No Room at the Table: Earth's Most Vulnerable Children [Paperback]

Donald H. Dunson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dunson, a Roman Catholic priest, writes elegiacally about the plight of vulnerable children worldwide, with emphasis on those in the poorest nations. He untangles the many trials that children face by focusing first on abducted child soldiers, then on sexually exploited children, child laborers, hungry children, refugees and those suffering from AIDS and preventable diseases. He pulls off an amazing feat by writing fearlessly about these politicized topics without grinding an ax of his own; his agenda is simply that of an impassioned advocate. Underlying the entire book is the philosophical position that all of humanity is connected and that children who suffer and die are our children, and that we share responsibility for them-guilt for their plight and accountability for their rescue. The book is strongest when Dunson discusses situations he knows firsthand, such as the plight of AIDS orphans in Kenya and children who have escaped Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. When he writes about topics he does not know personally, such as purported child sex abuse via the Internet, some of his more dramatic claims are inadequately documented. Although Dunson looks unflinchingly at the ugly realities, such as the frequency with which American men go on "sex tours" in Asia that almost invariably involve child prostitutes, the book is full of optimism, citing successful efforts to quell such exploitation as well as other crimes against children, and offering a practical appendix on what readers can do to help.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 141 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570754918
• ISBN-13: 978-1570754913
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Suitable for Children, April 3, 2004

By 

Tony Theil (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: No Room at the Table: Earth's Most Vulnerable Children (Paperback)

The news media has already informed us of the world's youngest victims of poverty, violence, sexual abuse, and disease, but Fr. Dunson has given these children a personal identity. In each story, from Uganda to El Salvador, we know the children's names, their fear, their struggle, and their resolve. Sometimes there is hope and when it is absent, Fr. Dunson convincingly assures the reader that not only can we make a difference in their lives, but we have an obligation to make that difference.

Fr. Dunson sounds a call to action: "A just, humane, and compassionate world community would never tolerate the massive indifference shown today toward the unnecessary suffering of children. Humanity's real weapons of mass destruction are hunger, preventable disease, and indifference - and these weapons of mass destruction are killing our children as we watch. Ultimately, there is no such thing as other people's children."

While reading the book, BBC News reported over 200 people were massacred in a refugee camp in Uganda. They interviewed a 14 year old boy, Innocent, who witnessed his parents being hacked to death. Three weeks later (3/21/04), BBC did a follow-up on Innocent's life in an orphanage. This news report and No Room at the Table convinced me that I must take greater action. Acts of solidarity with children are offered in the book's conclusion. The last page is a prayer by Archbishop Tutu: Peace for the Children of God.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An appeal to our consciences and hearts, February 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: No Room at the Table: Earth's Most Vulnerable Children (Paperback)

Donald Dunson has traveled the world and spent time with, reached out to, and listened to the children whose stories he tells in this profoundly moving little book. On these pages we meet children who've had their childhood, their humanity and any sense of their own worth stolen from them, as they are forced find a way to survive in a cruel and uncaring adult world: kidnapped to fight in brutal civil wars, forced to flee for their lives from their own country, fending for themselves in crowded refugee camps, homeless and officially invisible on the streets of Kampala. However, the sorry litany of the inhuman treatment these children have endured is not the end of the story...The real story presented here is the difference that someone caring, paying attention, reaching out and offering hope and encouragement can make to the millions of these children in third world and first world countries. Stolen childhoods and innocence can't be returned, but lives can be given a sense of worth and direction and the hope that we are one family, as has been done in the Kenyan hospice for HIV-positive orphans, Nyumbani, where the children have a wonderful sense of mutual support and community.
I highly recommend this beautiful book, it will touch your heart and your soul.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, inspiring book!, May 29, 2008

By 

M. B. Scherry (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Room at the Table: Earth's Most Vulnerable Children (Paperback)

One would think a book like this would be difficult to read. Just the opposite is true. Although Father Dunson talks about children who suffer greatly he inspires us to help. When you read it you ARE motivated to change society for the better. Even if you are doing it in small ways you are helping. That is his message and he gives it to us plainly. His story telling is intriguing. Father Dunson is one special person. Once you start this book it is hard to put it down. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!! IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!