"so now i'm asking all of you, to help us save some lives"

March 25, 1971. western pakistan carries out operation searchlight and the atrocities of bangladesh ensue. reports vary on the exact number, however upwards of 3 million people of east pakistan (now bangladesh) die. as Time magazine reported, these bangladesh atrocities "[were] the most incredible, calculated thing since the days of the Nazis in Poland."

the events that took place were not overly talked about over seas and not much was being done at all to stop the violence. to protect the millions of fleeing refugees. however not everyone ignored their struggle. George Harrison, formly a member of the beatles, teamed up with Ravi Shankar two organize two benefit concerts to aid the bengali refugees of the bangladesh liberation war. the event was the first benefit concert of it's magnitude in world history.

the concert hosted an all-star line-up of some of the biggest names in music at the time. there were performances by george harrison, bob dylan, eric clapton, billy preston, ringo starr, leon russell, and badfinger. the concert raised nearly $250,000 and all profits of the album and dvd made of the shows continue to benefit george harrison's fund for UNICEF.

why would george harrison do any of this? no, he didn't live there. no, he didn't know anyone there.... however that doesn't mean he shouldn't care. he was human, and had human traits. he was empathetic and selfless. he was compassionate and philanthropic (goodwill towards one's fellow man). but most of all, he had altruism in his soul. he had that concern for others that all people in the world should have. altruism seems to me to be something that everyone should value highly in their lives. we are all in this world together. we are born and we die, but in between the two could be a lot less horrible, painful, and heartbreaking if we all were more like george harrison, and people like him. we should care about the well-being of all others living in this world and try to help them when they are in need.

and as george harrison so simply wrote...

"now it may seem so far from where we all are, it's something we can't neglect"