What Justin and Tessa faced were ethical dilemmas, but it can be argued that human experimentation discussed above involved a dilemma, too. It is important to acknowledge that ethical dilemmas do not have universally applicable solutions or universally right decisions. Hartman, DesJardins, and MacDonald (2014) suggest that the process of ethical decision-making involves considering all the possible consequences of all available actions in a given situation, and one of the strategies is to choose the option that will cause less harm than other options. Feeling that she is causing trouble, Abuk runs away, and the plane leaves without her.
I can’t make an exception,” and Justin replies, “Yes, but this is one we can help!” (Williams & Meirelles, 2005). He uses the same argument Justin used earlier, as he says, “There are thousands of them out there. However, the pilot refuses to take the girl because he is only entitled to evacuate aid workers. He escapes a village that is attacked by tribesmen who burn houses and kidnap people, so he has to get on a plane, and he wants to take a little girl named Abuk with him. Justin finds himself facing the same ethical dilemma further in the plot. However, the couple drives away without helping them. Tessa replies, “Yeah, but these are three people that we can help!” (Williams & Meirelles, 2005). Justin refuses to help them and argues that becoming personally involved is something mission members are not supposed to do, and there are thousands of people who need help (this is why there are all those missions working in the country). Similarly, the members of the diplomatic mission, including Justin and Tessa, are not supposed to engage directly in the lives of local people in Kenya.Īt some point, the two drive pass a woman who is walking down the street with her newly born grandchild and her young son, and Tessa asks Justin to give them a ride because she knows they will have to travel a distance of 40 km on foot. Crane and Matten (2010) suggest that businesses should contribute to the well-being of those communities in which they operate (e.g., in the form of corporate social responsibility activities), but the assistance they provide may be indirect (investing in the infrastructure or conducting social programs) instead of direct (helping certain individuals). Moreover, mortality cases are intentionally concealed through destroying records and burying victims in mass graves.Īnother important issue is diplomatic and humanitarian ethics. However, in the film, many people on different levels (from decision-makers in the United Kingdom to local doctors in Kenya) are involved in administering medications that have not been properly tested, and subjects have not provided their informed consent. First of all, there is the issue of human experimentation according to the General Assembly of the World Medical Association (2014), such experimentation cannot be carried out before obtaining the informed consent of the participants, and this is a universally recognised principle in research. Several ethical issues are involved in the story. Tessa is later brutally killed, and Justin tries to find out what happened to her in his attempts, he obtains confirmations of the unethical and illegal activities carried out in Kenya and other African countries against the local population, and he pursues exposing the crimes to avenge his wife’s murder and stop the cruel experiments. Tessa collects evidence about unethical and unofficial drug experiments in Kenya and tries to pass her report on to the authorities, but her report is suppressed, and she receives threats and warnings to stop her investigation.