The most pathetic survivors of all are children. Like many of the children who survived hurricane Andrew, many Turkish children whom I saw who could no longer smile or play. Shell-shock has very pronounced effects on the young; often, they stop communicating altogether.

One little girl in particular caught my attention. Her arm had been badly injured, twisted into a permanent position of deformity. She stood very still, holding her hair in her good hand, never moving or showing any signs of emotion.

"She needs medical attention," I said to the doctor.

"Yes," he agreed, "a lot of the young survivors desperately need medical attention."

His answer puzzled me. "But I thought financial aid was donated from foreign countries."

"Yes," he nodded, "but most of the money ended up in the pockets of government officials. It never reached the survivors."

How well I knew what that meant. How well indeed.

After pausing, he added, "When the earthquakes struck, one foreign country offered to construct a hospital at the devastated site. But because of political differences, our government refused the offer."

I left the Turkish people, wondering: what kind of future is man creating for himself? Only one thought came to mind: "Evil can only be defined as absence of empathy..." -- source