As part of the Jubilee’s journey of hope, our events with Mario Antonio Clerici, our devoted reader and volunteer with the Italian Red Cross, are taking place.
In this fourth article, the Author recounts his encounters with different forms of social poverty and reflects on the importance of not being indifferent to our brothers’ needs; only in this way can humanity grow and bear fruits of hope.
Poverty becomes a social emergency
Call it, if you like, low work intensity. It is an aseptic way of talking about the poverty that increasingly targets families and, in particular, strikes at vulnerable circumstances: situations involving health problems or chronic hardship, where employment is intermittent, when there is any at all. According to Istat, 23.1% of the population of our country (2024 data) is at risk of social exclusion, an increase over the previous year.
More and more often, volunteer aid workers are called upon to support social insecurity, which no longer concerns only those traditionally considered “on the margins” (undocumented immigrants, homeless people, and people with psychological difficulties), but also affects the so-called “middle class.”
Poverty encountered “in the field”
In the final years of my volunteer service with the Red Cross, I found myself facing an increasingly difficult reality when it came to “poverty” - there are more and more forms of it, with new facets - along with a growing demand for humanitarian aid. What I have noticed, not without deep concern, is the hardship experienced by families, often with young children, disabled people, or vulnerable elderly relatives. Reading Istat figures can be useful for putting the problem into context; however, it is when you are out in the field that you perceive this phenomenon in all its gravity. In 2023, 2.2 million families, comprising approximately 5.7 million people, were living in conditions of absolute poverty.
I remember when, at the beginning of the 2000s, my wife Wilma, also a volunteer, and I were asked by the Red Cross to take care of humanitarian aid in the Como area, where I still serve today. At the time, the social situation was decidedly different: the main requests for help came from non-EU immigrants struggling to integrate into the social fabric. However, requests for assistance - especially food aid - from isolated and vulnerable elderly people were beginning to increase. My wife and I enthusiastically took on this new challenge, encountering situations we had never imagined. I am referring above all to stories of precarious living conditions kept hidden out of fear, shame, or simply pride.
A story that touches the heart
I remember that one evening we heard the doorbell ring: it was a man of Egyptian origin who had recently arrived in Italy. He needed food to meet the needs of a large family with four young children. We accompanied him to the supermarket and did the shopping for him while waiting for new parcels to arrive for distribution to those most in need.
It was not difficult to understand that need, because we too, as parents of four children, knew well how costly running a household could be. For his part, the man no longer knew how to thank us. At that moment, my wife and I thought about how important it was to be there for those in need, aware that only in this way could we also fulfill ourselves fully as people.
“God’s judgment will be in favor of the poor”
Among the teachings of the late Pope Francis, there is one in particular that stays with me when I devote myself to humanitarian aid in my volunteer work. I am referring to the special importance of helping the poor, who must never be forgotten in their needs, because “God’s judgment – as the Book of Sirach says – will be in favor of the poor.” On the most recent World Day of the Poor, Sunday, November 17 of last year, Pope Francis invited people not only to pray for those in hardship, but also to carry out concrete acts of charity.
Among the poorest of the poor, in my experience as a volunteer, the elderly hold a special place. I could tell dozens of stories about vulnerable people to whom my colleagues and I delivered food parcels. I am always struck by the respect and dignity with which they welcome us, insisting on offering us at least a glass of water or telling us about their past and the beautiful moments of their lives.
Perhaps only a volunteer aid worker realizes today how many elderly people living on a minimum pension cannot make ends meet. Looking back, I can see that the collapse began when the euro came into force in the early 2000s, eroding purchasing power.
Over time, the number of people living alone and families in need of help grew exponentially, even in prosperous areas such as Lombardy. At the same time, the demand for volunteers responsible for managing food supplies increased. But it was above all during the pandemic that we saw a sharp rise in requests for help.
Indifference is the most serious disease
Unfortunately, we must also recognize another kind of poverty, which has nothing to do with financial resources or food. I am talking about human poverty, that is, the indifference toward those in need that is increasing almost everywhere. Pope Francis explained this attitude very well in February 2023, reminding us that “it is the worst disease we can have” and consists of “looking without wanting to see”.
This presents us volunteers with a new challenge. Every time we distribute a parcel, we also find ourselves offering a moment of comfort, talking with people and listening to them, helping them face their problems, so that, at least for a moment, we can share the loneliness they are experiencing. It is a new way of being close to people, which goes beyond the delivery itself.
I am convinced that, in these very difficult years, those who provide assistance are being asked to raise the bar of humanity by opening their hearts, with empathy and the ability to listen.
This kind of situation has happened to me many times. We are called to be bearers of hope. Sometimes, the few minutes spent talking with a person in need, whether elderly or on the margins of an increasingly less inclusive society, are enough to lift their spirits. They do them good. They bring a little serenity and peace. They provide relief. It is that “something more” that goes beyond a food parcel and makes “humanitarian aid” the most authentic sign of humanity.
Mario Antonio Clerici shared his experience of “poverty” with us, lived as a Red Cross volunteer, along with his reflections on a humanity capable of paying attention to the needs of others in difficulty; we would also welcome your testimony and reflections!
