i thought i might add this quote, which is taken from donald wood's book biko.
"there exists amongst men, because they are men, a solidarity through which each shares responsibility for every injustice and every wrong committed in the world and especially for crimes that are committed in his presence or of which he cannot be ignorant. if i do not do whatever i can to prevent them, i am an accomplice in them. if i have not risked my life in order to prevent the murder of other men, if i have stood silent, i feel guilty in a sense that cannot in any adequate fashion be understood juridically or politically or morally...that i am still alive after such things have been done weighs on me as a guilt that cannot be expiated.
"somwhere in the heart of human relations, an absolute command imposes itself; in case of criminal attack or of living conditions that threaten physical being, accept life for all together or not at all."
donald is of course talking about apartheid in south africa and the call for all people (white, black and other) to not just talk about the evils of the separate state, but to act as well. and the words are actually attributed to karl jaspers. but i thought these words really summarized my feelings and are a great answer to the question people often ask of me and chris, "why go to africa?"
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