I M P R E S S I O N S

The True Test 
of Our Compassion

“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbored them.”
— George W. Bush

“A humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions is unfolding in Afghanistan.”
— Stephanie Bunker, UN official 

“Even the cruel Americans must feel some pity for our ruined country.”
— Haji Hayatullah, Afghan refugee 

by Steven C. Day

When my first son was about a year old, he had to spend a night in the hospital. Nothing exotic; just a case of the flu. But as the vomiting continued, he gradually became dehydrated, growing more and more listless. As you might expect of older first time parents, we didn’t waste any time in seeking medical attention. The initial lab results indicated a fairly mild degree of dehydration. The doctor told us to give it a few more hours, but when things didn’t improve we were sent to the hospital.

It took the technician 10 pokes with the needle to establish the IV line. It was awful. My son was screaming and thrashing around, and it took four people to hold him down. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, this was just a bump in the road. With the IV in place they were able to start fluid replacement. By the next day we had our old son back.

In Afghanistan today, a similar story would likely have a different ending. Dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the Third World. It’s an old story. Inadequate public health systems and unsafe drinking water put children at risk of getting sick. When they then become dehydrated, skilled medical help and hydration agents are often unavailable. As a result, they die in horrific numbers.

Kids were, of course, dying in large numbers in Afghanistan, from this and other causes, long before the United States declared its intention to go to war against the Taliban. According to UNICEF, 309,000 children under age 5 die there every year. This is the fourth highest infant mortality rate in the world. And those kids who do manage to survive live in what to us is an unimaginable state of poverty and misery: two decades of war have destroyed the country’s infrastructure; hunger is rampant following three years of drought; land mines litter the countryside; only 17 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water; and adequate sanitation is almost nonexistent.

It’s hardly surprising that our military has concluded that Afghanistan is not “a target rich environment.” Anything worth bombing has pretty much already been bombed. Unfortunately, while harming the Taliban and the terrorists is proving difficult, harming the children of Afghanistan has been all too easy.

Afghanistan today is proof, if any is needed, that words can kill. The American response to the terrorist attacks left no doubt of our intention to wage war. And the only sure target mentioned by the president, other than bin Laden himself, was Afghanistan. While recent messages coming from the White House offer hope that a more measured response is actually in the works, the president’s initial statements were widely interpreted as foreshadowing a massive bombing campaign against Afghan cities.

The response was predictable: Hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians began flowing out of the cities (the United Nations predicts this number may grow to 1.5 million in the event of an actual American attack). Nations bordering Afghanistan, including Pakistan and Iran (already awash in 3.5 million Afghan refugees from previous exoduses), have closed their borders, leaving rapidly growing pools of humanity stranded along the borders. Meanwhile, international aid workers, who provided the only source of food and medicine for millions of people, have been pulled out of the country out of concern for their safety. The World Food Program believes that there is only enough food for about two weeks remaining in Afghanistan.

I have to wonder how parents in Afghanistan can stand it. Just imagine it: You have a little boy who is becoming dehydrated, but there is no doctor to call, no hospital to go to. You don’t even have food or clean water for him. You just have to watch, powerless, as he becomes more and more listless, until finally the little candle that provided the brightest light in your life goes dark. How could you go on living? How could you keep from being consumed by hate?

This isn’t the screenplay for a depressing movie or the backdrop to a political novel. This is life as it really exists in Afghanistan today. The question is, do we have the heart to change it.

It is true that important steps are already being taken to help the Afghan people. The United Nations has appealed for $584 million to help feed the millions of people thought to be at risk of starving (relief agencies now think the number needing food and shelter is close to 7.5 million). Many countries, including the United States, have made pledges. Actress Angelina Jolie has personally donated one million dollars. Progress is being made and some food is already on the ground. The logistical problems of trying to distribute it, however, are overwhelming.

But even if these problems can somehow be overcome, the current international aid package is at best a short-term Band-Aid, designed to get the Afghan people through the coming winter. A long-term solution will require a huge financial commitment from the United States, extending over many years. And more than money will probably be needed. By setting into motion a new wave of refugees, we have destabilized what little remained of the structure of Afghan society. A military attack, which now appears imminent, will surely finish it off. The type of massive humanitarian effort that will be needed in post-war Afghanistan will not be possible without some semblance of civil order. That will require troops, American troops, serving in harms way for some time to come. Do we have the heart to make these sacrifices?

Americans are justifiably proud of the compassion shown to the victims of the Sept. 11 atrocities. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised, a record-setting amount of blood was donated and volunteers have clocked thousands of hours — all of which is simply extraordinary. But if we are honest, we must admit that this has been an exceptionally easy situation in which to feel and show compassion. These are, after all, our countrymen. Compassion becomes more difficult when it involves the suffering of strangers, especially those we harbor grievances against. Perhaps the children of Afghanistan are our true test.

Enter the Pop Forum
Should the United States do more    
to help Afghanistan?

Related Sites
From the BBC, here is a map of refugee movements in Afghanistan. Mike Chinoy of CNN describes conditions in a refugee camp in Pakistan. Time magazine has published "The Famine The World Forgot," a photo essay about Afghanistan’s refugees, caught between war and natural disaster.