~80% of all refugees and displaced persons globally are women and children
~Rape is used as a tool of genocide and weapon of war: 20K Bosnian women raped during the Balkan War; 500K Rwandese women raped during the '94 genocide; 100K+ of Congolese women raped in the DRC war
~70% of the world's 1.3 billion poor are women
~90% of today's war casualties are civilians, 75% of whom are women and children.
These are each shocking statistics. As I sit here reading through each one and trying to wrap my head around the suffering contained in these few lines I am completely humbled by my own good fortune, and at the same time I am ANGRY that this is my world, our world, in which this is happening.
On the advice of TanyaSue, last week I read Nectar in a Sieve
and I thought a lot about the protagonist, Rukmani, and the vicissitudes of economic uncertainty in India that routinely left her and her children with only a handful of rice to eat each day. She watched family members die from malnutrition as she struggled to eke out a quiet life under intolerably harsh circumstances. This book made me question: at what price do I enjoy this warm apartment that I sit in as I type on my laptop, pantry cupboards full, nearly every modern convenience at my fingertips. What right do I have to live in such privilege?
Awhile back I read of a young man about my age who decided to live as simply as possible, that he could give more of his money to those that suffer. He had only two sets of clothing. He slept on a mat on the floor with a thin blanket. He gave away all of his possessions except for those necessary in his nonprofit work.
What do you think? Are you tempted to abandon your comforts for the sake of another?
5 comments:
"Are you tempted to abandon your comforts for the sake of another?"
Mmmmmm no. My family's physical resources (extravagent by much of the world's standards, probably a tad below average by US middle class standards)keep my children off that tragic list. I feel the weight of the inequality, but I will not feel guilt for being able to keep my children fed and safe.
I could give up what physical comforts I have, but frankly, those aren't my best resources. How to spend my time, energy, and creativity in a way that makes a meaningful difference in the broader world while keeping my family healthy and whole...now that is the question that keeps me up at night.
But giving away all possesions and sleeping on the floor with a thin blanket - I'll leave that to idealistic (and presumably childless)young men.
(Hi. You don't know me. I hopped over here from Exponent. I enjoy your writing over there.)
Am I tempted? You bet! Am I strong enough to actually do it? No where close!
What we consider to be needed is actually luxury for the most part. I get that, but I have yet to figure out a way to give those things up. I know that in order to live my life in line with my values I need to be far less concerned with possessions and far more concerned with how to make the world a better place for people. I am currently working to reconcile these things and figure out how to make it work.
thought-provoking post! tempted? no. prompted to give these issues more thought? absolutely!
p.s. i've put Nectar in a Sieve on "hold" at the library. thanks for passing along the recommendation.
alisonwonderland:
Let me know what you think of _Nectar_--I'd love to discuss it with you!
"tempted? no. prompted to give these issues more thought? absolutely!" ~ alisonwonderland
That's how I feel, too. I'm not tempted to give up *all* of my possession (like the young man written about) possibly for several reasons: I've never had my own kids (I think being a parent generally tends to increase one's sensitivity to the unsettling poverty in the world - though I know there are some that don't need parenthood to feel this type of sincere empathy);
though I've experienced lack of wealth by American standards as the child of parents struggling financially through school, I've never experienced a lack for warmth, a roof, food, clean water, love, or comfort;
the closest I've come to witnessing poverty is the living condition we saw recently in Jamaica, and even then the families had some sort of shelter and access to clean water - and were not victims of violence.
Perhaps if my experiences in any of the above were to change, I would feel more tempted to alter my own life's comforts in order to give more to others.
You truly have such a good heart, Pilgrimgirl. I admire your ambitions and proactive steps to make this world better. Posts like this are what cause me to give these issues more thought.
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