Today, 19th of November, is World Citizens Day.
How timely considering the recent dramatic events in Paris, Beirut and other parts of the world. In keeping with my theme about stopping to remember, it is also timely to stop and reflect and ask ourselves what does it actually mean to be a Citizen of the World. Is it yet another by-product of Globalisation, another step towards all humans becoming uniform and with no identity? Not exactly.
Being a citizen of the world is having the ability to learn from other people, other cultures and other races. To learn to respect differences by recognising in them what we all have in common. Of course there will always be aspects of cultures that we may find more difficult to grasp or to even understand at all. But a true Citizen of the World at least tries to understand and respect what he or she does not understand.
What about the perpetrators of those horrific attacks we recently witnessed? Are they citizens of the world too? This page is not the place for polemics and politics. Suffice to say that jealousy, greed, rejection and fear of difference are common themes in these situations, at every level.
North Eastern Community Hospital may not be a world player (well not yet anyway) but one thing we can do in this world platform is the commitment patients, residents and families can expect professionalism, friendliness, respect and the commitment to care for everybody, without discrimination.
