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Let us grieve, but not question why they take to the boats

This was the final sentence in an opinion piece in the Guardian newspaper on Thursday 3 October reflecting on the sinking of the migrant boat off the coast of Italy near the island of Lampedusa, where it is now confirmed there are over 300 dead.

Like Australia, Europe faces the continual challenge as boats arrive in waves, reflecting the fever pitch that is reached when people who are faced with desperate circumstances take desperate measure to try to make a better life for themselves. Read more

Teaching for change

While visiting Busboys and Poets, an educational café and bookshop in Washington DC, we rediscovered the book by Peter Singe titled – The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty.

Singe points out that as many as 27,000 children die every day from poverty that could be easily and cheaply helped by existing charities. He notes the psychological barriers to charitable giving in the western world, including cognitive dissonance where a public belief can be held – for example ‘we are all very generous donors in Australia’ – that is contradicted in practice. Read more