Tsunami Anniversary Marked by Sorrow and Debates

This is the first anniversary of the Boxing Day tsumani that killed around a quarter of a million people. The memorial ceremonies throughout the Indian Ocean region have offered the mourners a chance to do as they must to get through their loss. The rebuilding efforts are getting the once-over from donors who want to see progress. The truth is that this disaster was bigger than anything nature has done in the region for a long time, and humanity hasn’t got enough experience of this kind of disaster to respond well.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was one of many heads of state and of government who led his people in remembrance, but his words worked. “Under the blue sky, we stand together as God's children. It was under the same blue sky exactly a year ago that mother earth unleashed the most destructive power among us.” How does one properly mourn 250,000 dead, all killed hours apart but instantly from the same event?

The Indonesian president also said of the survivors, “You have reminded us that life is worth struggling for.” Yet many are wondering just how tough a struggle it is because of the magnitude of the event and how much of the struggle in the aftermath is manmade. Another 1.8 million people lost their homes. Today, the UK-based charity Oxfam says 80% of them are in “transitional” accommodation, meaning tents, plywood huts or living with family or friends. Put in context, about as many people lost their homes as live in Houston, Texas. Today, about as many as live in Philadelphia still haven’t got a permanent place to live.

It can’t be that hard to build a house, but to build enough for 1.8 million takes time. Moreover, many of these people have no clear title to the land; there was never any need since the same families lived on the same land for generations. There has also been a tension between those who believe something now is better than something durable later, and those who believe if it isn’t done right the first time it won’t get done right at all.

If it were to happen again, today, the human race would be a bit better able to cope. There is now a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. The UN has a $500 million emergency fund, set up two weeks ago, that will get aid where it needs to be quickly. And the charity sector has learned how to drum up funds on the web, on TV and by phone, allowing everyone in the family of man to participate effectively. At the same time, it is winter in the Himalayas and there are a great many families in Pakistan with no place to live either. And there are families who won’t see New Orleans any time soon, if ever. Humanity did OK in the last year but has to do better next year.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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