In Face Of Humanitarian Crisis

WRITTEN DURING PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY: The President’s approach to humanitarian disaster and its impact on our national identity and morality.

This is Wikipedia’s definition of a humanitarian crisis aka humanitarian disaster:
“A humanitarian crisis is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well being of a community or large group of people.”

For World Vision International’s description of a humanitarian disaster as well as the assessment, relief and post-relief management necessary in the aftermath of a wide spread humanitarian crisis visit this link:
https://www.wvi.org/disaster-management/what-humanitarian-disaster

Definitions aside, a humanitarian disaster calls on the unaffected human community to provide relief. We’ve witnessed numerous humanitarian disasters in our lifetime. There were natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tidal waves, etc. Earlier yet, there was the nuclear nightmare in Chernobyl and a nuclear, close call in Japan. There were oil spills that threatened the natural environment. There were political and economic disasters which forced people to flee for their lives.

In each of these cases, the human community – most often, under the leadership of the United States – responded. We responded with compassion. We fed the hungry and provided temporary shelters for the displaced. We provided medical assistance. We provided scientific expertise. Long story short, with wisdom and foresight, we protected the world and saved lives. America’s humanitarian efforts and compassion earned worldwide recognition. We positioned ourselves as the world’s moral authority.

Fast forward to today, the President of the United States speaks of the humanitarian disaster in South America. He acknowledges it. Presumably, the President understands what a humanitarian crisis is.

Unless you’ve been a victim of a large scale disaster, it may be difficult for an individual to relate to the concept of a humanitarian disaster. After all, the moment we speak of “humanity”, “people”, etc. we start stereotyping, in other words: the picture gets fuzzy.

Let’s take the humanitarian disaster down a notch. Imagine that a person is drowning and screaming “Help!” right in front of you. What would YOU do, if someone who is drowning called on YOU for help? You’d jump into the water to save the fellow human being or, at the very least, called 911, right? You’d surely try to render aid to someone who is having a heart attack and call the police if you see someone being robbed or raped.

We donate to children hospitals in the belief that every child deserves medical care regardless of parental income. We are passionate about helping survivors of abuse whether they are human or not.

Would it occur to you to build a WALL to separate yourself from the victims?….

Shockingly, that’s exactly what the President of the United States is doing in response to the humanitarian crisis in South America. He isn’t mounting a disaster relief effort, but constructing a wall! That’s a call to turn our backs on victims of a humanitarian disaster. We are encouraged not only to ignore the victims and their on-going plight, but to erect a wall so we’re not bothered by their pleas for help… The relatively few who made their way in and applied for asylum in our country were separated from their children and many of these children appear to be lost in our “system” while some of the parents have already been deported.

One has to wonder about the idea of the wall. The very idea goes against, not only the founding principles of the United States of America, but against ethic, good conscience and basic human decency.

Make no mistake, the wall isn’t a part of a comprehensive border security and no, we are not being attacked by an enemy who threatens our safety, prosperity or freedom. These are families fleeing for their lives. We didn’t conquer the threat of a looming AIDS epidemic by building a wall because it wouldn’t have stopped the onslaught of the disease. We developed effective solutions that helped – and are still helping – people survive a disease that wasn’t survivable before. A wall is not a substitute for an effective solution to a problem, be it AIDS or a humanitarian disaster.

Don’t allow politics or politicians strip you of your humanity, nationality, tradition and morals.

It is normal to want to end suffering and bring relief to the hurting. It is NOT normal to duck the responsibility of being human. Click To Tweet

(Anthony Bourdain used to travel the world to share a meal with people in different countries. It was first after Bourdain’s untimely death that I fully understood the value of his TV series “Parts Unknown”. As trivial as sharing a meal may appear, the act of sharing a meal bridges differences, puts a face on someone we’ve seen as a “stranger” or “the other”, emphasizes the things we all have in common and helps us realize that we have more in common than we thought.)

There are no “caravans” (of greedy merchants, criminals or terrorists) approaching our southern border, but persecuted families. The refugees don’t pose a threat to you or your family. They won’t take your job. (They’re not qualified for it and don’t speak English.) They recognize our strength and respect our country that’s why they’re asking for our help. They aren’t asking for a house, car, etc. They trust us with their lives. They aren’t here for handouts, but a chance to survive. (A house and a car are up to their performance down the road, years from now.)

We have already stolen and / or traumatized children of the refugees who were allowed entry; we released qualified asylum-seekers into the cold in the middle of the night with no food, no money or a place to go. Now, the President is erecting a wall to isolate us from the refugees’ misery. Will a wall absolve our national conscience for betraying the values it always stood for?

I’m not arguing politics: there were great presidents who were Republicans and great presidents who were Democrats. I’m arguing the ethic of the wall.

A policy that seeks to corrupt our national and individual morality undermines our identity as a nation.

Humanitarian disasters and human suffering aren’t contagious. Callousness might be, just think of Nazi Germany.

Don’t allow the President’s political expediency to deprive you of common sense. The day we’ll need to put cotton in our ears to muffle the sound of cries for help, we’ll seize being human.