Responsibilities do you think individuals in wealthier nations

  1. What responsibilities do you think individuals in wealthier nations have toward people in poor countries? How has reading about Paul Farmer’s work in Mountains Beyond Mountains impacted your ideas about your responsibility or obligations toward people who are poorer than you are? Acknowledging the dynamism of Farmer’s work, what can people realistically do to help, and what do you think is the best way to express or act on this sense of responsibility? Use the text and at least one secondary source for support.
  2. Mountains Beyond Mountains begins with a first hand account, wherein Kidder observes Dr. Farmer in a “confrontation” with U.S. Army Officer charged with a peace-keeping force in Haiti; his book is by all means a first person narrative peppered with ten years of experience, and simultaneously, a commentary offering both overt and subtle arguments. Investigate Kidder’s writing techniques and discuss the impact his writing moves have on his audience. Use the text and at least one secondary source for support.