[REBORN FROM THE ASHES][comment][02.15]

splendidsunUID: 2723757

关于REBORN FROM THE ASHES组COMMENTS活动的说明&汇总
https://bbs.gter.net/thread-1042733-1-2.html

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新年的第一篇，先给大家拜个年吧！

祝愿大家在今年的6G中都能够取得理想的成绩~

也是第一次发Comment，大家先看看吧，有什么意见直接提哈~

Doing Good Badly
By NANCY GIBBS
Cynicism is among our most punctual instincts. Within days of the earthquake in Haiti, there came warnings of impending compassion fatigue, wagers of how long it would be before we turned away to the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the Oscars, leaving Haiti to misery.

But I don't believe people get tired of helping--only that they get tired of feeling helpless. The challenge arises when we witness what health crusader Paul Farmer calls "stupid deaths": death in childbirth, death by mosquito, death, in the case of Haiti, from infections that spread when crushed limbs aren't amputated fast enough. Help never arrives fast enough because no two disasters are alike and chaos is an agile enemy. So I wondered how we would feel, after texting our $10 donations to the Red Cross and writing checks to Save the Children, still coming home night after night to the growing mass grave on our flat-screens.

Epic disasters inspire dreams of glory. "Everyone wants to be a hero. Everyone wants to help," Dr. Thomas Kirsch, a co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, told MSNBC. "It's not the way to do it." A team from his school arrived in Haiti so unprepared, its members needed rescue themselves. "They had no bedding, supplies or food," he said, and they had to rely on other relief agencies for support.

Desperation deforms judgment, and not just among victims. Thus we meet missionary Laura Silsby and her flock, who in the face of so much suffering set out from Boise, Idaho, with a trailer full of children's clothes and a vow to help Haiti's orphans "find healing, hope, joy and new life in Christ." "Our hearts were in the right place," she insisted, but her head was somewhere else entirely, and they all wound up in jail. We know a bit more now about her regard for the niceties of law and protocol: unpaid debts, civil lawsuits, a house in foreclosure and an improvised mission to scoop up a load of children and head to the border without so much as a license or even confirmation that they were all orphans.

We also know that the families she encountered were desperate to survive. Parents were told their children would be cared for and schooled in the Dominican Republic; the families could even visit. "If someone offers to take my children to a paradise," a mother told the New York Times, "am I supposed to say no?" Silsby was warned by local officials about obtaining proper papers, and by that mark alone, her behavior was criminal. But it was also criminally naive.

One's duty in the face of disaster is not just to be kind but to be sensible. When a soldier, however brave, runs into enemy fire without a plan or shield, his death isn't just a loss; it's a waste. The same is true of all those who want to help but wind up getting in the way, a distraction neither the victims nor the professionals can afford. Chances are that if the 82nd Airborne can't get food to the tent city fast enough, your food bank can't either. On its website, Samaritan's Purse asks aspiring volunteers to "please be patient and we will get back to you."

Then there is the help that is no help at all. After the 2004 tsunami, aid poured in from all over the world. But it included tons of outdated or unneeded medicines that Indonesian officials had to throw out. People sent Viagra and Santa suits, high-heeled shoes and evening gowns. A year later, after an earthquake in Pakistan, so much unusable clothing arrived that people burned it to stay warm. It may make us feel good to put together children's care packages with cards and teddy bears--but whose needs are we trying to meet?

Money is fleet and nimble. The very thing that makes it unsatisfying to give makes it powerful to deploy. It can turn into anything--a water bottle, a prefab house, a tetanus shot, a biscuit. It lets relief agencies buy locally whenever possible, supporting local markets for products that are culturally and environmentally right. In the past decade, accountability has become a watchword of relief agencies around the world, with new guidelines to help donors know that their aid won't be wasted. Give money, Presidents Bush and Clinton implore, and by implication, leave the rest to professionals.

If you can't feed a hundred people, Mother Teresa used to say, then feed just one. There are slow-motion disasters everywhere. The Red Cross is doing heroic work in Haiti, but it is also doing it around the corner, when a house burns down. It may not feel glorious, but often the greatest good is accomplished quietly, invisibly. The choice is not either-or. We can give globally and help locally. Either way, the same principle holds in helping as in healing: First, do no harm.

原文地址：http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1963749-2,00.html

123runfordreamUID: 2697608

Comment:
As Confucius said, do not do to others what you don’t want to be done to you. At first, I thought it says don’t give people the things you don’t like anymore, such the old clothing from your sister as donation to you. Then it turns out to wrong. It is saying like some people donate their useless things to others while they don’t need them either. It is not kind as we usually conclude. This article discusses the help people who suffer really need, while we helper fail to give to. We need to think these over, which are we seriously what to help or just enjoy the charity show? It is safe to say that we are encouraged when the disaster happens and people come all over the world trying to help. But, when the help causes another trouble, almost disaster, it is not good for anyone. Let us say, when you are freaking clod but not hungry, what would you think while you receive a hamburger but not a jack? To some extent, it is a waste.

splendidsunUID: 2723757

2-15
Comment
This passage reminds me of our reactions to the disasters including earthquake and flood. People always donate their clothes and life necessities to express their compassions. However, sometimes the clothes might have no use to the people suffered the disasters. Although we could not doubt the kindness of the donor, their behavior has turned out to be a waste. As said in this article, money is nimble. The government or some organizations could turn the money into some useful things that are needed in each area and make a reasonable distribution. However, nowadays more and more people have doubt to the government or organizations whether they could spend the money in a proper manner and assistance is available to all people who need it.

Cynicism  犬儒主义
compassion fatigue同情心疲劳
missionary 传教士
civil lawsuits民事诉讼
wound up 紧张，兴奋
scoop up 用铲子取
watchword口号，标语

prettywraithUID: 197049

Comments (2010-02-15):
It is a rush time after disasters have befallen in the somewhere. People with sympathy begin to pay more attention on helping the victims, while volunteers, donation, The Red Cross and relief agencies pour into the disaster area. "How do good well?" The author reminds us. On the one hand, he shows us some failed examples of helping victims. I am astonished that someone have donated Viagra and Santa suits to victims. Perhaps, this is an extreme example to illustrate someone how do good badly. On the other hand, he teaches us how to deal with this situation in future. I concede author's assertion that you donate the money and leave the rest to professionals, if you want to do some helps for victims. Certainly, if you have some basic knowledge and ensure you can do some helps, you could apply work for some relief agencies with permit. At least, people should not make some trouble to help victims or delay others to save victims' life.

Wrong Spelling：
sympathy  sympanthy
volunteer  voluteer
agency   angency

kulewy531UID: 2603031

占楼！ 大家新年快乐！