Tsunami

The Fifth Estate aired "Tsunami: Untold Stories" last night which dealt with the natural disaster in 2004 that ravaged the coasts of Sumatra, Thailand, Indonesia, India, East Africa, Maldives,Myanmar, Maylasia and Sri Lanka. I found it interesting that, as we near the second anniversary of this tragedy, how little news coverage this received after the initial hit. The outpouring of support in the moment was swift and substantial, yet we failed by far to bring relief to the areas victims as far as long term support goes. Like most major events that span our globe, the news spreads quickly and most of us become caught up in the drama. Yet, within a relatively short period of time, we go on to forget about an event long before the people who suffer through them can return to some form of normalcy. Watching a 15 year old Sri Lankan boy talk about his ordeal, how he clung onto a bed while his mother and sisters were washed away to their deaths, was heart wrenching. Watching him articulate his experience calmly, almost emotionless, while his eyes exposed the pain clearly. The Norwegian couple who got separated and their separate experiences. The father with two of their three children, one of which is 8 months old and lost in the wall of water they became entrapped in. I am not saying that I am better than anyone else out there by writing this. It is not like I am any different from the majority. I guess I just wish we were not so concerned about citizenship, religion, boundaries, etc... meaningless things in times of disaster. Nature does not recognize our differences. Nature does not discriminate. Bleeding heart liberal? Commy? Idealist? How about human being.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/tsunami/