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.
