Chapter One
COMPASSION FATIGUE
1991 was a bad year. Disasters occurred all over the globe: Earthquakes
in Soviet Georgia, Iran and Costa Rica killed hundreds
and left tens of thousands homeless; a cholera epidemic in Peru killed more
than a thousand and infected another 145,000; a cyclone in Bangladesh killed
138,000 and destroyed a million and a half homes; war in Iraq turned two
million Kurds into refugees from Saddam Hussein and killed tens of thousands
as they fled over the mountains; and famine and civil war in Africa killed
hundreds of thousands and left 27 million at risk.
By early May, spokespeople for international organizations and the relief
agencies had run out of hyperboles. "We have had an unprecedented spate of
disasters," said Philip Johnston, president of CARE. ...
read full excerpt from Compassion Fatigue ebook
