Opinions | Editorials
Left sick and alone in a foreign land
Every country has a moral obligation to help its citizens who are stranded abroad
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:07 August 7, 2008
Every country has a moral obligation to provide all possible assistance to any of its citizens who have the misfortune to suffer severe ill-health while travelling. If a healthy person was mugged and robbed of all means to return home, the home country would provide a means to get that person back. The obligation is even greater if a citizen falls seriously ill and is in no state to look after his/her self. But the obligation is not just for governments.
The measure of any society is not in its infrastructure or balance of payments, but on how it looks after its weakest segment - the ill, the infirm and the marginalised. The United Arab Emirates has a proud record in caring for those less well-off and extending a hand of companionship across borders.
Helping those in need comes with its own rewards that are far greater than any monetary concerns.
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