Thalassa Scholl
12 September 2005
Thalassa Scholl came face to face with poverty when she lived in Pakistan. She was attracted to Oxfam’s work after a devastating flood. She saw a newsreel showing a small Oxfam plane dropping supplies to Sindhi villagers who were stranded on the rooftops. Scholl has been a member of the organization for 20 years.
Under the pen name Thalassa Ali, Scholl has authored two recent novels: "A Singular Hostage" and "A Beggar at the Gate." Both are set in Punjab, where she lived for 12 years.
"I’m not certain it’s possible to eradicate poverty. Greed will always get in the way—greed and politics. But these do not remove our obligation. The universal code of human conduct, the rules of humanity, require us to be generous to people who have less."
"I'm a Muslim. Charity is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Qur'an teaches us that charity must be given in good times and bad times, even though our human nature often suggests that, for us, 'times' are not quite good enough."
"We also excuse ourselves from charity by telling ourselves that a needy person is undeserving. We have all heard people say, 'Don't give money to that homeless man-- he'll just go out and drink. 'Our Prophet Mohammed [pbuh] said, 'Give to those who deserve and to those who don’t. One day God may give you something you don't deserve.'"
"Charity is much more than writing a check. It's about displaying openness and brotherhood. It’s about recognizing and honoring other people's humanity."
