Hope in the worst of times

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Dickens could be writing the Tale of Two Cities today. Over the past two weeks the world has been mesmerised by the cave rescue in Thailand, the best good news story for a long time. We rejoice knowing those children are rescued, even if at the same time the success of the rescue is tinged with sadness by the loss of life of one of the divers.

While witnessing the best of times in this rescue, we continue to be confronted with the worst of times in the deaths daily of thousands of children in countries at war, in occupied territories, and in the treatment of children on the US-Mexican border. Why isn’t the world coming together to rescue these children in the same way?

Maybe we need cave diver rescuers running these countries, people who have the skill, courage, discipline, goodness and compassion to put themselves on the line for the good of the most vulnerable.

Sister Barbara Cameron, RD Morrinsville.