It's Time For Us All to Be Humanitarians

by Alanna Shaikh · 2009-08-19 10:11:00 UTC
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(The ruins of the Canal Hotel)

We are at a time of change and fear for the human race and all life on our planet. Climate change, globalization and its reversal, losses of biodiversity and the depletion of fossil fuels is making this world a very different place than it was ever thirty years ago. We don't know what our future will look like, and we don't know if it will be pretty.

If there was ever a time when we all need help, it is now. If there ever was a time when we all need to help, it is now.

Today is International Humanitarian Day. It marks the sixth anniversary of the Canal hotel bombing in Baghdad, and it honors the memories of all those who died trying to bring assistance to others and the efforts of those who are doing that work today. UN Diplomat Sergio de Mello died in the Canal hotel bombing. He bled to death, buried in rubble, and as emergency workers tried - and failed - to rescue him, this is what he said "Don't let them pull out the mission because of this."

Human beings, every single one of us, have the capacity to do great things. Just like Sergio de Mello, we can be powerfully unselfish and astonishingly brave. Aid workers aren't superhuman; they'll tell you that themselves. They're just regular people doing important and dangerous work.

Right now, there is important work for all of us. Dangerous work, even. There's a lot at risk. If we're going to survive this global transition and create a future that's healthy for everyone, we all need to be aid workers. We need to look at the world in a spirit of generosity and courage. We need to find that capacity we all hold to change the world for the better. Most of all, we need to stop simply discussing the problems in this world, and start taking action to solve them.

Alanna Shaikh
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