Obligation to help others knows no borders

Here is one of the essay questions for Peter Singer's Practical Ethics class this semester:

"After Hurricane Katrina, Americans gave generously to the people of New Orleans. They were less generous in 1998, when Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras, killing far more people than Hurricane Katrina. Is it right that we should give much more to the victims of natural disasters in our own country than to victims in other countries?"

Singer obviously intended for students to answer this question with a resounding "no." He would like us to think that it is wrong to give more to victims of natural disasters in our own country than to victims in other parts of the world. Undoubtedly, it is much easier to care about American victims — the media tells us their story more often, and when we look at the TV screen, Americans might appear to be much more like ourselves than the people in some far-off country. But most of us agree that these are not valid moral reasons to care more about American victims than other victims. Natural disasters take a horrific toll anywhere in the world, and human lives are valuable no matter where they are.

Trouble is, Princeton students are usually much better at writing great essays than at taking action in their own lives. Most students on campus would have no trouble at all going through the readings for Practical Ethics and finding good moral arguments to back their position that lives are worthwhile anywhere around the world, and hence, that we should give to victims wherever they might be. The question is, after you write that great ethics essay and earn an "A," do you take action?

The dilemma posed in Singer's question is upon the Princeton community today. As a community, we mobilized to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The effects of the hurricane were devastating, and we took action accordingly. Then, just last week, an awful earthquake hit South Asia. The death toll in Pakistan alone has reached 38,000. Today, we are indebted to assist those made homeless by the earthquake. They lack food and shelter and are facing terrible weather conditions that will only worsen as winter draws near. As many as 2 million are homeless due to the earthquake, and badly need our help.

So if you are reading this column on a quiet Wednesday morning, before you've had breakfast or lunch, I urge you to do something simple: don't eat today. Join the Muslim Student Association's annual Fast-A-Thon. All the proceeds will go toward relief work in Pakistan.

Muslims fast during the daylight hours for the entire month of Ramadan. The annual Fast-A-Thon collects donations for every non-Muslim in the Princeton community, whether student, faculty or staff, who agrees to join Muslims in fasting during the daylight hours of October 19 — today. At 6 p.m., the fasting Princetonians will gather in the Friend Center for a catered dinner to break the fast. Post-fast dinner is called Iftar, and promises both great food and great conversation. Last year, more than 190 non-Muslim Princetonians fasted and over $4,000 was raised for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. This year, all donations will be sent to aid victims of the earthquake in South Asia.

Fasting may seem difficult, but it's only for a few hours. Most Princeton students don't eat breakfast, so a Ramadan fast only means missing lunch. Fasting is also a great opportunity to reflect on how lucky we are to have all meals provided to us each day by dining halls and eating clubs. Never worried about where we will get our next meal, we can spend our days concentrating on intellectual endeavors, like writing those great essays for Singer's class. Most people in the world simply aren't so lucky. Fasting just until 6 p.m., you can help make a difference in the lives of the 2 million hungry and homeless victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. Karen Karniol-Tambour is a Wilson School major from Netanya, Israel. She is president of the Global Issues Forum. She can be reached at karenkt@princeton.edu. To participate in this year's Fast-a-Thon please visit: http://www.princeton.edu/~msa/fastathon/fastindex.html.