Numbers Do Not Show Tears

Written by Pio Sioa
Thursday, 22 May 2008
We have in Samoa been duly shocked by what we saw, heard or read about the victims of recent disasters in Burma and more recently China. The death toll and the head count on the injured is frightening when we compare it to our small population representing the whole of Samoa. In Burma and China the victims are from only a part of the respective countries, yet the tally of the dead and injured surpass the head count of people in Samoa by wide margins. We have had our Ofa’s and Valerie’s and the death count was no where near reach double digits. But we still mourned them deeply. The black days of the influenza was the only disaster that truly threatened our small population and perhaps the fear and the anguish felt by the people then, would somehow reflect the emotional toll now felt by those in the disaster affected areas of Burma and China. We can perhaps associate easily with the disaster in Burma after the cyclone in that country left so many lives in tatters. Samoa is a hurricane prone country, so we know intimately the harm nature can wreck in that respect. We have already experienced it first hand and to the extent where we have set aside a special week of fasting and praying for divine protection, everytime we head into our most unstable weather period of the year. Earthquakes, and the severity of the damage to man as we have seen in the central Sichuan Province of China, is not an experience we are as intimate with as we have been with cyclones. The population of Apia has never been buried alive under rubbles of bricks and earth and needing emergency help to dig for survivors. But even the image that the mind conjures of being buried alive under tons of debris is a nightmare found only in bad dream. This is what is happening now in China. The population of Sichuan Province is living that nightmare right now. Loved ones are somewhere beneath their feet and every second that ticks away, takes the chances of ever seeing them again alive further. There is great rejoicing for them and for the thousands of emergency workers working around the clock to dig under for possible survivors, at every successful rescue they made. But even the very best effort at rescue will not be enough to save all living survivors, if any can still be found as time steadily steals that hope away. By now in Samoa, we all know what to expect in a cyclone and how to better prepare ourselves. We have also gone through the process of sprinting up to high grounds in the event of a tsunami. But we have never actually had a Sichuan Province, type of experience, nor have we had any rescue type drill to learn how to rescue possible survivors. Earthquakes are not uncommon in Samoa and in the region for that matter and the origins for most can be traced to the nearby Tongan trench. We are therefore so very grateful to providence that we have so far been spared the emotions and the trauma of what is happening elsewhere in the world. These are the thoughts that one feels and should be deeply appreciative of, as we sign condolences books and try to raise what we can to help out. It is normal to grieve for the loss of loved ones in natural death, but the loss is acutely felt when the eternal separation is sudden done without final goodbyes. China has helped our development struggles in Samoa in so many ways, and the people who are now torn by the painful emotions with the loss of their loved ones, are the same ones who have reached out from afar to help build our nation. Our leaders have expressed our heartfelt condolences, and as humans who have felt the pain of sorrow at the loss of loved ones, we all should spare a minute to share in the burden of grief that the people of Sichuan Province and Burma are going through. May the souls of all who have passed on from the recent tragedies in these parts of the world, rest in peace. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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