something good

These days, it seems that we spend our time dwelling on the tragedies in life. Or at least, the media does. There is a general pessimism that affects us subconsciously, and we turn on the news expecting to hear something unfortunate. There is so much war, disease, and poverty in the world: is it possible to talk of anything else? A little Iraqi girl, her mother, and Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines offer us a much happier topic.

The Marine Reserve Unit, on their second tour in Iraq, regularly interacts with the local people. During these interactions, Major Kevin Jarrard came across a sick little girl named Amina, desperately in need of open-heart surgery. She was diagnosed with “Tetralogy of Fallot,” a condition of the heart that causes oxygenated and unoxygenated blood to mix and go into the wrong places. Little Amina could not exert herself without her extremities becoming blue from lack of oxygen, and her condition was very bad by the time Major Jarrard found her. He took an immediate interest in her predicament, formulating a plan to raise funds for the complicated process of extracting the little girl and her mother from Iraq and taking them to the Monroe Carell, Jr., Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt for surgery.

The battalion succeeded in raising 27,000 dollars for Amina. By the time she arrived at the hospital on January 24th, her medical problems were even worse. Her surgery was quickly scheduled for February 11th, and, God be praised, the procedure went extremely well. She and her mother expect to be able to return home as soon as March 4th.

There was no wasted time on diplomacy. Someone simply saw a person in need and ran for help (or in this case, fundraised). Sometimes we forget that showing a little mercy can have a big impact, even if very few people ever hear about it. Amina’s story received some local news coverage, but on the large scale, its kind is overshadowed by the latest shootings, acts of terrorism, sexual molestation cases, and random absurdities.

The media does not inform us of what is going on in the world in a purely objective manner. While evil is undeniably around us, good exists in a much more powerful and visible way than the media conveys. It is our job to glean information from the various sources provided us without letting them chip away at our optimism for life and respect for people. We should stay informed about both good and bad, so that when an opportunity to give to a cause like Amina’s comes along, our money and admiration are ready and waiting. At http://operationamina.blogspot.com, Amina’s entire story is available and her progress is continually updated.

While it takes bravery and leadership to fight in a war, human kindness is a necessary component in every situation. It is that sort of compassion that will rebuild Iraq, one life at a time. And it is that sort of compassion of which we hear so little.

Don’t you feel like breathing a sigh of relief? There are good things going on in the world.

March 4, 2008
(article for The Review, Laurel, MS, newspaper)