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Santa Cruz, 2nd March 2008
I would like to welcome you in this great Sunday atmosphere. This is the next Sunday of the Lent. In a few days we will have the Holy Week. The sounds of the carnival have just died away. But have they died away completely? Today there are parties and loud music everywhere. I cannot get used to it. The Lent form my youthful times was very different. The times were very different.
Exactly, different times, different years. The next year struck in the calendar of my life. Thank God for this! Thank you for the wishes, memory and prayers, too! People usually celebrate birthday here in Bolivia, so I celebrated it as well. In the evening before my birthday, a group of teenagers turned up unexpectedly. They brought guitars and played and sang under my windows. This is a Bolivian custom. I spent some time with them and with my fellow-brothers from the house. Unexpected guests arrived as well... Bishop Stanislaw and Padre Raul, the parson of our cathedral, came to me and brought a big pizza. Brothers Felix and Mark from our Vicariate came as well. I spent the eve of my evening in a nice company and a nice atmosphere. And on the next day... despite a sudden downpour, my fellow-brothers from the neighbouring S. Francisco convent and the earlier mentioned guests dropped by. But we gave the rain no chances and we even managed to grill something under the roof. Then we had some coffee and doughnuts I had prepared myself with a little help of the Elizabeth Sisters. That is how I celebrated my... 44th birthday!!! Thank you once again that you did not forget about me.
But the next day early in the morning I was on the way again. A three-day-long meeting of the whole vicariate (so-called asamblea) took place in our San Ramon vicariate. In such meeting not only bishops, priests and monks participate but also laypeople involved in pastoral works of the vicariate. This is the time of reflection, plans and different discussions connected with the overall work of the vicariate. Everybody shares their plans and gives accounts of the situation of a particular parish, village etc. We also talk about joys and concerns of everyday life. Each of us experienced the problem with the water. The rainfalls have been so heavy recently that the water was pouring everywhere and some roofs did not withstand it. When I arrived to San Ramon (not without problems), the first thing I noticed were buckets and bowls set out everywhere. Tropical rains really carry a lot of water. Because of the rain I had problems with leaving the town. Almost the whole town does not have the sewage system, so there is water everywhere. There are places where it is impossible to pass through. As if it was not enough, the water scoured many holes in the roads. The condition of the roads is a disaster. Sometimes you do not know where to “escape”, how to drive around all those huge and dangerous holes and rifts in the roads. You are happy when you finally reach your destination. I think that there is no country which has worse roads condition than Bolivia. We have recently had guests from Ecuador. They said that despite its poverty, Ecuador had much better roads than Bolivia.
Well, we have to believe it. Since we have water, floods are common. Our Rio Grande still takes its tall. When I was going across our only, run-down railway bridge over Rio Grande on Friday, I could notice a rapidly rushing river, full of treacherous currents. It was full of mud, roots, trees and other things the water had gathered on its way. The river was as wide as the bridge over it (about 2 kilometres).
In Los Troncos there is a huge campsite in which hundreds of families will have to struggle through for the next few months. Their houses, villages, fields and all things they possessed were flooded by Rio Grande. Thousands of people live there. To find more go to: http://www.opoka.org.pl/aktualnosci/news.php?s=opoka&id=24017
The Caritas from our vicariate is with the people. It organizes help, buys needful equipment, food, medicine etc. Brother Felix who is the administrator of our missionary hospital in El Fortin (the place which experienced a similar flood two years ago) claims that the hospital works at full capacity. Our office also helps and organizes the purchase of needful things. For the next few months many children will be learning in temporary schools in tents. The reality is very different from that one we know from Europe.
All the problems I mentioned above lead to another one – everything is becoming more and more expensive. The prices of food grow day by day. There are regions which lack the basic products: rice, sugar or flour. It is connected with floods in the country, especially with its results – washed away bridges, impassable roads etc. The tense political situation in the country is also a big problem. The media inform about new disputes, quarrels, strikes and manifestations every day. You feel tired when you hear about the disputes between the government and the opposition. The economic situation in the country is generally catastrophic. To find more go to: http://www.opoka.org.pl/aktualnosci/news.php?id=24028&s=opoka
All this affects the difficult situation of the poorest people. There is no political maturity in the country. It is difficult to believe that such a big country, rich in natural resources may be in such a poor economic situation. Who is guilty? The politicians, entrepreneurs, foreign investors, conquistadors from 400 years ago, the Church (because for some people it is the most convenient answer)? I cannot answer this question but when I sometimes see some people’s reactions I start understanding. How can the situation in the whole country be different when individuals behave in such a way?
There are problems everywhere. Our vicariate contends with economic problems. It is more and more difficult to find support from outside. We have recently had to reduce jobs in the vocational school for young boys in Concepcion. Despite our best intentions we could not keep several dozens employees and the same number of learners. Therefore, we have reduced the numbers of employees, teachers etc. to a minimum. The school will not stop functioning. However, it is difficult to say how long it will be possible. In the attachment to this letter I have enclosed a short note about the school in Concepcion.
Apart from this we live, work, pray and start each day hoping that the situation will change for better soon.
I commend myself and all the Bolivian joys and concerns to your prayers. God bless you!
Josef Tarcisio Lamik, OFM
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