rant

i have a particular dislike for religious missionaries (or really anyone) going into certain countries (in this case, afghanistan) thinking that they can do more good than anyone else.

you might affect the life of one person, yes. you might provide that child with medicine to allow them to survive one more day in a world that will see it dead. you may be able to raise a standard of life for one day. but at what cost?

you become a liability that is greater than yourself and the number of individuals that you can possibly affect. you affect politics that will have negative consequences that touch hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands of individuals.

as a race, we are selfish. and there are few of us who are willing to help.

but for those of us who have that motivation to do good and actually put that energy into real action, let's not be so narrowly confined in how we help that we ignore the global picture.

23 south korean protestant missionaries were kidnapped by the taliban. they were mostly nurses and teachers, and i imagine they believed they could touch a few lives here and there, and leave with the warm fuzzies that we all seek from a good work. but at what cost?

they've now put the south korean government in a position to negotiate. while south korea already had plans to withdraw its troops by the end of the year, now it must consider a more expensive and perhas dangerous withdrawal. the taliban has insisted that the agfhanistan government release as many taliban prisoners as there are hostages.

these 23 individuals, with all the positive motivation in the world, have directly compromised two governments. these two governments, in addition, are part of a global balance of power. their actions will affect the actions and reactions of others.

there are times when one must accept that some situations, people, and places aren't ready when we are. we must be patient and apply our good intentions to those that are ready and waiting for us to act. how many countries out there are politically and mentally prepared for the good work of these 23 south korean nurses and teachers? just one would have been enough.

finally, if one is going to be so naive as to believe they can create real change in afghanistan, let's at least think rationally:
* provide security. god is great, but so are private security forces (see: private military company)

*don't bring women without cultural considerations. this is a religious group who installed the strictest form of islam in the country, banning even foreign females from driving vehicles. you are going to bring unveiled foreign women to perform their profession into afghanistan?

/rant

sources: al jazeera, taliban extends hostages deadlines; new york times, taliban said to extend hostage deadline