愛心無國界:外國青年與老年乞丐分享食物和水

Beyond the Barriers

跨越障礙

Many of us have seen recent pictures on the Internet of an American named Jason Loose sharing French fries and drinking water with an old beggar woman on a street in Nanjing. This kind of action may have been rather shocking to many of us, making us question our own reaction to beggars on the street, and to poor people in general.

我們許多人都看過最近網絡上的一張圖片，在南京街頭一個來自美國的叫做Jason Loose的人同一個乞丐老婆婆一起分享薯條和水。這種善行讓很多人震驚，也讓我們捫心自問我們自己是如何對待街上乞丐以及貧苦人們對此的反應是怎樣的。

First, it seems some beggars are secretly wealthy, taking advantage of people’s generosity to live in luxury. Friends tell me that in Xiamen, where I now live, a fancy limousine picks up beggars at nightfall to take them home to their mansion. I have not seen this with my own eyes, but it gives me a reason to avoid giving to beggars here. How can we know which ones are truly needy?

首先，有些乞丐似乎是隱藏的富人，他們從人們的慷慨中獲利，住在豪宅。有朋友告訴我，在廈門，也就是我現在所住的地方，在傍晚的時候，會有豪華轎車來把乞丐接回他們的公寓。雖然我沒有親眼所見，但是它給了我在這裏躲避施捨乞丐的理由。我們如何知道哪些人才是真正需要幫助的人？

But, rich or poor, local or foreigner, we all need friendship and acceptance. I must admit that when I see a beggar in any country, my impulse is to turn away, but then my conscience hurts, and I think, “How would I feel if I were in his situation?”

但是，無論窮人還是富人，本地人還是外國人，我們都需要友情和認可。我必須承認我在任何國家見到乞丐，都會有轉身離開的衝動，但是之後我的良心便會受到傷害，因爲我會想：“如果我處在他的境地我會有怎樣的感受？”

As fellow human beings, fellow travelers on planet Earth, this spaceship of ours, hurtling around the Sun, is becoming smaller and smaller. The barriers are falling; travel and communications are becoming easier. We find we have more in common with peoples all over the world than the differences that divide us. That simple photo of a foreigner sharing food and drink with a local beggar should make headlines is a sad statement which shows we have not fully recognized our common humanity. Jason had to show us how, by cutting through the prejudices of social class, gender and nationality, to share a simple meal on a human level. We, too, can pause in our busy day to give a kind word or lend a helping hand to someone in need.

作爲人類同胞，同生活在地球這個宇宙飛船上，繞着太陽急速飛馳，現在大家的距離變得越來越小了。各種障礙正在下降，旅行和通信都變得更容易了。我們發現與世界各國人們的共同點比區分我們的不同點來得更多。這張簡單的照片，一個外國人和當地的乞丐分享食物和水，卻成爲了頭條這是一件悲哀的事，這說明我們並不完全承認人性的共同點。Jason向我們展示了怎樣消除社會階級、性別和國籍的偏見，人性化的與人共享一頓便飯。我們也能暫停我們忙碌的日子，向需要幫助的人說一句善良的話，或伸出援助之手。

Such an act of friendship can help to pave the way for a world without war, suspicion and prejudice, to bring a new era of peace to the human family.

這種友好的行爲可以幫助我們鋪一條讓世界上沒有戰爭，懷疑和偏見的道路，給人類這個大家庭帶來和平的新時代。