With the civil war having been over since five years ago, Sierra Leone's amputees were hoping to receive the help and care they needed. They were hoping to receive the compensations from the government they had been promised. They were waiting for the aid from the international health organisations. But this has not been the case. With the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, the government and the international community has forgotten about them. They have been told to take care of themselves.
With unemployment being one of the highest in the world, and health care being so disastrous, Sierra Leone's population is suffering. Many amputees never received the cares they needed in order to sure their wounds. But most of the time, though their physical wounds have cured, their psychological ones are still gaping open. Many children were targeted and are will now be victims of the harsh demands for labor and the lack of understanding for disabilities.
These amputees need help, they need to receive care for their wounds, prosthetics so as to give them an opportunity of finding work. They need support and motivation, they need the international community to react and give them hope. But are we willing to stretch out our hands to them? Are we willing to give them another chance?
9 comments:
THEY ABSOLUTLEY DO NOT need the
"international community" to reach out a hand! that's the whole point of ending a civil conflict, so that states can heal and take care of their own. This is the perfect example of something that international do-gooders should leave to Sierra Leone. The international community should step in when there's no hope of relief from within, when there are serious human rights violations going on and the like. NOT everytime a country stumbles over providing ideal health care! Maybe that's harsh and demanding...but guess what? Running a country is a harsh and demanding task. Get going.
I agree with Scott that it is the responsibility of the government of Sierra Leone to take care its own people in a time of need such as this. Foreign aid is not always the answer, but seems to be the first place people look to for help. If foreign aid were given, the money would most likely not even reach those it is intended to help. This is a crucial test for the government of Sierra Leone to see if it has the capability to provide basic needs for its citizens, which is one of the indicators of a failed state. If the governement can provide what is necessary it will gain also help it to gain legitimacy and the trust of the peopel of Seirra Leone.
I also agree with Scott. Developed countries, or the international community, deal with health care issues of their own as well. The U.S., for example, can provide for and help a lot of people who do not have the money to pay for a wide array of health care services. However, many are left out and the U.S. federal budget is still facing a tremendous deficit. It is not the U.S.'s role to spend money on people suffering on the other side of the globe. This does sound harsh and I wish there was enough money to help all those who are suffering, but it is unfortunately not the case. Countries need to focus on their citizen's needs first and foremost. I hope Sierra Leone will be able to help as many of their citizens as they possibly can.
Wow, everybody seems to agree. Let's have a party. I DISAGREE. They're something in this world called compassion. Nobody asked governments to step up and do anything, and frankly, I expect very little from them anyways. However, there are organizations like the Red Cross that need to be notified of this in order to do something about it! The Red Cross receives money from people who expect it to do something. And just to quell some fears, the Red Cross doesn't just hand out money, and so the money will go to whoever needs it.
There was also a comment affirming that there isn’t a lot of money to go around. That’s totally wrong. There’s an enormous amount of money; it’s just being spent on other things, or not being spent at all. People have given huge amounts of money to the Red Cross after the Asian Tsunami. However, most of that money is just sitting in banks and serves no purpose. Here’s an article talking about that: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/02/ntsun02.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/02/ixhome.html.
Also, one person suggested we should test the Sierra Leonean government and see how they deal with the problem. My question is: How is that going to help? And so the local government fails to gain the trust of the people, is that really what we want to happen? Do we want to see another bloody revolution? I think we need to start using some common sense. People’s lives are not some joke or some game we can afford playing with. Something absolutely has to get done, and YES, it is the responsibility of international organizations to see to it.
Have some compassion, or at least fake it for heavens sake!
The link for the Red Cross article got cut off. Here it is again.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/02/ntsun02.xml
Just copy each of the lines to the address bar. Also, I hope my comment stirs some controversy and encourages a much needed debate.
As a response to Ash, I consider myself a compassionate person. When I see people suffering or chaos in the world, it truly upsets me. I lived my whole life in underdeveloped countries such as Haiti and Madagascar. I even lived in Serbia during the embargo. I clearly have seen a lot of misery and devastation around me.
Although I do not think it is the role of western governments to automatically help third world countries, I still think there are other resorts.
For example, for the amputees of Sierra Leone, I believe a good way to help is not just sending them prosthesis. Rather, people who know how to build prosthesis should be sent over to Sierra Leone and teach local individuals how to do that. This would benefit Sierra Leone and its people in the long term. I think education is key for everything, and teaching will always help more than just doing it for them. Once they are taught, if they need the actual supplies, it is another issue. Sending them medical supplies is acceptable since they are struggling economically.
Ash, don't you think that if the red cross money is sitting in bank accounts and not being used, it is just as useful as someone taking it and using it for personal gains? As long as the money isn't being spent for the right purpose, it is all the same to me.
Vanessa, you said in your initial posting that "it is not the U.S's (read developed countries or the international community) role to spend money on people suffering on the other side of the globe." Yet you believe that sending people over to Sierra Leone to teach people how to build prostheses is acceptable. Also, you indicate that medical supplies should be sent, on account of the fact that they are struggling economically. If I'm not mistaken, both human and physical resources that are involved in this process require money. I'm a bit confused, because these resources could definitely be used to help underprivileged American citizens.
The important questions at hand are:
What is the extent of responsibility (if any) that developed countries have towards developing countries in general?
Does the international community need to provide special help to countries when they are undergoing (Rwandan genocide) or are recovering from (Sierra Leone) severe forms of strife?
Like I said in my previous post, I don’t expect anything from governments. However, Vanessa, you said that “It is not the U.S.'s role to spend money on people suffering on the other side of the globe”. The question then is, where does the U.S spend most of its aid, because the U.S does give a lot of aid each year? And the answer is: Israel and Egypt. In 2006, Israel received $2,600,000,000 and Egypt received $1,796,200,000, and most of this is money for the military and not for humanitarian purposes. So after all, the government is not even following your recommendations that it keep the money for its needy people. The reason the U.S is giving so much money to Israel and Egypt is because they are strategic allies. It all comes down to politics once again. Sierra Leone is not a strategic ally, and probably will never be. Therefore, they will never be helped. But I reiterate, I never expect the U.S or any country for that matter, to help out. However, I do expect NGO’s to step in and I just can’t comprehend the idea advanced by Scott and Amazz that this should be a test to Sierra Leone. Therefore, NGO’s, GET GOING.
Here are the websites of U.S aid to Israel and Egypt: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/U.S._Assistance_to_Israel1.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/egyptaid.html
Wow, there has been a lot of debate about this issue, but no one has brought up the original issue which I though immediately upon reading this article.
"President Ahmed Tejan Kabba has publicly told the nation his government is overwhelmed by national priorities. He is therefore unable to address the individual needs of his people therefore they must begin to help themselves."
This is extremely ironic to me. The people ARE the national priority. How can the economy be bettered of the people have no hands and thus cannot work? How can new roads be built and other transportation networks if so many individuals are disabled? How can there be more elections if no one has hands with which they can vote? The horrible disabilities of those in Sierra Leone is ABSOLUTELY a "national priority." How can the country expect to develop without the active participation of its inhabitants. The statement from President Tejan Kabba is absurd. If other developed countries are actually committed to helping developed countries develop, then they will see that this is a serious issue. As iterated above, simply sending money may not be the answer. Perhaps aid in the form of services would be the answer.
Post a Comment