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One hundred people came together in the Sheriff Hall on May 14th to discuss together why some people are being left behind and what can we do about it.
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Families at the edge worry, as they are unable to pay their bills and may soon be homeless. In groups of ten, people sat around tables, each with a facilitator and with two international guests from the Committee for October 17.
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Each table had a lit candle in a lantern at its centre to remind us all of the presence of our absent struggling brothers and sisters throughout our world: fretting parents in Dublin scrimping to hold the family together, families in Nigeria distraught with their daughter’s kidnapping and, mothers in Turkey whose husbands and sons are trapped in the mine collapse.
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Through stories, poems, posters, music and song the conversation deepened. After chatting for some time, presentations were made and responded-to with heart-felt words of encouragement, with Philippine music and with profound poetry, composed on the spot.1 Time was taken over a meal of tea and sandwiches to get to know each other better, to continue to share our stories and to laugh.
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The final important ritual was a procession with our lanterns down from Sheriff Street to the Commemorative Stone beside the famine statues on Custom House Quay. Here we remembered all those people suffering because of poverty and we stood in silent solidarity, committing ourselves to work towards a fairer, more humane world. Finally, the words inscribed on the stone were proclaimed aloud in eight different languages with a student from Coláiste Eoin speaking beautifully in Irish.
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“Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty
human rights are violated.
To come together to ensure these rights be respected is our solemn duty.”
Father Joseph Wresinski