Parallels

There is an interesting phenomenon taking place in the world. It is unique in that it involves four catastrophic events that have all occurred within the short span of five years, and how the people to whom they happened dealt with the aftermath.

Of course I’m referring to Hurricane Katrina, the El Nino brush fires in Southern California, the huge earthquake in Haiti, and the even stronger earthquake in Chile.

I have seen the messages that circulated after the fist two events that highlighted the difference in how the affected citizens responded to the disaster. But I haven’t yet seen any comparison of the two earthquakes that occurred within a few months of each other.

The numbers might be off, due to passage of time, but here is what I know about the earthquake-ravaged island nation of Haiti:
· The 7.0 earthquake hit on January 12, 2010.
· The death toll has risen to somewhere above 500,000, a highly suspect number.
· The nation is still in a state of turmoil and need nearly two months later.
· Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated or provided for disaster relief.
· Dictators Castro and Chavez have called the troops sent in by the U. S an “occupation force”, implying that they are not welcome there.
· There is no end in sight to the misery and loss of the Haitian people, regardless of the continued aid, food and money being pumped into the relief effort.

Here is what I know about the earthquake-ravaged nation of Chile:
· The 8.8 earthquake occurred offshore in the Pacific Ocean on February 27, 2010. This caused, in addition to the quake damage, a tsunami that came ashore shortly after the quake and devastated low-lying villages.
· The latest death toll as of this writing (3/2/2010) is 746, but thousands are homeless, and the infrastructure of the country is in a shambles.
· Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said that though the earthquake devastated central Chile, she was not requesting international assistance. However, there has been some aid and assistance from (who else?) the United States. It has, however, been minimal, and has not included any people for rescue, only equipment.

Do you see the same parallels that I see in these two events and the earlier disasters in our country?

Does the Haitian earthquake resemble in scope and numbers the Hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans in 2005?

Is the response and reaction of the Chilean President similar to the word that came from the officials in the devastated areas around San Diego after the extent of the damage was learned.

Have we seen video and pictures of the looting taking place in Chilean cities like we saw in Haiti?

In a way, I feel sorry for the people of Chile, because the United States citizenry is pretty well tapped out on aid through donations. We have economic problems here that might prevent many of us who would otherwise donate generously to pull out our empty pockets and remark that we already gave what we could to the Haitian relief effort. We have nothing left to give.

It is a courageous thing that the Chilean President is doing, trying to cope with the devastation and not requesting aid. However, if it does become necessary, I wonder if some of the other South American countries will chip in and help the Chileans. Or maybe the African nations could lend aid and manpower to the effort to save Chile. Surely the Europeans can come to the rescue.

I know the Asians cannot help, because they are still trying to recover from the tsunami that hit in 2004 after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

Isn’t it sad that we seem to be the only country in the world capable and willing to lend a hand when disaster strikes? Yet, according to our president, the rest of the world despises us for our arrogance and waste and pollution?

I’m sorry for bringing politics into this, but isn’t every disaster that strikes, regardless of origin, used for political gain of one form or another?