More champions of the poor needed

The catchphrase "Champion of the poor and the downtrodden", strangely enough, was associated with a heavenly spiritual leader, in the person of the late Pope John Paul II, despite the fact that he was raised in working-class Polish society.

One would expect to find "champions" of the poor among political leaders or among statesmen after their countries gained independence. But where are those champions of the downtrodden and the poor today?

The poor would not be getting poorer, the sick sicker and the rich richer if there were enough champions of the poor. The majority of people living in countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or in countries involved in the Asian-African framework of cooperation and solidarity, may still be living beneath the poverty line, deprived of basic health care, education and even food.

The politicians and leaders think about their own welfare first, and that has been the general trend with some small exceptions. As a moral force at the formal level, ASEAN and the Bandung Conference in 1955 indeed succeeded in avoiding a number of confrontations, including over tariffs and in the face of armed conflicts.

But most of the leaders of these countries today ignore the plight of the downtrodden, and in Indonesia there seems little tangible evidence that the country is heading toward a welfare state for the people. It seems that champions of the poor only exist in words, while there are still people facing imminent famine.

Champions of the downtrodden do not tolerate beggars in great cities or families living in slums along rivers. Champions of the poor join forces to eliminate unemployment, virtual slavery and other social illnesses. Without foreign assistance Indonesia, after the tsunami, could hardly cope with the rebuilding process.

Hopefully, the current government, the private sector, religious leaders and political leaders will compete in the creation and education of champions of the poor and downtrodden.

Because, like it or not, the poor and the marginalized also have the right to live a decent life and to enjoy the fruits of the country's development.

To realize this ideal, greater sacrifices and a strong political will are needed on the part of the nation's leaders, both formal and informal, to help the less fortunate and provide them with a chance to make a change for the better.

GANDHI SUKARDI Jakarta