Tsunami

[pettal]

It really sends it home when 150,000+ people is effectively wiping out the whole of the channel islands in one foul swoop.

We observed the silence as well today and Guernsey has already donated £150k with more on the way. Not bad for a population of 50,000!

Keep up the good work!

[Phil Davies]

Originally Posted by pettal

It really sends it home when 150,000+ people is effectively wiping out the whole of the channel islands in one foul swoop.

But what it really puts into perspective is the bombing of Dresden in 1945 when 220,000 people within a few square miles were obliterated in a couple of hours.

[Jono]

Here’s an interesting thought...
We are all moved by the plight of the victims of the Tsunami/Earthquake in the Indian Ocean and quite rightly so. The death toll is unknown but going to be around 150K plus. The number made homeless unknown, but will be million plus, I guess. The promised aid, so far, is $5 billion. The British public alone have donated £70 million plus so far.
Why? Is it the number of dead?
I wonder how many people know that over 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka since 1983 in the “civil war” that rages there? How many made homeless? What about the 10,000 plus killed in the fighting in Sumatra? Who donated to the relief operation then?
What about the current and ongoing crises in Somalia? Ethiopia? The Sudan? Around Chernobyl? To name but a few, where the tolls are much higher? Are we being generous because a number of “Europeans” were killed as well? I hope to God that that isn’t the truth, I really do.
What about stuff much closer to home? I watched with interest a poor chap, desperately “shaking his tin” for a local refuge for battered wives. He was being completely ignored in the rush to put money in the “Tsunami appeal bucket”.
Give generously, please… but spare a thought for some of the other deserving people too…..

[Louise]

Originally Posted by Jono

Give generously, please… but spare a thought for some of the other deserving people too…..

Very well put Jono, as usual! Along with, I'm sure, many others, my monthly direct debits to various charities will still be going out in addition to a contribution to the Tsunami appeal. As I understand it, donating on a regular basis is even more valuable to charities than 'one-offs' as they are able to plan more effectively for the future. Setting up direct debit donation is easy and can start at as little as £2 a month so you can spread your kindness around, and give a little bit to several different causes.

OK, I'm off the soap box now!

[Phil Davies]

Originally Posted by Louise

Very well put Jono, as usual!

Hear, hear! An uncannily accurate summation of my thoughts by Jono - the erudite and eloquent one, not the other one

[John Kennett]

There will always be some disasters that capture the public imagination more than others. I have no doubt that a significant factor is the number of europeans affected, especially the stories of people on holiday watching family members being swept to their deaths. People seem to find that easier to relate to than some of the other global tragedies.

The death toll is shocking, but in my mind rather less so than the 70,000 people deliberately killed in Sudan over the last two years for instance. However, the work to be done now isn't about the dead people, but the ones still alive. I would guess that the number of people displaced by the tsunami and the widespread destruction of infrastructure, are on a greater scale than in other areas.

John

[The Jackeens]

A lady I admire very much who spent her life helping peeps in desperate circumstances was once asked how she coped with the enormity of the task, the thousands in need.
Her answer was simple and went something like this...
'I never think of the thousands...I just begin ...one, one, one...'

missus

[mstacey]

Not my words but very suitable !

A SEA OF HUMANITY

Mother Nature shows Us once again
That She is really in Control
How She can rearrange this Earth
Right down to It’s very Soul.

The Human, just one stage of Life
Formed by some Greater Creator
We aren’t Supreme on this World
Which We learn, sooner or later.

Why me? The most asked question
When Life doesn’t go Our way
But when We disregard Her Warnings
Someone will always have to Pay.

We will Build around Volcanoes
Along the Rivers running Deep
At the Shores of all the Oceans
And on Slopes of Mountains, Steep.

It’s a restless Place We dwell upon
Traveling through Time and Space
And in It’s Change, once in awhile
Nature will put Us in Our place.

Sometimes We will have the Means
To give Us some kind of Warning
But when We think, the Price too Great
The true Cost, will be the Mourning.

When We think We can outwit Her
Or can put it off until tomorrow
All We can do, when it’s too late
Is to shed Our tears in Sorrow.

Now, it’s Our Time to Pay the Piper
We played out the Game and Lost
Tendered Our Friends and Loved Ones
And all Mankind must Bear that Cost.

Del "Abe" Jones
White Bluff, TN

[The Jackeens]

Food for thought. Thanks Martin.

I suppose there's a desperate need for compassion too in all the terrible things that can happen in life.

missus

[MeMe]

......£10,000.00 as a company. The staff also raised £1000.00 yesterday by paying £5.00 each for their lunch.

[Louise]

Wow! That's impressive! Well done to all of you!

[The Jackeens]

That's cool Meme


Us

[John Kennett]

I went into the "Alldays" shop down the road (one of those mini supermarket things) and they had collected over £1500 over the counter!

John