Doing the Truth

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 5, 5 July 1983, Page 8

Doing the Truth

by

Bob

Peck

When the basics of life are denied some members of our society, we are all the less for it. We cannot help recall the words of John Donne, "... any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." The same applies clearly in a situation where there is need. And, if that need is unfulfilled because of injustice, we must face up to

the fact that the guilt falls on us as members of society and the remedy surely rests in our hands. I don't know whether you noticed the number of Accommodation Wanted advertisements in last week's edition of the Waimarino Bulletin? To help you recall, there were four. Not many, you might say. However, you should be at my end of the telephone from time to time. Numerous calls come through requesting information about housing. Many people are desperate, right here in our small world of the Waimarino. These include young marrieds, solo parents, the elderly and newly transferred. Is it too much to ask in a society like ours, that every individual has the basic necessities of life? Surely housing fits that description. That our nation faces

a housing shortage in 1983 is a scandal! It is an interesting fact that the Books of both the Old and New Testaments are filled with passages which point us to our duty to our neighbours. Jesus, himself,, spoke of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned and caring for the stranger. These issues were of such importance, that he linked them with the final destination of man either in heaven or hell. The Christian religion is deeply involved in living and life. It should not then be surprising when the Church takes note of particular areas of injustice in our society. Both Anglicans and Roman Catholics have recently focused attention on New Zealand's Housing shortage. As a background to their statement, the Catholic Bishops have quoted Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adquate for the health and well-

being of self and family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services." Their practical direction to their own people is something that the entire community can accept as workable Christian action. To quote, "What can I do? . . . — "I can support public initiatives that seek adequate, affordable housing for people in need. — "If I have a second home in the face of others' need, there is a special responsibility to share. If I am a landlord, I should be just with my tenants, with a special concern for the poor, the homeless and those discriminated against. — "If I am a State housing tenant better able to afford private sector rental, I should move out for one of the 11,000 applicants seeking my place. — "I can exercise my political rights to ensure that Government, includiM* local Government, gi^QP priority to the concerns of the needy."