Have you heard about the phenomenon referred to as the boiled frog syndrome? Put a frog in a pot of water and increase the temperature of the water gradually and the frog just sits there. But suddenly, at 100 degrees C, something happens: the water boils and the frog dies. There is some debate about whether the story is literally true or not but it serves as a useful metaphor, similar to the one about the ostrich with his head in the sand, about the folly of ignoring warning signs.
The metaphor is often as a cautionary tale warning against the danger of letting small, seemingly harmless wrongs go by allowing them to build into a powerful, irreversible force--like global warming. I’d like to borrow the analogy and apply it to my behavior during my time at the agency when I dismissed my growing alarm and dodged my own conscience. Unlike the frog, however, I jumped before I reached the boiling point because of this final event that brought my situation into focus.
Last Spring, the civil war in Sri Lanka finally ended after 26 long years. The leader of the Tamil Tigers was killed and the fighting stopped. Remember one of my first posts when I told you about the UNICEF worker I met on the plane. Remember? She was on her way to Sri Lanka as a UN observer and she had given me the book she was reading. I never found the time or the balls to read it, so I just put it in my locker. The news story jogged my memory and I finally got the nerve to read the book, Children at War.
The day I finished the book became my last day at the Agency because I saw clearly that my organization was on the shameful list of international criminals who use children to fight.
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2 comments:
This is not a response to the post per se, although I applaud your analysis of the problem and your brave decision to walk away. The comment is a kind of confession. I was going to try to stay anonymous and just comment from time to time but your words about responsibility and shame are inspiring, so I going to come clean, too.
You may be surprised to hear that I was a freelancer for the Padania faction. I don't think we ever met but I have come face to face with some of your colleagues--Hilshire and Triella for sure. In fact, I'm recuperating right now from an incident last year that was connected to the Messina Bridge incident.
I'll tell you now that my real name is Caterina but you may know me by my code name, Franca.
I'm writing a blog myself to pass the time while I recover. From what I've read, we have a lot in common and should get together to talk some day. Check me out at http://codenamefranca.blogspot.com
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