Madam, – Pain is one of the few things that is always in plentiful supply, even in a recession. John Stewart, Co-ordinator of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, has sought to remind us to take care of our own poor during these difficult times(October 12th). Charity may indeed begin at home, but it certainly doesn’t end there.
As Mr Stewart acknowledges, as a nation, per capita we have been among the biggest donors to the Third World. This is a measure of our humanity and a testament to the fact that we care about our fellow human beings.
While it is essential that we take care of the poor in Ireland, it is not an either or situation. Need, extreme poverty, and hunger are no respecters of borders. But the there is a far greater risk of dying from poverty-related causes in the Third World than in the West.
We must, of course, take care of our own, but we must not forget those who depend on us and who have been forgotten by the rest of the world. Mr Stewart suggests that our own Famine experience makes us especially sensitive to the plight of others.
This impulse has been a lifeline for many in the Third World who would no longer be with us were it not for the big hearts and innate decency of Irish people. In the teeth of the worst economic downturn in history is not the time to suspend this caring reflex.
When millions were starving in our own country, it was not the governments of the rich and powerful who came to our assistance. Yet the impoverished Choctaw Indians on hearing of our plight sent us $710 to ease the suffering in 1847.
The capacity of the Irish people to care is probably the most precious attribute we possess. – Yours, etc,