They are not the first, and they won’t be the last. And the number of people daily killed in the numerous conflicts around the world has probably made us a bit deaf or indifferent to this kind of news. Myself included.
But my blood literally froze when I read that ten, or probably more, UN staff members were killed today after protesters assaulted a UN compound in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, in the North of Afghanistan. Two of the victims were cut their head off.
Several thoughts run through my mind: that these people most likely went there willing to help. That these people left their wives, sisters, parents home reassuring them that if there was any significant risk the UN would have not placed them there. That these people were probably thinking that being UN staff would have not made them targets.
That probably there is not much difference between them today and me one week ago…
(*) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12940014
(**) http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/mondo/2011/04/01/visualizza_new.html_1528410489.html
http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2011/04/01/news/onu_afghanistan-14371954/
ReplyDeletethe difference is one week...
ReplyDeletemai bruciare i libri....c'è proprio gente che non lo ha ancora capito!
ReplyDelete