Frustration is no solution

When I first heard the serious allegations of child abuse being leveled against the Ark of the World charity I admit that I wasn’t just shocked; I felt something breaking inside of me. I don’t know if the accusations are true and whether they will hold up in a court, but I do know that I am not alone in feeling such an awful sense of betrayal. There is so much rot around us – more than we can bear sometimes – you try to find hope in a few examples of humanity and excellence, in role models who make a difference. And you do so passionately because you need to believe in somebody.

There is a trap we should be wary of. And that’s the temptation to allow a major case like the one concerning this particular charity right now to influence our view of other organizations and people doing admirable work for the protection of children. We can’t paint all priests and people running such shelters with the same brush. We can’t throw everyone in the same basket and end up believing in nothing.

There is a question, though, and that is how, as a society, we were unable to prevent whatever may have happened to these children. Were we blinded by appearances and unable to ask the questions that needed asking? Did the state fail in its duties because it turned a deaf ear? Did journalism fail because such issues are unpleasant and sometimes even taboo in this country? These are all questions that need to be answered. Becoming frustrated and fatalistic leads to nothing but a vicious cycle of barren rejectionism. And that is not what we need right now.

There is another risk with all the dark things going on around us right now, and that’s lumping cases like the Ark of the World allegations together with the turf wars of mob bosses we have seen recently. Getting carried away will only lead citizens who are already under tremendous pressure, who feel they no longer know what to believe in, who are disgusted by the idea of things going on in the shadows, to an anti-systemic paroxysm. This is why it is essential that the justice system, state services and media do our jobs well and in a timely manner. Even more important is that every single abscess is properly lanced.