- Email: [email protected]
Is there a common conscience of humanity? Should there be one?
Editorial
Is there a common conscience of humanity? Should there be one?
e are proud to designate the century we are living in as the era of knowledge and information. It is true that humanity never previously experienced a time in its history when science and knowledge in general grew so fast and were so easily shared as in our current time. Mass media, now an instrument of national and international corporations, controls the agenda of public opinion, guiding and even regulating it in line with their own opinions. Institutions that would resist this inclination are unfortunately still not well developed or strong enough. One cannot help asking if we are not, after all, guided scientists of a guided public in an atmosphere of guided information? When the Afghan Academy of Sciences appealed to all the scientific academies and states of the world, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, conscious of our responsibility, sent 3 voluntary representatives to visit Afghanistan. During our 3-day stay, we witnessed things that were totally different from what we thought and believed to be true for Afghanistan. As scientists, and more important as human beings, we were deeply distressed with what we saw, and what has happened and what has not yet been done. We have decided to write this short note as we recognize the responsibility to share our experiences with the global scientific community. Afghanistan, with its strong feudal structure throughout history, has been placed in a geographical location regarded as the gate to central Asia. Many countries, nurturing ambitions to rule Afghanistan, and through it central Asia, have developed plans and aspirations. First, it was the Shah of Iran who planned to control Afghanistan by building a railway crossing the Tajik border. Then it was Russia, which through military aid began to establish itself in the country and gained influence over the government. Finally, came Babrak Karmal as ruler of Afghanistan, who formally invited Russians into the country, an initiative that turned Russian presence in the country to an invasion. After Russia’s
W
© 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 –1710
withdrawal in 1985, conflicts between various indigenous groups triggered a civil war. The civil war, which lasted 23 years, caused the total destruction of the country. In 1995, the Taliban group, Islamist fanatics of Pakistani origin, also supported by the U.S., gained total control of Afghanistan. After the September 11, 2001 tragedy, the same U.S. who once supported Taliban, this time freed Afghanistan of Taliban. The Afghanistan issue had been able to preserve its priority in the global media, becoming the focus of interest of the western public opinion for a while after the September 11 disaster. However, after the Iraqi problem was raised to a priority, the focus of interest of international powers has shifted toward the Middle East, and the Afghanistan issue has been relegated to a lower and lower priority. What is the problem with Afghanistan? It is very difficult to answer this question without actually seeing Afghanistan (Figs 1, 2, 3). Currently 85% of the country has been destroyed. Public services such as irrigation, water supply, electricity, and roads are dysfunctional. Therefore, it is now much easier to reconstruct Afghanistan totally anew rather than to try to repair the damage. Moreover, Afghanistan has never been a country with abundant natural resources. Even in the best of times, Afghanistan was never able to be self-sufficient. The most important factor of its economy had been the trade of narcotics. Income from this trade, which amounted to U.S. dollars of 1.1 billion annually, has now stopped completely. Currently in Kabul, with a population of roughly 2 million, 36,000 families are homeless, 60,000 children are orphans, 50,000 children are their families’ sole source of income. Contributions from the United Nations and a few other countries for education and health fail to remedy the situation. Afghanistan is 169 out of 171 nations in health care. The desperation of the people in general, and children in particular, is beyond human understanding. This tragic picture of a country and its people is 0090-3019/04/$–see front matter doi:10.1016/j.surneu.2004.04.016
6
1
Surg Neurol 2004;62:5– 6
Destroyed building of the Afghan Academy of Sciences. People are still working there.
now unfortunately outside of the interest of the global community. All the same, we see the necessity for a global humanitarian conscience that would perceive and assign importance to this situation. However, this need has not be recognized by religious organizations, politicians, or the mass media in general. We believe that scientists all over the world share a responsibility and a duty to bring such tragedies to the attention of the world at large. On this belief, we visited Afghanistan as representatives of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. What instigated our action was the humanitarian values
2
Severely destroyed buildings. Some of them are still being used.
Editorial
3
Another destroyed building used as an apartment and shopping center.
we upheld beyond our identity as scientists. We earnestly believe that as human beings, we have responsibilities beyond those as scientists. We ask, not only of individuals, but also communities of the developed or developing world, is it possible that no improvement has been achieved in the character and conscience of humanity? Or, are we still living in the self-centered and intuitive order of the primitive communities? We find it difficult to answer these questions. How shall we be able to extend a helping hand to the people of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rawanda, etc.? The solution to this problem lies in the organization of “humanitarian” groups that transcend borders and would become effective global solidarity groups. In our opinion, we, the scientific people of the world, should come together as pioneers to that cause, drawing attention to ongoing tragedies that are inflicting people in many countries and to help implement workable remedies to diminish the suffering. Prof. Yucel Kanpolat, Prof. Dincer Ulku, Prof. Metin Balci Turkish Academy of Sciences Ankara, Turkey
Is there a common conscience of humanity? Should there be one?
e are proud to designate the century we are living in as the era of knowledge and information. It is true that humanity never previously experienced a time in its history when science and knowledge in general grew so fast and were so easily shared as in our current time. Mass media, now an instrument of national and international corporations, controls the agenda of public opinion, guiding and even regulating it in line with their own opinions. Institutions that would resist this inclination are unfortunately still not well developed or strong enough. One cannot help asking if we are not, after all, guided scientists of a guided public in an atmosphere of guided information? When the Afghan Academy of Sciences appealed to all the scientific academies and states of the world, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, conscious of our responsibility, sent 3 voluntary representatives to visit Afghanistan. During our 3-day stay, we witnessed things that were totally different from what we thought and believed to be true for Afghanistan. As scientists, and more important as human beings, we were deeply distressed with what we saw, and what has happened and what has not yet been done. We have decided to write this short note as we recognize the responsibility to share our experiences with the global scientific community. Afghanistan, with its strong feudal structure throughout history, has been placed in a geographical location regarded as the gate to central Asia. Many countries, nurturing ambitions to rule Afghanistan, and through it central Asia, have developed plans and aspirations. First, it was the Shah of Iran who planned to control Afghanistan by building a railway crossing the Tajik border. Then it was Russia, which through military aid began to establish itself in the country and gained influence over the government. Finally, came Babrak Karmal as ruler of Afghanistan, who formally invited Russians into the country, an initiative that turned Russian presence in the country to an invasion. After Russia’s
W
© 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 –1710
withdrawal in 1985, conflicts between various indigenous groups triggered a civil war. The civil war, which lasted 23 years, caused the total destruction of the country. In 1995, the Taliban group, Islamist fanatics of Pakistani origin, also supported by the U.S., gained total control of Afghanistan. After the September 11, 2001 tragedy, the same U.S. who once supported Taliban, this time freed Afghanistan of Taliban. The Afghanistan issue had been able to preserve its priority in the global media, becoming the focus of interest of the western public opinion for a while after the September 11 disaster. However, after the Iraqi problem was raised to a priority, the focus of interest of international powers has shifted toward the Middle East, and the Afghanistan issue has been relegated to a lower and lower priority. What is the problem with Afghanistan? It is very difficult to answer this question without actually seeing Afghanistan (Figs 1, 2, 3). Currently 85% of the country has been destroyed. Public services such as irrigation, water supply, electricity, and roads are dysfunctional. Therefore, it is now much easier to reconstruct Afghanistan totally anew rather than to try to repair the damage. Moreover, Afghanistan has never been a country with abundant natural resources. Even in the best of times, Afghanistan was never able to be self-sufficient. The most important factor of its economy had been the trade of narcotics. Income from this trade, which amounted to U.S. dollars of 1.1 billion annually, has now stopped completely. Currently in Kabul, with a population of roughly 2 million, 36,000 families are homeless, 60,000 children are orphans, 50,000 children are their families’ sole source of income. Contributions from the United Nations and a few other countries for education and health fail to remedy the situation. Afghanistan is 169 out of 171 nations in health care. The desperation of the people in general, and children in particular, is beyond human understanding. This tragic picture of a country and its people is 0090-3019/04/$–see front matter doi:10.1016/j.surneu.2004.04.016
6
1
Surg Neurol 2004;62:5– 6
Destroyed building of the Afghan Academy of Sciences. People are still working there.
now unfortunately outside of the interest of the global community. All the same, we see the necessity for a global humanitarian conscience that would perceive and assign importance to this situation. However, this need has not be recognized by religious organizations, politicians, or the mass media in general. We believe that scientists all over the world share a responsibility and a duty to bring such tragedies to the attention of the world at large. On this belief, we visited Afghanistan as representatives of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. What instigated our action was the humanitarian values
2
Severely destroyed buildings. Some of them are still being used.
Editorial
3
Another destroyed building used as an apartment and shopping center.
we upheld beyond our identity as scientists. We earnestly believe that as human beings, we have responsibilities beyond those as scientists. We ask, not only of individuals, but also communities of the developed or developing world, is it possible that no improvement has been achieved in the character and conscience of humanity? Or, are we still living in the self-centered and intuitive order of the primitive communities? We find it difficult to answer these questions. How shall we be able to extend a helping hand to the people of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rawanda, etc.? The solution to this problem lies in the organization of “humanitarian” groups that transcend borders and would become effective global solidarity groups. In our opinion, we, the scientific people of the world, should come together as pioneers to that cause, drawing attention to ongoing tragedies that are inflicting people in many countries and to help implement workable remedies to diminish the suffering. Prof. Yucel Kanpolat, Prof. Dincer Ulku, Prof. Metin Balci Turkish Academy of Sciences Ankara, Turkey