On one of my home holidays in Fiji, I went to my village to spend time with my family and relatives. In one of the talanoa (a process of inclusive and transparent dialogue) sessions I attended, I heard this phrase from our elders, “Keda eda vutunijau ka tiko bulabula ena noda dui delanijave ‘Na Vanua’ (The Land) sa solia tu vei ked ana kalou,” sa dononu meda taqomada.” We are wealthy and healthy on this Land that God have given to us, so we need to protect the Land.
I grew up in the city, so I was not as aware of the importance of our connections to the Land and the totem. When my father retired at the age of 55 he went back to the village. He told us if you want to know yourself you must know your roots. My time in the village has helped me to learn the importance of the Land, the totem, what tribe/clan I belong to, and that we have our own dialect. A totem is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of the group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage or tribe.
When I heard this phrase of Pope Francis, “How precious is that profoundly genuine sense of family and community among Indigenous Peoples! And how important it is to cultivate properly the bond between young and old, and to maintain a healthy and harmonious relationship with all of creation!” I thanked God the Creator that I still have this genuine sense of family, community and the sacredness of land back home in Fiji and that made me cherish that so much.
The cross-cultural mission experiences that I have had in the Philippines and in El Paso, Texas/ Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, have been a blessing in my life. That’s where I’ve learnt about others’ cultures, history, language, and about the indigenous people and faith traditions.
During the influx of migrants at the U.S./Mexico border in 2018, I met some of the indigenous people from Central America. I learned that one of the reasons they migrated was because of climate change. The droughts, cyclone, floods, and earthquakes that happened in their countries destroyed their farms, crops, animals, and houses. So, they left their families and moved to the U.S. to find jobs so that they could provide for their families and plan to bring them to the U.S.
Listening to what’s happening in the world today and to the indigenous farmers from Central America makes me worried and frightened that what they went through will one day happen to our family and community back home. The islands in the South Pacific are experiencing a rise of sea levels and other natural catastrophes. We must protect the Ocean and the Mother Earth because it is where we get our daily food, air to breath, water to drink, cooking, washing, bathing, and where we connect with Nature and living creatures. There are many developments and changes in the world today which are destroying the land, culture and communities.
The Land is sacred not only to the indigenous people but to all humanity and living beings in this world. We must protect and care for our mother earth because the earth we live in is our common home.
Pope Francis is always and continues to be a major instrument in addressing the issue of climate crisis, which we are experiencing more than ever now. Let us dedicate ourselves to respond to the Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the Earth.
Columban lay missionary Sainiana Tamatawale lives and works in Hong Kong.