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. "We're dealing with 15 of them at the moment." "The needs are overwhelming," said Al Panico, director of international relief for the American Red Cross. James Grant, executive director of UNICEF, ... read full excerpt from: Compassion Fatigue ebook
