You Could Save
my Child

(Simone Campbell, a Sister of Social Service and NETWORK’s Executive Director, shared this reflection in the "Our Children, Our Future" 2007 Mar/Ap issue of NETWORK Connection; it is used with permission.)

“You could save my child,” offered an Iraqi mom in the pediatric oncology unit in Baghdad in December 2002, as I thanked her for allowing me to play with her little son, Hyder. This message, possibly even an accusation and certainly a plea, seared my soul. I was overwhelmed by this responsibility and my powerlessness in the face of our government’s refusal to let needed medicines enter Iraq during the period of sanctions. Since that day, I have been haunted by this anguished statement.

I have since heard this statement repeated over and over by mothers around the world. Mothers plead for their children everywhere -- in Sudan and Somalia, Bangladesh and Myanmar, Ecuador and Brazil, Spain and Russia. The world over, their plea is for their children’s survival and growth. This plea is not mirrored in most people with political power. In fact, leaders’ lexicons include “collateral damage” and “unintended consequences” that lead to the death or maiming of the next generation. Children, the hope of our species, are often lost in their parents’ struggles and our political leaders’ grand visions.

In the United States, like the rest of the world, the real health and other needs of children who are in middle class or working poor families often get lost in the political machinations of medical-industrial giants and politicians seeking re-election. Children’s education gets lost in standardized tests and teacher punishment. Children’s basic security gets undermined by poor housing and limited opportunities as parents struggle in low-wage jobs.

In the world’s richest country, it is a scandal that we are not investing in our future by responding to the needs of our own children and children around the world. Through investment in housing, healthcare and education, we can make a future of hope for these emerging global citizens. At NETWORK, we work daily for responsible policies in housing and healthcare and collaborate with others who advocate for quality education. With the advocacy of our members we attempt to partner for change -- creating a world focused on the common good.

It is not an easy slogan or a photo of a politician kissing a baby that will make a difference. No, we need to invest ourselves in the children around us. We need to give our hearts to the teens with the piercings or purple hair. We need to give our hearts to the crying baby on the bus or the loud children on the street. We need to give our hearts to children in church or at the neighborhood center. Risking a conversation is important for our long term growth. It builds relationships that are at the core of the reign of God. For, as we know, it is children who are at the heart of the mission of Jesus.

So I have come to know that the Iraqi woman was begging all of us to respond to the all too real needs of her child and of all children. Are we willing to walk this searing path of relationship, exercising responsibility wherever we can? If we are, then we will not need to shrink from the statement of reality: you could save my child.

Photo Acknowledgements
Top: Christian Peacemaker Team Members and children, thanks to CPT
Bottom: Mothers and children in Iraqi hospital, thanks to Brad van Guilder;
picture and quote combined by Hill Connections.