Sun 24 Sep 2006
We all know about the sad episode of violent storm that pounded the coastal area of Bangladesh on the evening of September 19, 2006. Death toll has reached 85 so far with more than a thousand still missing. Storms and cyclones are not uncommon in Bangladesh and they form over Bay of Bengal in September and October every year and take lives of hundreds and destroy cattle and crops. For caring souls out there, it is tough to simply glance at the news and not have profound empathy on the harsh situation caused by Mother Nature and its effect on so many lives.
Rather conflicting news caught my eyes earlier this evening on the rescues efforts in Bangladesh. In BBC News and some other reports, the headline reads from September 22nd:
The Bangladeshi navy says it has launched its biggest rescue operation ever to search for a missing officer who went missing in a storm this week.
The New Age along with few others on the other hand reports:
Little rescue efforts in 5 days - Five days have passed since a violent storm pounded the country’s coastal areas on Tuesday, but an intensive search for about 1,500 missing fishermen is yet to start with the authorities citing inclement weather and rough seas as the reason.
The world is cruel indeed on how people are treated based on social stature and wealth. Unfortunately, the unequal treatment of “The Haves and the Have Nots” are just not in Bangladesh but also seen in many parts of the world. I highly doubt if a calamity of the scale of hurricane Katrina took place in say Massachusetts or New York instead of a rather poor state of Louisiana, we would have seen the number of death so high.
September 24th, 2006 at 12:38 am
Navy is busy looking for their officer who was lost during capsize of BNS gun boat ” Shahid farid”. They are not at all concerned about any “civilians” death.
And only the poor looks for the poor. Other surviving fishermen from the villages are taking their motorized trawler boats, braving the wild ocean in search of their dear ones. In TV channels, it was nerve cracking scene to watch them hop over the high seas with the tiny engine boats.
September 24th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Unfortunately, its about money, votes and power.
If you look at New Orleans today, the recovery efforts are moving forward at a pathetic pace. But since most of the affected are poor, Bush and his cronies don’t really care much.
Now, as for Bangladesh, being poor in one of the poorest countries in the world means being forgotten. When 100s of people die, its just a statistic. No one seems to care that it was someone’s mother, father, brother or sister, son, or daugther that died. To be poor is to not be human. Apparently human rights don’t extend to you if you don’t have cash.
Everytime I visit Bangladesh and my friends tell me how much progress has been made and show me all their latest cars and high tech gadgets, I point to the beggars on the street. They tell me I am naive and care about things that don’t matter. I wonder if we will ever develop as a people or a nation unless we start caring about the most unfortunate amongst us.
September 24th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Could we do something for the poor souls out there?
September 24th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Many fishermen said if some army choppers could be dispensed right away, many fishermen who were struggling to keep them afloat (after the trawler capsized) could have been saved. It’s really sad that the badly decomposed bodies are now being buried without identifying, or allowing the family members to have a proper burial.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:07 am
The choppers are only for VIP’s remember?
I don’t see any ministers, leave alone the Prime Minister, or anyone important for that matter,going to the site. On channel I, they showed hardened bodies on the beach - it was really heart wrenching.
God bless the VIP’s.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:43 am
And that woman was in Savar cantonment yesterday talking about how her admin helped enhance the benefits of the army personnel (medical benefits, plots alottment etc.).
What about the navy personnel that’s still missing in the ocean?
I don’t get it. What are the aid agencies doing?