Well, I just watched Hotel Rwanda. Those of us who where lucky enough to be born in priviledged circumstances will probably never know the terror that is experienced every day by millions of people around the world..... sometimes I wonder why it is that the violent people seem to outnumber the rest, but today it suddenly came clear to me.... the good, honest, gentle people have no defense against guns, machetes, mines, grenades. They are in short supply because they are the ones caught in the crossfire. Those who are most deserving of life are the ones who are most easily destroyed. Sometimes when I think about the terrible things that happen that it all seems so hopeless, trying to make things better.
One scene that particularly affected me was when all the foreigners were evacuated from rwanda. White missionaries clung to rwandan children who screamed and cried as their caregivers where pulled away and put on a bus. It reminded me of the day I left the Dixville orphanage, and passed a crying five year old to an adult as we were ushered onto a bus thronged with children and driven away. I felt so helpless. I felt like I was abandoning these kids and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. How much worse would it have been with gunshots in the distance, men waving semi-automatic rifles in your face and the almost certain likelihood that every one of those children would be viciously killed by machetes upon your departure.
I can't imagine. It's easy to feel helpless when you're in Canada, with your running water and the cop shop down the street. All you do is turn on the tv and watch some cheezy romantic comedy and fantasize about your white picket fence happily ever after ending. But what if you had to look those people in the eye in the hour of their greatest suffering, or their deepest terror..... all of a sudden your personal comfort becomes less of a priority.
I was in africa, but now I'm not. I've been watching movies all day, with the exception of a trip to the supermarket (where I bought all the food I wanted) and a jaunt in the dog park (where canadian dogs are more priviledged than most of the world's children). I feel helpless today but it doesn't matter because I've got digital cable tv with all the movie central channels.
A good friend of mine has just left Liberia and is now living in a refugee camp in ghana. He is surrounded by disease and violence and filth, and there's nothing I can do but pray for his safety and his paperwork to go swiftly so he can come to Canada. Then I will pray that he never becomes as complacent as I am.
Today I also watched the Bourne Supremacy, The Prince and Me, Hero and Big Fish. Of these, I liked Big Fish the best.
One scene that particularly affected me was when all the foreigners were evacuated from rwanda. White missionaries clung to rwandan children who screamed and cried as their caregivers where pulled away and put on a bus. It reminded me of the day I left the Dixville orphanage, and passed a crying five year old to an adult as we were ushered onto a bus thronged with children and driven away. I felt so helpless. I felt like I was abandoning these kids and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. How much worse would it have been with gunshots in the distance, men waving semi-automatic rifles in your face and the almost certain likelihood that every one of those children would be viciously killed by machetes upon your departure.
I can't imagine. It's easy to feel helpless when you're in Canada, with your running water and the cop shop down the street. All you do is turn on the tv and watch some cheezy romantic comedy and fantasize about your white picket fence happily ever after ending. But what if you had to look those people in the eye in the hour of their greatest suffering, or their deepest terror..... all of a sudden your personal comfort becomes less of a priority.
I was in africa, but now I'm not. I've been watching movies all day, with the exception of a trip to the supermarket (where I bought all the food I wanted) and a jaunt in the dog park (where canadian dogs are more priviledged than most of the world's children). I feel helpless today but it doesn't matter because I've got digital cable tv with all the movie central channels.
A good friend of mine has just left Liberia and is now living in a refugee camp in ghana. He is surrounded by disease and violence and filth, and there's nothing I can do but pray for his safety and his paperwork to go swiftly so he can come to Canada. Then I will pray that he never becomes as complacent as I am.
Today I also watched the Bourne Supremacy, The Prince and Me, Hero and Big Fish. Of these, I liked Big Fish the best.
