Marauder
2 May 2001, 20:59
Found this today while checking out the different Sun Media columnists on Sun Media's website, and found this guy's analogy to be quite interesting, and sorta reflective of my viewpoint on why we Canadians should be so proud of our armed forces members and police officers who head off to help keep the peace and make the world just a little bit better.
Here goes...
May 2, 2001
Bystanders to world's cruelties
Wondering how you can help?
By LAURIE MUSTARD -- Winnipeg Sun
Ever wonder what it might feel like to be dying in front of people you know can help you, but won't? I know what that feels like. I almost drowned once while swimming out to a floating dock at Killarney. The details don't matter, but the bottom line is I was about two metres away from the dock, going under, and calling for people on the dock to jump in, take my daughter (Andrea) who I was holding up, then help me. I was choking, gasping for air, going under.
Four men on the dock just stood there and stared at us. They appeared stunned and took
no action whatsoever. I looked them in the eyes and said, "Help, please ... somebody help my daughter." I'll never forget how they just stood there, looking uncomfortable, and did nothing.
Prayers unanswered
Until it happens to you, you just can't believe other human beings capable of saving your life would choose to turn away. Right now, in countries such as Sierra Leone, kids are wondering why someone can come into their village, cut off one of their hands or feet, maybe kill their parents, rape their mothers and sisters, and nobody does anything about it. Often those same youth are kidnapped, forced to train as rebels, then led back to massacre their own families. In some cases, their own parents. No doubt every day endless numbers of refugees and victims of torture and persecution in countries from Sierra Leone to Tibet and elsewhere wonder why their pleas and prayers for help go unanswered. They know the people of the free world are aware of their plight. They know we have the power, the wealth and the influence to help, but for the most part choose to look the other way and let them die.
Winnipegger Peter Koroma's 62-year-old sister Digba escaped Sierra Leone five years ago, walking a distance the equivalent of Winnipeg to Edmonton with two young grandchildren in tow, and has been a refugee in Guinea ever since. Her life is in danger. Eight months ago, her 25-year-old daughter left for the local market in Guinea and didn't return home. Digba and Peter fear she may have been captured by rebels to serve them and satisfy their sexual needs, or may even be dead. They keep searching. It's all they can do.
What can we do here in Canada, in Winnipeg, to help victims like Digba's daughter, and
thousands of others like her? We can begin by making an effort to be more aware of the atrocities happening elsewhere in the world, then taking steps to make changes for the better. Beginning tomorrow night, Amnesty International and the Winnipeg Refugee Education Network present the first of the Survivors Among Us Human Rights Film Series, 7- 9 p.m., at the Centennial Library Auditorium, 251 Donald Street.
The series begins with Cry Freetown shot in Sierra Leone, followed by A Song for Tibet
on May 10, then Illegal Footage Smuggled out of Burma on May 17, concentrating on the
human rights abuses that children endure on a daily basis.
Following each film there will be a discussion with survivors and human rights
organizations, and a Q&A period.
Winnipeggers can also help by attending "Save A Life" this Sunday, the first fund-raising
banquet for Sierra Leone Refugee Resettlement, Inc., being held at Fort Garry Place. Tickets and further info available by calling Peter at 948-4470.
Last year alone, rebels in Sierra Leone mutilated (by amputation) more than 5,000 women and children. There are more than 50,000 single women and children in various refugee camps whose lives are in danger.
They're wondering how people can stand by, watch, and do nothing.
How can we?
Here goes...
May 2, 2001
Bystanders to world's cruelties
Wondering how you can help?
By LAURIE MUSTARD -- Winnipeg Sun
Ever wonder what it might feel like to be dying in front of people you know can help you, but won't? I know what that feels like. I almost drowned once while swimming out to a floating dock at Killarney. The details don't matter, but the bottom line is I was about two metres away from the dock, going under, and calling for people on the dock to jump in, take my daughter (Andrea) who I was holding up, then help me. I was choking, gasping for air, going under.
Four men on the dock just stood there and stared at us. They appeared stunned and took
no action whatsoever. I looked them in the eyes and said, "Help, please ... somebody help my daughter." I'll never forget how they just stood there, looking uncomfortable, and did nothing.
Prayers unanswered
Until it happens to you, you just can't believe other human beings capable of saving your life would choose to turn away. Right now, in countries such as Sierra Leone, kids are wondering why someone can come into their village, cut off one of their hands or feet, maybe kill their parents, rape their mothers and sisters, and nobody does anything about it. Often those same youth are kidnapped, forced to train as rebels, then led back to massacre their own families. In some cases, their own parents. No doubt every day endless numbers of refugees and victims of torture and persecution in countries from Sierra Leone to Tibet and elsewhere wonder why their pleas and prayers for help go unanswered. They know the people of the free world are aware of their plight. They know we have the power, the wealth and the influence to help, but for the most part choose to look the other way and let them die.
Winnipegger Peter Koroma's 62-year-old sister Digba escaped Sierra Leone five years ago, walking a distance the equivalent of Winnipeg to Edmonton with two young grandchildren in tow, and has been a refugee in Guinea ever since. Her life is in danger. Eight months ago, her 25-year-old daughter left for the local market in Guinea and didn't return home. Digba and Peter fear she may have been captured by rebels to serve them and satisfy their sexual needs, or may even be dead. They keep searching. It's all they can do.
What can we do here in Canada, in Winnipeg, to help victims like Digba's daughter, and
thousands of others like her? We can begin by making an effort to be more aware of the atrocities happening elsewhere in the world, then taking steps to make changes for the better. Beginning tomorrow night, Amnesty International and the Winnipeg Refugee Education Network present the first of the Survivors Among Us Human Rights Film Series, 7- 9 p.m., at the Centennial Library Auditorium, 251 Donald Street.
The series begins with Cry Freetown shot in Sierra Leone, followed by A Song for Tibet
on May 10, then Illegal Footage Smuggled out of Burma on May 17, concentrating on the
human rights abuses that children endure on a daily basis.
Following each film there will be a discussion with survivors and human rights
organizations, and a Q&A period.
Winnipeggers can also help by attending "Save A Life" this Sunday, the first fund-raising
banquet for Sierra Leone Refugee Resettlement, Inc., being held at Fort Garry Place. Tickets and further info available by calling Peter at 948-4470.
Last year alone, rebels in Sierra Leone mutilated (by amputation) more than 5,000 women and children. There are more than 50,000 single women and children in various refugee camps whose lives are in danger.
They're wondering how people can stand by, watch, and do nothing.
How can we?