forces Special Power Act and chronic ending tensions between northeastern states and the central government.
  3. The Indian Center for Integrated Development (ICID)has been established to empower the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community to lead a dignified life.  ICID is an Initiative of the Indian Dominican Friars.  The mission of ICID is to inspire, enable and empower children and young people to become actors, in their development for a just and free society.
  4. One program, Manini, supports increased economic independence among disadvantaged rural women through sustainable livelihood opportunities. The program provides women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with the opportunity to create sustainable livelihoods. About 200 women from rural communities in Umred Taluka, Nagpur district are engaged in activities that promote self-sustainability.
  1. For more information on the impact of these tribal programs: https://www.dare2dream.org.au/manini-3

Prayer:

Today we hear from the Prophet Isaiah, “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’ (Mt 3:3).   As we pray in our second Sunday of Advent for the people of India around the world, may we pray for the way of transformation among Indian government leaders and all leaders of the world to honor dignity and respect for tribal peoples.

‘Statement of Adrian Dominican Sisters on COP25 Madrid Climate Talks’

December 2, 2019, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement on COP25 Madrid Climate Talks, taking place December 2-13, 2019.

As the nations of the world gather in Madrid these next two weeks for the 25th year of climate talks (COP25), we Adrian Dominican Sisters invite you to join with us in prayer and voice, calling for concrete action by world leaders to safeguard our common home from catastrophic climate chaos. The aim of the COP25 climate talks is to concretize commitments and implement the historic Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.

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