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Mesbah M

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If you were to visit Africa and a parent urges you to take his child with you back home, what would you do?

This is the same anecdote used by Bono during his 2005 TED Prize speech (04:09). If the child remains, he would die. If the child comes, he would live. At that point, he had turned the parent down and now seemingly regrets the decision, which he attributes to having started his activism.

Also keep in mind, the question asks you what you would actually do (if all other things were held constant), not so much what you *want* to do. Think of the pros and cons. Do a cost-benefit analysis and ask yourself: would you really put it upon yourself to take full responsibility over that one child? Furthermore, would taking that one child make any difference? If so, why not take the others while you're at it? If not, would you feel (morally) responsible for the child's death?

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  • Aug 5 2012: I will adopt the child if I am absolutely sure that I can take care of the child(that means giving the child enough time and attention; and not forgetting all the financial responsibilities).

    If one does not adopt the child and such a child dies, one can not be responsible for the child's death.
    The world has its numerous problems, and one can not solve all of it.
    Even developed countries have needy citizens(one sort of need or another)
    African nations have to hold their leaders accountable; and bad governance has its consequences on individuals and nations.
    But it doesn't mean that one should fast, starve or feel guilty because 'oh, here I am having a KFC while children are starving in Darfur'.
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    Jul 5 2012: I would humbly say "no thank you".
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    Jul 5 2012: My first thought was that I would worry the parent would later have regrets, and then we would be across the ocean.

    My second thought was that there is in any country an administrative mechanism that vets potential adoptive families. One cannot just take a child, regardless of what the parent may want.

    This sort of administrative protection makes good sense, given the unfortunate existence of child trafficking and so forth.

    I don't quite understand the question of whether taking one child would make a difference. When we have children, it's about sharing love. The question is can I love and provide a home for one more. It's not whether it would somehow make a difference.

    The answer to whether to raise another one or another five has to do with whether one has the energy, health, and resources to provide a good life for one or two or five more.