An Attack on All of Us

Heartbreak and outrage — I feel them both. In Afghanistan this week an attack on aid workers killed four staff members from our partner Save the Children. Their families grieve and mourn. Dozens more people are injured.

Attacks on innocent people such as this can occur close to home and far away. But no matter the distance, the heartbreak remains the same. There is no gradient to tragedy — it simply is.

At Americares, we grieve for these aid workers. We have staff just like them in numerous countries: hard working, committed and professional men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping the most vulnerable. This feels like an attack on all of us.

This attack underscores that, in the world today, no one is safe. Not aid workers helping families living in desperate conditions. Not doctors and nurses in the many hospitals and clinics that have been deliberately attacked in Syria. It is unconscionable that more than 100 aid workers lose their lives to senseless violence every year.

My staff and I condemn all acts of terror in the strongest terms and stand with our peers at Save the Children. We send our thoughts and prayers to them, their families and co-workers.

At times like this, we have to remember another truth: There remains far more good in the world than evil. There are more doctors and nurses performing acts of healing than there are gunmen intent on attacking their hospitals. There are more aid workers serving others under great personal sacrifice than there are murderers targeting them.

Today, we hear so much about the worst. We cannot forget the best.