There's a saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Reading Voyage of Mercy, The USS Jamestown, the Irish famine, and the remarkable story of America's First Humanitarian Mission," by Stephen Puleo, proves that saying true.
This is a non-fiction book. It relates how the people in USA helped the people in Ireland, during their famine. Two people are memorable. One is the sea captain, Captain Robert Bennet Forbes. He rallied the people to help donations. He sailed the ship Jamestown to Ireland and made it in record time. That alone was quite a feat because that ship wasn't in that great condition and his crew wasn't that experienced.
The other hero was Father Theobald Matthew. He fed the hungry and poor, besides ministering to their spiritual needs. He ruined his health, in so doing, too.
I was appalled at the hostility the English had towards the Irish. I was also surprised how on one hand we Americans were generous in helping the Irish, and on the other hand didn't want the immigrants to come here. That's what I meant by "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
Nowadays, the USA frowns upon immigrants. The same complaints as then, is now. It's a wonder, humanity ever progresses.
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