November 10, 2008

I watched a boy die once.

He was Dominican, no more than 10 years old with dark hair and piercing dark eyes. To be honest, I don’t remember his name, and I can’t remember his face except for those dark eyes. Those eyes once must have been full of life, but now stared back at me in agony, lifeless and defeated by the battle against HIV/AIDS.

It was by chance that I met him, this boy whose childhood was being stolen from him right in front of my eyes.

It was by chance that I met him, this boy whose childhood was being stolen from him right in front of my eyes. I was with a team of missionaries in the Dominican Republic walking through one of the poorest villages when his mother came to us asking for prayer. “Ruegen para mi hijo por favor,” she said, “Pray for my son.”

We did as she asked, praying for him and singing songs in broken Spanish as tears flowed down our faces and words remained choked in our throats. As we left the humble house, his mother hugged each of us smiling a teary smile.

We learned later that night that the boy died peacefully soon after we left his house. The next day, we went back to pay our respects and said goodbye as his body laid in a simple, yet amazingly graceful, ivory-colored coffin.

I cried.

Why did this boy have to die? He was only 10!

Why did this boy have to die? He was only 10! He had his whole life ahead of him! And it wasn’t his fault!

I wanted to be angry, and I was.

Growing up, I had two parents who loved me unconditionally with enough food on the table and enough resources to live comfortably. Hunger meant that my favorite snacks were not in the cupboard, and I decided not to eat the fruits and vegetables that filled our refrigerator. Being cold meant turning up the thermostat or putting on one of the many sweaters that hung in my closet. Feeling ill meant getting in the car and driving to the hospital or the doctor’s office.

Unfortunately, every day people are stripped of basic human dignity, what we believe to be the very image of God in each human being. In turn, they are denied the building blocks of human dignity: the basic human rights with which many of us are blessed. These are simple things like food, water, shelter, and clothing. The sad reality is that more than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million of them being children, according to the United Nations Millennium Project.

What if that is your child? Your sister? Your mother? Your grandchild? Your friend?

Today, I sit at my desk at the United Nations Office of the General Board of Church & Society almost a decade removed from my Dominican Republic experience. That boy’s eyes still haunt me. They serve as a constant reminder that human rights abuses do affect everyone. Even if we do not know the definition of “extra-judicial killings” or if we cannot use the official U.N. jargon, we are able to acknowledge that human rights violations do exist.

They serve as a constant reminder that human rights abuses do affect everyone.

As we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, let us be mindful of such atrocities. I encourage all of us as United Methodists to remember that someone somewhere is dying needlessly. Someone somewhere is dying, and it does not have to be so.

Let us together remember in our hearts and in our prayers those victims of human rights violations and continue to work to ensure that their voices are heard; even better, let us continue to work to create a platform for their voices to be heard. No one should be denied human rights, and we can make it possible for this to be so.

United Nations and International Affairs Advocacy Network

The United Nations Office of the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) sponsors the Isaiah Circle as part of its United Nations and International Affairs Advocacy. Members of the Isaiah Circle are part of a global network of United Methodists who care about peace with justice among nations and peoples. The Isaiah Circle works through the United Nations, regional, and international institutions to help make such peace a reality.

The Isaiah Circle draws its inspiration from Isaiah 2:4:

And [God] will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Being a partner in this ministry is free. The Isaiah Circle newsletter, U.N. Perspectives, relates information and opportunities regarding GBCS’s United Nations and international affairs ministry, especially as they relate to issues and concerns that our denomination is working to address.

You can help us by indentifying issues you are most interested in receiving updates and information by going to UNNetworkForm.

A network cannot exist without the support of committed individuals. Direct any questions or concerns to Joseph Kim, (212) 682-3633.