Did anyone read the June 2009 issue?
There is an article about food scarcity beginning on page 26. As usual, there is a photo of a skeletal infant Ethiopian crying his eyes out from hunger but there are no tears because he is so dehydrated.
I walk into the kitchen this morning and Marin is sitting at the table with the magazine open to the photo I just described.
She asked me "Daddy, what is this?"
I said "Marin, do you know that family?"
Marin "No"
Me "Do you know what that photo is?"
Marin "It's not fair and it is scaring me"
Me "Do you know what it is?"
Marin "It's an Africa baby who doesn't have food. It's not fair. He's sad because his belly is hungry. His face is scaring me. I don't want to be hungry again."
It's conversations like this that send so many thoughts whirling through my head - like
1. Why don't we just sell everything and move to Ethiopia and devote ourselves to helping there?
2. Why don't the environmentalists give up their wacky 'corn for fuel' mirage and send some food overseas instead?
3. How can I make sure my kids excel in fields like science or medicine that can help some of these poor people?
4. How can a six year old engage in deep conversations as often as Marin does? What other ghosts does she carry?
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2 comments:
Oh my God. My. God. This is so important that you experienced and wrote about it. Thank you. In fact I'm loving all your posts.
It is hitting my "highlight real" and I expect it will stay there for some time.
Leo,
Just checked in and read what I've missed. This has hit me nearly every day since school let out. Why are we so lucky and Ethiopia got the sharp end of the stick???
~Beth
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