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February 24, 2005
Symposium Question
Refugee Obligations
From the newly wedded Jeremy at Pacetown comes this weeks Homespun Symposium question. By way of background, Jeremy refers us to the Council of Sudanese Churches here in the U.S. and their efforts to aid those in Darfur.
What moral obligations, if any, do Sudanese emigrants, now in the United States, have to aid those who remain in Darfur?
The entire issue of "obligation" is something that we hear in the United States, too. It's usually portrayed somewhat differently, but the issue is the same; if a person works there way out of a poor neighborhood and achieves success, do they then have an obligation to "give something back" to that community from which they came?
The issue of "obligations" is all the same, whether it's about a person from Sudan or a person in the U.S.
I'm not really sure I have an answer here, so comments are most welcome.
Some say no, there is no obligation. The idea of "giving something back" implies that you took something, which is false. Since you didn't take anything, there is nothing to give back.
Others say that this is selfish. You should work to improve the lot of those who for whatever reason could not escape their country or neighborhood.
My initial inclination is to split the difference and say that you should, if you could, do something to aid those who are not as well off as you. We all have an obligation in this regard. Whether it is time or money is up to you, but I do believe that all of us should do something.
On the other hand, I'm wary of those who demand specific obligations from us. And indeed there is nothing to "give back" when, far from taking something in the first place, you escaped a bad neighborhood or country.
So I'll say that in general, yes, we do have an obligation to help those not as well off as us. But no, you have no specific obligations.
But I'm open to change so let me know what you think.
And lastly, I guess I'm assuming you're familiar with the situation in Sudan. If not, go to Jeremy's site, as he's got some good links.
Posted by Tom at February 24, 2005 9:00 AM
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