There are no words to describe this adequately.
In all of recorded history, nothing since the Biblical descriptions of the great flood even comes close. The desperate struggle for daily survival will likely increase long before the number of the dead is finally tallied. As much as people around the world will strive to ignore it, the repercussions will not go away any time soon. And that may be the greatest tragedy of all.
For those who survived the initial flooding, there is no solace. Just making it to the next sunrise will be a challenge that many will not meet. Basic necessities such as clean water or even the simplest elements of nourishment will be denied.
Frankly, this all makes something we took for entertainment (yes, I am referring to CBS “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race”) seem absolutely meaningless. How can we ever see something as a game for entertainment that hundreds of thousands of people will now live or die trying to do? Suddenly that million dollars seems very much out of perspective.
Viacom and CBS truly need to do the right thing and cancel any future series or reruns of both shows and donate all of the profits from the shows and merchandise to the relief efforts. Disney should do the same for ABC’s “Lost”. It’s not entertainment any more. It is real; in all of the brutal ugliness.
If you have anything to spare, now is the time to share it. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescents Societies will be doing everything they can to spread disaster relief as much as possible throughout the effected area. The American Red Cross has an International Response Fund you may donate to through this link.
As the year of 2005 begins, I urge you all to consider how fortunate we are and what we must all do to support bringing the basics for human survival to so many in such dire need.