Stalled UN is proving powerless to undo damage done by selfish states

GOAL’s John O’Shea has a question for Bertie Ahern. Why did he come out and make a plea for the release of British hostage Kenneth Bigley?

Or more particularly, why isn’t he also doing all he can for the two million people whose lives are threatened in Darfur?

It’s a fair question. O’Shea is obviously not objecting to any effort to save Bigley. The hostage crisis has rightly gripped the public imagination. People like Michael D Higgins, who opposed the war in Iraq, are to be commended for using any leverage they have to prevent Bigley’s murder. The line from the Talmud quoted in Schindler’s List says it all - “When you save one life, you save the world entire.”