HW 22 - Illness & Dying Book Part 1

Assigned Book:  Mountains Over Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Year Published: 2003


Thought-Provoking Quotes: (Gems)
     "The world is full of miserable places.  One way of living comfortably is not to think about them or, when you do, to send money" (Kidder 8).
            Response: This concept or rather, a way of pushing the hardships of other countries to the back of our minds is selfish.  We'd like to think that money will make everything better but, while we sit in our comfy chairs and sip some wine, miserable places won't be freed of famine.  However, the money offered as a helping hand embodies a good intent but, in reality how many pieces of paper that hold no intrinsic value keep a third-world country stable?
     "In Haiti, Farmer told me...25 percent of the Haitians die before they reach forty. 'It's because there's a near famine there'" (Kidder 25).
            Response:  Even the greatest and the most prodigious amounts of medicines cannot conquer famine.  Farmer's two hands can only heal a number a people.
     "In 1987, the army's paramilitaries had massacred scores of voters at polling places, aborting what would have been the first democratic elections in Haiti's history" (Kidder 105).
            Paraphrase: Though efforts have been made to improve Haiti, reform isn't imminent.

Precis: (Pages 25-40)
       Farmer is the essence of miracles, becoming nearly a god to the people of Haiti.  Haitians hold a sort of faith in Farmer, however, Farmer cannot allow himself to acknowledge himself the way the Haitian community does because of the extent to which his medical skills and resources can uphold.  The world's problems cannot be fixed without cost to the abbetor.

Thoughts:
       It's not far off to say that I am extremely ignorant of the hardships of Third-World countries.  In the back of my mind, I'd like to think I could help or offer a helping hand but, there's only so many things a 16 year old, without an income or a job of her own, can do.  Farmer who is ambivalent about selling his services to places who cannot afford them, sacrifices his time to devote his life to healing the poor in Haiti.  This is without a doubt a difficult task to live up to, one that I don't think I could ever be capable of taking up.  Admittedly, I am selfish, I take many things for granted, and when an ad on the television comes on about helping Haiti children, there are times I turn away, guilty.  What can this rectangular piece of green paper do for a Haitian family?  Can my pathetic attempt to help reach across the seas?  Farmer embraces the death but, also medicines that can help to conquer AIDs, gangrene, and TB.  I, on the other hand, cannot embrace the consequences of death and for that, I am unable to feel the pride in helping a Third World country.  To make myself feel less guilty, I tell myself, "Currency with no intrinsic value or the most effective medicines cannot always save or rescue a person from the hands of death."  In writing out my thoughts, I feel as if I have come to grips with how I attempt to push away my own guilty conscience.