Fools Rush In

So the Bosnian War. Why are we so ignorant of the dynamics of post-communist countries? Well, there's the obvious answer of censorship... but I think it is more often a situation of wilfull ignorance. We choose to be uninvolved, detached from the suffering of people. That's probably just a form of self-preservation. There is an intense and troubling helplesness that can take hold of someone who is viewing large-scale human rights violations or crises. I mean, what can we really do?

So I read this book (Fools Rush In) by Bill Carter. He's the guy who made the documentary "Miss Sarajevo" - for a reference point. Most of us have heard of that. Anyway, he weaves this story of his own journey into Bosnia, his quasi-humanitarian work, his personal journey & demons... it's well done.

I'll quote from it when I get the book back tomorrow.
But the real question for today is: what can be done? What is our moral/personal/national responsibility? How can we help people (like the Sudanese or North Koreans) without it simply being self-gratifying (but ineffective). I mean, the UN, the US Gov., and probably a great deal of humanitarian aid agencies really just slap a band-aid on the scalpel wound of human suffering. They ship in food but it doesn't get to the people (duh)... so we can at least say we're trying? We do "what we can" even though it's not working (and maybe hurting) because when we put our heads on our pillows at night we don't want to dream about the starving people of Kosovo, Russia, N. Korea, S. Africa, the Congo, Sudan, Tibet, Cuba, etc. Should our troubled minds be shut off? Should we try to drown our concern because "what can I do?" Obviously not. Well, effort isn't effectiveness and people need help. So, what then?

(CW sorry I haven't called you back).