Friday, January 07, 2005
Tsunami Tragedy?
What do you say about a natural disaster that kills 200,000 people? Only one thing: I am glad that it did not happen to the Philippines.
Feeling sadness at the plight and suffering of the people in the affected areas is understandable. However the only significant aspect of this event is that so many are dead in so wide an area in so short amount of time. In fact, it is just the suddenness of it all that makes any difference.
Looking at pictures of hundreds of bodies rolled over by the waves and whose life was sucked out is amazing and perhaps at little shocking. Looking at the reaction and response of the more developed nations is sickening and revolting.
Do not misunderstand me. The outpouring of money, goods, and logistics is certainly needed and welcomed.
It is disgusting though to see United Nations officials, including its incompetent Secretary General scramble to try to get some credit for the relief work. The United Nations has once again shown itself to be nearly useless and almost ineffective under its present leadership and management.
Another thing that I find disgusting is the lack of responsibility that the victims take for their own predicament. I know that it is not proper or maybe even fair to criticize people that have lost so much, including loved ones. However, it usually does take a tragedy to point out and highlight a lack of personal accountability for what happens in life like you never wear a seat belt when you drive and then whine and complain when you are severely injured in a minor traffic accident. That sort of thing.
The likelihood of a major tsunami hitting this area is remote, sort of like the odds of Pinatubo erupting. However, unlike a volcanic eruption, one must always be wary of the ocean as she turns violent quite often.
Look at the pictures of the some of the resorts washed away in rubble and death. The owners fully expected calm seas and quiet times forever. You do not see a seawall; you do see building practically at the water’s edge. I feel no sympathy for someone who builds in the face of harm’s way and then experiences that harm. I remember years ago in Boracay, every time a large storm threatened to strike, barriers of bamboo went up to protect the shoreline from erosion.
Of course, I am not suggesting that a few sticks of bamboo could have prevented this death and destruction. But one video I saw of a three story hotel, not a nipa hut or bungalows, in Thailand was designed and situated near the ocean in such a way that even one of our average typhoons would probably flood it a meter deep.
Putting greedy monetary considerations first has consequences, likewise with greedy political factors.
Notice that two of the areas most affected are two of the most politically instable in the region: Northern Sri Lanka and Aceh province in Indonesian. Insurgency adds instability, instability adds poverty, poverty adds a lack of infrastructure and preparedness, and these compound the problems of nature, weather flood, famine, or fire.
But it does not stop there. Hardest hit Indonesia will probably be the largest recipient of the three billion dollars that will eventually go to the region. Further, Indonesia will most likely receive some relief or at least a wide scale moratorium on its 82 billion dollars of debt. (RP’s is 60).
I know you are thinking how heartless and insensitive I am to want to deny these poor tormented people the economic aid they need. You’re right. I am cruel and cold-blooded. Consider this. Last year Indonesia received foreign charity, I mean economic aid, in the amount of US$183.06 per person. By comparison, we received US$12.99 per person. Since 1997, Indonesia has been the top economic aid recipient in the world! and that was before “The Wave”.
This is just a suggestion but maybe the Indonesians should use some of the aid money or life jackets just in case. Again in Boracay after a strong earth tremor in 1988, locals were scrambling for life vests, preparing ropes to hang on to just in case, and heading for higher ground. Of course, I have always thought Filipinos were smarter than our neighbors to the south were. And something else disgusts me too.
All this talk about how the rich ones can help the poor nations by investing and through tourism not to mention all the private donations sounds like a lot of nonsense coming from collective guilt.
All the problems in these countries of government corruption, separatist movements, poor infrastructure, unfair judicial systems, and on and on and on still exist! The tsunami did not wash them away. Yet now, for the west, they have suddenly somehow become attractive for investment. I wonder how many people are going to be better off because of the tsunami than before.
The President’s conduct at the regional meeting in Jakarta earned my first respect for her in a long time. She did well particularly with comments like sharing the successful Philippine experience in dealing with the violent typhoons that hit the country.
I am not wishing for a Filipino tsunami but it would be nice for us to get some of that free and easy money that the rich countries are talking about so freely throwing around. Then we’ll teach the others how to really handle their natural disasters.
Feeling sadness at the plight and suffering of the people in the affected areas is understandable. However the only significant aspect of this event is that so many are dead in so wide an area in so short amount of time. In fact, it is just the suddenness of it all that makes any difference.
Looking at pictures of hundreds of bodies rolled over by the waves and whose life was sucked out is amazing and perhaps at little shocking. Looking at the reaction and response of the more developed nations is sickening and revolting.
Do not misunderstand me. The outpouring of money, goods, and logistics is certainly needed and welcomed.
It is disgusting though to see United Nations officials, including its incompetent Secretary General scramble to try to get some credit for the relief work. The United Nations has once again shown itself to be nearly useless and almost ineffective under its present leadership and management.
Another thing that I find disgusting is the lack of responsibility that the victims take for their own predicament. I know that it is not proper or maybe even fair to criticize people that have lost so much, including loved ones. However, it usually does take a tragedy to point out and highlight a lack of personal accountability for what happens in life like you never wear a seat belt when you drive and then whine and complain when you are severely injured in a minor traffic accident. That sort of thing.
The likelihood of a major tsunami hitting this area is remote, sort of like the odds of Pinatubo erupting. However, unlike a volcanic eruption, one must always be wary of the ocean as she turns violent quite often.
Look at the pictures of the some of the resorts washed away in rubble and death. The owners fully expected calm seas and quiet times forever. You do not see a seawall; you do see building practically at the water’s edge. I feel no sympathy for someone who builds in the face of harm’s way and then experiences that harm. I remember years ago in Boracay, every time a large storm threatened to strike, barriers of bamboo went up to protect the shoreline from erosion.
Of course, I am not suggesting that a few sticks of bamboo could have prevented this death and destruction. But one video I saw of a three story hotel, not a nipa hut or bungalows, in Thailand was designed and situated near the ocean in such a way that even one of our average typhoons would probably flood it a meter deep.
Putting greedy monetary considerations first has consequences, likewise with greedy political factors.
Notice that two of the areas most affected are two of the most politically instable in the region: Northern Sri Lanka and Aceh province in Indonesian. Insurgency adds instability, instability adds poverty, poverty adds a lack of infrastructure and preparedness, and these compound the problems of nature, weather flood, famine, or fire.
But it does not stop there. Hardest hit Indonesia will probably be the largest recipient of the three billion dollars that will eventually go to the region. Further, Indonesia will most likely receive some relief or at least a wide scale moratorium on its 82 billion dollars of debt. (RP’s is 60).
I know you are thinking how heartless and insensitive I am to want to deny these poor tormented people the economic aid they need. You’re right. I am cruel and cold-blooded. Consider this. Last year Indonesia received foreign charity, I mean economic aid, in the amount of US$183.06 per person. By comparison, we received US$12.99 per person. Since 1997, Indonesia has been the top economic aid recipient in the world! and that was before “The Wave”.
This is just a suggestion but maybe the Indonesians should use some of the aid money or life jackets just in case. Again in Boracay after a strong earth tremor in 1988, locals were scrambling for life vests, preparing ropes to hang on to just in case, and heading for higher ground. Of course, I have always thought Filipinos were smarter than our neighbors to the south were. And something else disgusts me too.
All this talk about how the rich ones can help the poor nations by investing and through tourism not to mention all the private donations sounds like a lot of nonsense coming from collective guilt.
All the problems in these countries of government corruption, separatist movements, poor infrastructure, unfair judicial systems, and on and on and on still exist! The tsunami did not wash them away. Yet now, for the west, they have suddenly somehow become attractive for investment. I wonder how many people are going to be better off because of the tsunami than before.
The President’s conduct at the regional meeting in Jakarta earned my first respect for her in a long time. She did well particularly with comments like sharing the successful Philippine experience in dealing with the violent typhoons that hit the country.
I am not wishing for a Filipino tsunami but it would be nice for us to get some of that free and easy money that the rich countries are talking about so freely throwing around. Then we’ll teach the others how to really handle their natural disasters.
// posted by john mangun @ Friday, January 07, 2005 
