頭版推薦：愛(ài)心無(wú)國(guó)界【上海學(xué)生英文報(bào)】

Beyond the Barriers

Many of us have seen recent pictures on the Internet of an American named Jason Loose sharing French fries and drinking water with an old beggar woman on a street in Nanjing. This kind of action may have been rather shocking to many of us, making us question our own reaction to beggars on the street, and to poor people in general.

First, it seems some beggars are secretly wealthy, taking advantage of people’s generosity to live in luxury. Friends tell me that in Xiamen, where I now live, a fancy limousine picks up beggars at nightfall to take them home to their mansion. I have not seen this with my own eyes, but it gives me a reason to avoid giving to beggars here. How can we know which ones are truly needy?

But, rich or poor, local or foreigner, we all need friendship and acceptance. I must admit that when I see a beggar in any country, my impulse is to turn away, but then my conscience hurts, and I think, “How would I feel if I were in his situation?”

As fellow human beings, fellow travelers on planet Earth, this spaceship of ours, hurtling around the Sun, is becoming smaller and smaller. The barriers are falling; travel and communications are becoming easier. We find we have more in common with peoples all over the world than the differences that divide us. That simple photo of a foreigner sharing food and drink with a local beggar should make headlines is a sad statement which shows we have not fully recognized our common humanity. Jason had to show us how, by cutting through the prejudices?of social class, gender and nationality, to share a simple meal on a human level. We, too, can pause in our busy day to give a kind word or lend a helping hand to someone in need.

Such an act of friendship can help to pave the way for a world without war, suspicion and prejudice, to bring a new era of peace to the human family.