The ‘Festival of the Holy Family’ is celebrated by certain Christian Churches on the first Sunday after Christmas to venerate the ‘Holy Family’. The Festival glorifies the ‘family’ − comprising Jesus, the newborn baby; Mary, the caring mother; Joseph, the industrious father and, according to St. Mark’s Gospel, several brothers and sisters. The ‘family’, in the opinion of devotees, is an institution ordained by God.
Former President David Granger, speaking on the programme – The Public Interest – stated that the ‘family’ has existed from time immemorial and remains the most elemental form of human organisation. It is the cradle of life and the core of the home that nurtures children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises the importance of the family to the harmonious development of the child who is “…entitled to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.”
Mr. Granger alluded to the idea that the Biblical ideal of the ‘Holy Family’ is inseparable from model marriage which, in some churches is regarded as a sacrament. This, in turn, is linked to the integrity of parenthood which is embodied in the fifth Biblical ‘Commandment’. The father and mother – husband and wife – and children are part of the family.
He admitted, however, that the home is not necessarily a happy and harmonious place as numerous dangers menace modern ‘family’ life. Abuse, abandonment and neglect of children and other forms of interpersonal violence have become a human safety epidemic of which the victims are the most vulnerable family members – children and women. Violence can trigger discord, division, divorce, dissolution and even deaths in families.
Family life will flourish where family members live in communities that are free from crime, violence and disorder and when households can assure the safety of their members from bodily harm. Families in hinterland villages and remote, riverine and rural coastland communities may not have easy access to governmental and legal services. Families whose members include the disabled and elderly and other disadvantaged members need more than faith to survive. They need state assistance.
Granger warned that the serene image of the ‘Holy Family’ that is usually portrayed in religious scriptures and popular literature could be a mirage of marriage. That perfect picture of a ‘family’ presumes a high level of conformity − of culture, ethnicity, sexuality and religious beliefs. In a country in which a quarter of the population is of ‘mixed’ descent, interracial and interreligious unions are inevitable and make the ideal of ethnic exclusivity difficult, perhaps unnecessary, to attain.
Poverty can be a serious problem that could force older children out of school to seek early employment without completing their education. Large families, low household incomes and informal housing – in shanties, slums and squatter settlements – can hinder happiness. Poor people, marginally, are less likely to marry, even when the woman becomes pregnant and girls are more likely to become pregnant earlier in life and to have children out of wedlock. Single-parent households are likely to be headed by women and child-care responsibilities are likely to be borne by older siblings, aunts and grandmothers.
The former president warned that social protection services should be available to support strong families, especially single-parent households and those in distress. A National Agency for Social Protection should introduce measures to care for children of single parents while parents are at work and to provide state subsidized day-care and night-care services in regions and communities where there is a high prevalence of this form of neglect. The ‘Holy Family’, indeed, is not an irrelevant ancient concept. It is a present-day necessity to ensure that every mother and child could enjoy a good life in the land of their birth. 󠄀
