Retrofitted Up
Two terrible natural disasters have affected two neighbouring countries within eight days. In Burma, the cyclone that left up to 100,000 people dead or injured now threatens the lives of thousands more people because of the criminal refusal by the junta to accept and deliver urgently needed foreign aid. In China, the worst earthquake for more than 30 years is known to have killed at least 12,000 people but has probably taken the lives of three or four times that number in Wenchuan alone, the epicentre that remains cut off from the world. China’s leaders, however, have reacted with exemplary speed and concern, mobilising a massive national effort to rescue survivors and prevent the outbreak of disease. The contrast could not be more poignant.
The similarities, of course, are that neither one of them bothered to try to prevent this. Burma didn’t bother warning its people about the cyclone or making sure they lived in anything more than easily-aloft shanty towns, and the Chinese obviously didn’t make sure their apartment blocks were made of anything more earthquake proof than stale bread crusts. The 1906 earthquake was several points higher than this one and only killed a couple hundred people, and that was more than a century ago. The western world (which China’s so eager to jump on with) has made some improvements in retrofitting since then.
It is hard to comprehend a mindset so closed to reality that it puts the security of a regime above the survival of the population. But a junta that still regards the cyclone as an omen of its wisdom in moving the capital inland is one that has little conception of how it is derided abroad. Perhaps only China can convey the harsh truth. It needs to do so. Beijing has shown sense and leadership in rescuing its own victims. Tough talk to Burma might also help to rescue those suffering in that benighted country.
It’s own victims, eh?
May 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
[...] Tofu’s a much better analogy than my stale bread crusts. [...]