Tsunami tragedy
By now I am sure most people know that 30,000 ,68,000 - 120,000 died and 1 million homeless as a result of the tsunami that hit south east Asia on the 26th. Media reports are saying that at least two thirds of those who have died would have been saved if an early warning system had been in place. Each tidal sensor costs approximately $200,000 and between 5 and 10 of these would have been adequate enough. The 4 countries that have suffered the most devastation, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia could have shared the cost of up to $2,000,000. India for example has spent billions on developing nuclear weapons and Indonesia spends millions on it’s defense budget yet none of these 4 countries could come up with a mere $200,000.
Worse, the Pacific tidal warning center based in California issued a bulletin some 14 hours prior to the earthquake, warning of a possible series of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. However no one could be contacted and the bulletin never reached south east Asia.
Tsunami Help is an excellent blog set up to provide information on volunteering, donations and all the various local charities are listed and evaluated to help you choose which ones to send your money too.
Writing in the Guardian "How can religious people explain something like this?" Martin Kettle asks some uncomfortable questions such as "What God sanctions an earthquake?" "What kind of order is it that decrees that a person who went to sleep by the edge of the ocean on Christmas night should wake up the next morning engulfed by the waves, struggling for life?"
Ethan Zuckerman’s weblog has links to a number of blogs writing from India.
Sphere: Related Content
Please note Tsunami Tragedy Blog
http://asiantsunami.blogspot.com/
which focuses (amonmg other aspects) on the politics of the disaster.
Please send on any relevant info from SA.
There has been miniscule to no reporting of how the tsumnami affected the people of Africa. It was mentioned briefly that Somalia and areas along the horn of Africa were hit, but western news has provided no assessment of the damages and loss of life there. The western media is completely ignoring the effects of this tsunami on Africa. I pray for all the peoples affected by this disaster, but I am concerned that the people of Africa are being treated with benign neglect. It is as if they do not exist and the tsunami is a non-event that never happened to them.
I am an American citizen who had to go to the Internet blogs to find out information regarding the effects of the tsunami on Africa. In another blog, I asked,”Would any knowledgeable person, preferably someone living in the area or someone with accurate information. Please post some news about this subject, e.g., number of casualties,how much aid is coming from the west, extent of damages, Red Cross involvement, and soforth.”
Finally, I have found some information on the Internet regarding the effects of this disaster upon all the people adversly affected.
I see that this blog has an article on the politics of the disaster. I have not read this article yet, but I hope someone who can make a difference speaks up about the way Africa is being treated.
You make an excellent and important point. Look under the category “Tsunami” and see my post entitled “Somalia” and also my post today “Global Justice in a Shared Hemisphere which also deals with the Tsunami and Africa.
I completely agree with you. I think it is important to watch the media over the next few days/weeks to see how they report on Somalia. It is also worth noting that as far as I can gather no Europeans were killed in Somalia or in Kenya by the Tsunami!
I really agree with all of you because my teacher gave me a project on the Tsunami and pointed out that we should write about the effects in Africa which nobody has really reported but it should be!!!