This draws from two different contexts, obviously. Malala Yousafzai just won the Nobel Peace Prize for her action for the education of children - girls, especially. At the same time, the Ebola virus is spreading, and more cases are being detected in Europe now, triggering understandable fear in most Westerners.
Of course, the point they attempted to make in this caption is unsound, because Malala didn't have a life-threatening disease: she was shot by an Islamic extremist.
That being said, I strongly disagree with Nigel Farage's statement (unsurprisingly).
If foreigners arrive to another country with any kind of disease, should simple human compassion not move us to help, regardless of where they're coming from and what the disease is? Of course, I am not naive enough to think doing so is necessarily straightforward. For a start, there is the issue of limited resources to provide for unlimited needs. When people use the argument that "we cannot welcome everyone", I understand that indeed, we do not have the material resources to shelter, feed, and care for every immigrant to comes to our doors. I am also very much aware of the risk that a disease such as Ebola has a greater chance to spread within our borders if we decided to let sufferers into our country to care for them.
However, we musn't forget a few things. First, as Westerners, we are more fortunate than most of the world's inhabitants. The simple fact that you can read this makes you luckier than a vast proportion of your fellow human beings. What did we do to deserve access to food, clean water, shelter, healthcare and education? Nothing. Rien. Nichts. Nada. We were born in the right place, with the resources to provide for ourselves reasonably well once we were old enough. Granted, we work in order to pay for these things - but we can afford them because we grew up somewhere we could have education, get jobs, etc. If I had been born in a slum in Calcutta, I wouldn't have started with the same chances and opportunities, would I?
Secondly, people who want to live here, among us, usually have very good reasons. Whether they're fleeing war, persecution, death, torture, or famine, seeking a place where they can (or think they can) be safe and provide for themselves is more than understandable. Sure, some *may* want to come and take advantage of the benefit system, but I can assure you that many citizens who were born here do exactly that. Trying to take advantage of a system, or of other people, is part of the dark side of the human heart - it is not the prerogative of one group of people.
Thirdly, even if, sadly, we need to somehow draw a line somewhere, surely the neediest people are those whose life is threatened, either by a disease or by war, and should be the first ones we reach out to.
I admit it. I am a reckless idealist. I feel compassion towards those who suffer. You see, the man I strive to follow, Jesus, said this:
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?”
‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” - Matthew 34-40.
The God I believe in has compassion on those who suffer. To me, that is the bottom line, and that it why I believe in compassion, in welcoming those in need, in caring for those who suffer.
We humans are sorrowfully lacking the essence of humanity..... passion, compassion, caring with eyes wide open.
ReplyDeleteConveniently, we have short memories.
This is such a wonderful example of someone who could have easily been forgotten and left to die with a bullet in her head.
I heard Malala Yousafzai speak yesterday on NPR, our National Public Radio, one of the few news sources which reports without bias or an agenda other than delivering unadulterated news. In her rapid-fire, high-pitched English she explained she heard about the Nobel Prize in the middle of her high school chemistry class, that she was not afraid to die for the causes she believes in and along with her co-winner, a 60-year old Hindi from India (She a Pakistani Muslim) will invite the Prime Ministers from their countries for lunch or to join them in the awards ceremony.... all done with the enthusiasm of a precocious teen with no rest and little punctuation.
You cite a quote from the bible about doing good for another of less means or circumstances. A deed for another is remembered and held in the highest esteem. Here's one from literature..... the 17th century English poet John Donne:
"No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee."
Yes, more passion and compassion.
More humanity.
We humans are sorrowfully lacking the essence of humanity..... passion for others, compassion, caring with eyes wide open.
ReplyDeleteConveniently, we have short memories.
This is such a wonderful example of someone who could have easily been forgotten and left to die with a bullet in her head.
I heard Malala Yousafzai speak yesterday on NPR, our National Public Radio, one of the few news sources which reports without bias or an agenda other than delivering unadulterated news. In her rapid-fire, high-pitched English she explained she heard about the Nobel Prize in the middle of her high school chemistry class, that she was not afraid to die for the causes she believes in and along with her co-winner, a 60-year old Hindi from India (She a Pakistani Muslim) will invite the Prime Ministers from their countries for lunch or to join them in the awards ceremony.... all done with the enthusiasm of a precocious teen with no rest and little punctuation.
You cite a quote from the bible about doing good for another of less means or circumstances. A deed for another is remembered and held in the highest esteem. Here's one from literature..... the 17th century English poet John Donne:
"No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee."
Yes, more passion and compassion. More humanity.
I listened to Malala's speech too, and she was displaying both passion and maturity beyond her years. She is well worthy of the honour.
DeleteThank you for sharing this poem with me. I had heard the "no man is an island" quote, but never in context; it's both beautifully written and deeply true.
I don't know if you remember the walking dead episode where rick, mishone, and carl were on the way to town for supplies when they saw a hitch hiker and sped by him, then they get stuck and have a second chance to help him but take off again without so much as a word or gesture, then at the end of the show they pass a torn up corpse and it is only the orange backpack the hitchhiker was using that is identifiable, which the stop to grab. Now why didn't they help that guy? Was it because they were bad people? No.. of course not. The balancing side of your jesus equation is in the answer to my question. Idealism can destroy you when not properly tempered with selfishness. That said, i am glad there are people like you in the world who always strive to help those in need. We need to exdend ourselves as well as protect ourselves in order to create the world we seek. It is a never ending tug of war.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I do admit I'm an idealist, but I believe such idealism is needed if we want to strive towards a better world...
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