Now try picturing that same child walking hundreds of miles of arid landscape across a country enmeshed in a civil war. There are no adults anywhere nearby, food and water are scarce, menacing soldiers with automatic weapons routinely appear. Many of those soldiers are just a few years older than the child you know.
Sadly, the story of Valentino Achak Deng - masterfully rendered by Dave Eggers in What Is the What (2006) - is far from unique. Seven-year-old refugees across the globe face circumstances like Deng's nearly every day. In lieu of recommending this disturbing and important book, let me instead pose a question to readers of my blog, many of whom I know to be responsible and humane citizens of the world.
Doesn't each of us have a moral obligation to at least expose ourselves to stories like Deng's, no matter the discomfort that exposure creates in us?
Yes I agree that it’s important to be exposed to these stories because it helps us see and empathize with the humanity in these individuals. It’s hard to lump people together in an amorphous group when u know what they have been through as individuals.
ReplyDeleteYes--a million times over. I wish I could read books like Egger's but I'm too weak, especially when it involves children.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree Uncle Pat. I have been trying to get one of my book clubs to read hard things (I recently suggested Poverty, by America by Desmond but it was not chosen). I have already started giving books to Meghan; several years ago she read When Stars Are Scattered by Jamieson and Mohamed and this was eye opening for sure.
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