I have been neglecting an issue in my blog that should be on all of our hearts and minds… it is the crisis in Syria and Turkey… Though workers from the U.S. and other countries–notably war-torn Ukraine–have been struggling to find any survivors of the earthquake, there is still a future mountain to climb: the care of the survivors who will need food, water, and shelter until their homes can be rebuilt. Some of these people have already been suffering since before the earthquake… and all of them need our help…
I have not been able to help in any big way, but just now I tried to donate some money to the UNCHR. It is a pittance according to what needs to be done, and moreover I don’t know if the money has gone through yet because it is Sunday. However, I recommend everyone give a portion to aid the victims of the recent crisis, no matter how small… Remember that in the Talmud it is said that to occasionally give a small amount than to give a huge some all at once… so if you can, give monthly… And keep the victims of disaster in your prayers.
Remember–if you are American–that although the disaster that befell Syria and Turkey in this recent disaster can hardly be blamed on the United States, it is true that the suffering of Syria until the earthquake had a lot to do with American interference with the region. We owe these people.
Remember also the words of John Donne,
No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
It is up to us to remember the peoples of Syria and Turkey.