Search This Blog

Friday, December 18, 2009

If I do nothing, nothing will change: Dr. Orbinski

A few days ago, I was at a dental office, taking my child there for treatment. While waiting there, I picked up a magazine and read an excellent article. I copied down the name of the character featured in the article, and came home, searched the internet and found the on-line version of the same article I read, and a quote contained in this article which moved my heart. The character featured in this article is Dr. James Orbinski.

At the end of the 9th paragraph of the above linked article is the quote, a message for us all (my note: in the magazine, this quote is shown in a very big & blue-colored font whereas in the on-line version it has to be looked carefully):
I can’t know if anything that I do will change what happens tomorrow. I can’t know with certainty, but what I do know is if I do nothing, nothing will change.
Unlike most doctors who simply work for personal profits, and unlike the WHO that puts politics above its missions (i.e. promoted the fake meaningful participation without membership for Taiwan but secretly signed MOU with China to adopt the policy of apartheid against Taiwanese), Dr. James Orbinski is a humanitarian doctor who has served in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. He was the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) from 1998 to 2001, and accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on the organization’s behalf in 1999.

Over the past quarter-century, Dr. Orbinski has worked in places such as Somalia during the famine and civil war; in the refugee camps in Jalalabad, Afghanistan; and at the Kosovo Macedonia border during the NATO bombings in 1999.

His quote, so simple yet so profound, deserves our special mention at this holiday season in today’s lack-of-humanitarianism world among political leaders and health professionals, and it also serves as an encouragement to the people of Taiwan who aren’t taking any actions or participating in activities that may direct the destiny of their country, such as the upcoming demonstration in Taichung.

And for me, although I’d prefer spending more time with my family, but if I don’t blog, some truth will simply be covered-up by some mainstream media’s China-friendly propaganda. "If I do nothing, nothing will change" is a precious lesson for us all.

No comments:

Post a Comment