THE VULNERABLE
THE
VULNERABLE
This elderly man of poor health has been coming to ME A
SERVANT OF CHRIST MISSION every Sunday for the last two years needing twenty
rupees to buy half a pound of rice. He
never asks for more and blesses us every time for the money. Other than the blessing he rarely says
anything else.
Approximately a little more than a month ago the elderly
man did not stop by to get his rice money and we noted this but since we did
not know where he lived we thought he might be sick. The following week he stopped by to tell us
he had been beaten up and the goons stole his property papers and took his
land. He went to the police but since it
was Diwali (Hindu Festival) the police refused to register his complaint or
look into the fact he had been beaten until the festival was over making the
elderly man return once more to them.
The police took the complaint and placed it into the hands
of an arbitrator, which in essence told the elderly man to take the money
offered, plus the goat, forget the complaint for he will be waiting a long time
for a court date, and plus he needed a lawyer.
The land in dispute is three acres interior, with no
irrigation or road to access it. The
elderly man did not live there. The elderly
man bought a shirt, lungi, food and tea for several weeks. He kept the goat until an offer was made to
him below market price to sell the goat and he did.
MY COMMENTARY:
The poor and the vulnerable are preyed on by GOONS to force
them to sell their properties way below the market value and the money offered
to a poor starving person seems like a million dollars. If the owners refuse to sell (like the
elderly man) the goons find the property papers and force a signature or take
the thumb forcible to make the print on the document since many cannot write.
The police turns a blinds eye for a bribe to them is the incentive
for them to look the other way. Justice
in India is slow and bribe able. Money
greases the wheels of injustice as it quietly goes about its journey of destruction. Justice in India wipes no tears or restores
right for many vulnerable and poor.
Justice in India has no conscience for about 80% of its population. Justice will not for many generations see the
truth of who she is and what she can do, for corruption holds the power and
shackles her.
This true story is repeated throughout the 638,000 villages
in India on one or more levels.
©Linda Mary Liotino ME A SERVANT OF CHRIST MISSION 2014
Comments
Post a Comment