For the American army it is almost a law that they do not leave any soldier behind, dead or alive.
BY DR PATSON DZAMARA
American soldiers do not abandon their dead or wounded on the battlefield, regardless of what would have caused the death or wound.
If it means retreating just to take care of their dead or wounded, they do so. They leave no man behind.
A few years ago, I had an opportunity to work with one of the most committed teams ever.
During one of our outreach programmes in South Africa, something transpired and it left an indelible impression in me.
When we got into the field, we were to work in different places, and one of the instructions was that we had to be punctual when we reconvened for departure.
I got back to our place of meeting just in the nick of time for departure.
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One of the first things I quickly noticed was the absence of one of our team members and I inquired about her whereabouts.
The team leader told me that she had returned 30 minutes before departure time and one of her relatives came to see her, so she had escorted the relative.
We waited until it was two minutes past departure time.
The team leader signalled everyone to get on the bus so that we could leave.
That did not go down well with me.
Even though I was just a ‘visiting’ team member, something in me could not allow me to be silent.
I protested against the decision of our leader. I asked for that girl’s cell number, but my calls went unanswered.
I categorically told our team leader that if they were to leave without the girl, I was also going to remain behind.
According to the team leader, the girl had shown insubordination and she had to be left behind as punishment.
He went on to say his ‘principles’ did not allow him to wait for the girl.
Even though some of the things he mentioned during his brief lecture made sense, my conscience somehow still wrestled against the idea of leaving the girl behind. I could not surrender to his position.
Surprisingly, I was the only one protesting while everyone enjoyed their meal on the bus.
They were just not bothered.
Some could have been wondering what on earth I was doing and I am sure most of them just concluded I was wasting their time, even though they didn’t verbalise it.
My argument was simply that what if something bad would have happened to the girl?
After some 15 minutes or so of intense debating and argument, our team leader grudgingly gave in to my demand.
He told me that we would wait 10 more minutes and I had to find that girl within those 10 minutes, after which the bus would leave, with or without the girl, and even me. Still her phone went unanswered.
In the 7th minute of the prescribed 10 minutes, the girl made her way into the bus accompanied by two police officers and all she could say was, ‘I almost died’ with tears rolling down her cheeks.
The two officers gave an account of how they rescued our colleague from the hands of robbers, but she had lost her bag.
We calmed her down and she narrated how she almost got shot.
In a world rife with cynicism, selfishness and judgmental postures, don’t we find ourselves in situations where we are inclined towards judging and abandoning others, even without appreciating all the details?
Don’t we all get to that place where we choose to give up on others before we even take time to understand them?
If only we can inculcate the American army’s law in our cultures, life will be different. No-one will be left behind. It will be a world filled with love.
A world filled with empathy and sympathy. Harmony and open hearts will be the rhythm of the day. Sharing and caring will be the order of the day.
Every person will see themselves in the other person.
In that world, if people see their brother or sister limping along life’s road, they stretch their hands and help them if you can.
People never ever think that it couldn’t be them in the position of that brother or sister.
They may be where they are because of the mistakes they made but they are given a chance. No-one is left behind.
The Promised Land was not only for selected elite. It was for everyone. If only our politicians, business leaders in any domain could imbibe this law, life would be different.
No-one (wounded or dead) should be left behind.
We would all get into the promised land and enjoy the fruits of that land.
We wouldn’t have among us those who do not know where to put what’s left while others don’t know what to put on what’s left.
In his words, the greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, said, “In my father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Wow! What a great leader! The encapsulation of his desire was for his disciples to be where he was. He didn’t want to leave anyone behind.
Unfortunately, we live in an era where even church leaders make it a point that they are secluded from their followers. They are elite and they live in their own world.
They leave their followers behind.
Our politicians leave the people who vote for them and their wishes behind as soon as they get elected.
Leaders in any domain, abandon their team members while they move on with their lives. If you get to a church, you won’t need to be told which one is the pastor’s car.
You will know that the most expensive car among all the cars is his.
If you get to a company’s premises, you won’t need to be told which one is the CEO’s car; of course it is the most expensive one.
In this era, leadership has been presented and practiced in such a way that it seems there has to be a demarcation line between a leader and the followers or team members.
I do believe in order, rank and file but all that doesn’t have to mean seclusion.
The greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ, told his followers that he wanted them to be where he was. He didn’t want to leave them behind.
What he accessed, he wanted them to access too. What he enjoyed, he wanted them to enjoy too. What he had, he wanted them to have.
Leader, here is my question to you.
Why are you leaving your people behind?
Why do you leave your wounded and dead soldiers in the field?
Only when you take your people to where you are shall your name be carved in the book of great leaders. Leave no man behind.
