Natural Disasters in Burma and China

Obviously, the international news scene has been dominated in the past couple of weeks with the terrible catastrophes that have occurred in Asia. Firstly Burma was hit by a ferocious cyclone that effectively wiped out a delta and all the villagers living in the area. Then China was struck by a devastating earthquake which brought buildings crashing down. Thousands are dead, hundreds lay trapped in wreckage and rubble and thousands more face dehydration, disease and starvation. Relief aid has been hampered and the world’s in mourning.

This is a time for action. Thankfully, China has proved its worth in helping those in need, and the US has perservered in tackling Burma’s repressive military junta to provide aid to stricken villagers.  There’s a long way to go yet, but people ARE being helped and lives ARE being saved.

I was astonished by the coverage of these plights I caught on the news. The raw footage of bloated corpses lining swollen riverbanks in Burma, shown on an early evening ITV news programme, really made the terrible situation hit home. And this evening, ITV again showed more footage – this time from somebody with a video camera who happened to be filming just after the earthquake hit in China. Watching inhabitants of a collapsed town towering in a road, covered in dust and blood, made this situation impossible to ignore.

What an unflinching medium the world has at its fingertips, allowing us to see the truth of these far-off situations. Back in the times of the two World Wars, the general public had to rely on newspaper accounts of days-old battles and second-hand news stories. Now we see what’s going on for ourselves, and we’re standing in the front line WITH those involved. Hopefully this means people won’t be able to turn a blind eye, and those capable of doing so will be able to donate funds to help.

In the meantime, all the rest of us can do is send our thoughts and good wishes to the East.