http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/14/world/meast/watson-syria-refugee-camp/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
According to
the United Nations' admittedly conservative estimates, the conflict has pushed
close to two million Syrians out of their homes. In other words, roughly one in
10 Syrians is now living on the run.
The U.N. says
some 1.2 million Syrians are displaced inside Syria. Meanwhile, more than half
a million Syrians have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees after fleeing across borders. And there are more coming every day.
"Since
the beginning of November, the number of registered refugees region-wide has
risen by about 3,200 a day," the UNHCR announced this week.
Agency
officials estimate there are hundreds of thousands of additional Syrian
refugees who have not registered with local authorities in Turkey, Lebanon,
Jordan and Egypt, because they are surviving off of their savings or the
hospitality of friends and relatives. But after more than 20 months of
conflict, there are signs that resources for wealthier refugees are running
out.
… "I want
people to feel our pain," says Ismail, who is bundled up in a sweatshirt
and coat for warmth. "These are Arabs, these are humans. I just want
people to feel for us."
That appeal
for empathy is echoed by the lone Syrian violinist now living on the banks of
Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait.
"If you
look at these people as your brothers in humanity," Moraly says, after
completing a mournful rendition of Niccolo Paganini's Caprice No. 6, "then
you should know that what is happening to them might happen to you one
day." - CNN
If it was your home being torn apart, you would be pleading
for compassion too. What is the difference between a few people giving aid and
the entire world living like a “brotherhood”, like one community? What would be
so terrible about treating every being with dignity and respect – as we would
want to be treated ourselves?
Apparently living in a world of peace and prosperity is not
what we want, because we simply do nothing to bring it about.
Some may think that the UN, or some other humanitarian
organisations will save the world. What have any of these organisations
actually contributed toward a permanent and global solution? Nothing at all –
not even a theory. These organisations are the fairytales we tell ourselves at
night when we get into bed, to reassure ourselves that the world is being saved
by “someone, somewhere out there” – so we don’t have to. Or, there are many of
us who are simply too consumed with trying to keep our own family’s needs met,
working as much as possible for a barely-there wage just to get by. We work to
make money to survive to save to enjoy life and then we get old and die, very
often penniless.
Imagine yourself meeting one of the victims of Syria, or any
country’s conflicts. When that person asks you “why didn’t you care?” how would
you answer? That there was someone else doing it already, which somehow
absolved you of responsibility? Or that your family was more important than
their family? Or maybe that you simply chose not to make yourself aware of
their plight – what you don’t know won’t hurt you?
What kind of salary do you imagine the top officials in the
UN are earning? Enough to keep them and their families well secured in a nice
country home, I’d wager. What does that say about their level of care and
commitment? Should humanitarians live in palaces while the people they claim to
care about live in tents?
It is time for us to care. It is time for us to give to
others the life we want for ourselves. It is time to love all children in the
world equally, whether they are our own or not. It is time to give value back
to life, instead of placing it in possessions and gold bars. This life was
meant to be fun for everyone – this is only possible if we are willing to give
and share unconditionally that which sustains us.
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