Mar 6, 2007

[World Affairs] Troubled Indonesia

Flickr: adlaw - prayer for the dead


Not to sound like I'm belittling things, but it's kind of weird how bad things have been going for Indonesia pretty much starting with the tsunami of 2004. The latest tragedy involves a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 70 people based on the initial reports and potentially more as things settle down. It wasn't just one earhquake - there were multiple aftershocks that did an equal amount of damage to the island nation.

I'm not trying to sound like a fatalist here or anything like that. I'm not crying against the cruelty of "fate" or "destiny" or anything of the sort. I'm just saying that Indonesia seems to be getting it pretty bad lately.

Let's face it - since 2004 they've been subject to a variety of disasters like more earthquakes, landslides and even ferry barge fires. You could always point to geology and geography, showing that the location of the country predisposes it to many of the disasters they encounter. It's just strange that they're getting it most, and not other countries also within the area. Does this indicate something in terms of the quality of life for the nation or is this merely because of how their islands are situated?

Either way, do extend your good intentions to the people of this country. Given the waves and waves of disasters that hit them (pun unintended), we ought to try and do whatever we can. We are one global community after all, right?

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Photo linked from adlaw's photostream.

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