New understandings

A few days ago, I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, the sequel to The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini.

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Mr. Hosseini moved to the United States of America in 1980. He currently lives in California and is involved with the United Nations Refugee Agency. These two books, the first of which has recently been released in movie format, have actually helped many westerners to understand and appreciate the magnitude of the human rights challenges currently facing countless innocent Afghanis.

Whether it's Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, Darfur or Rwanda, the daily struggles of humanity to achieve the very basics of dignity often go unnoticed and the consequence is that many of our brothers and sisters suffer unjustly.

In contrast to this reality, many first-world citizens are surrounded with abundance, and for the most part, we are lucky enough to live in geographic locations which have never known the ravages of war. It seems almost unimaginable that while some of us are surrounded with such freedom, others struggle daily for the simplest of human dignities.

The challenges that face more than two thirds of the world's population are quite possibly present right under our noses, if only we have the eyes to see them ... if only we have the courage to challenge the injustices which are evident in our own milieux.