The Short Life of a Disaster

Just before 5am I wake to the thump, thump sound of helicopter blades and the roar of C130 engines. Day after day the same routine.

We live about two kilometres from the Cebu airport on Mactan Island and the sound easily carries.

So I don't forget. About a hundred kilometres to the north of us there are people living in dire circumstances. I have heard that there are now enough supplies but the distribution is the problem. I have a feeling of inevitability as I realise that these people, like others all over the world have been neglected by the one institution that they believed would look after them ... the government.

But once again a government has failed.

Any belief that their democracy would be their salvation has again been dashed. So I wonder, what will it take for abused populations to eventually rise up in their own "Arab spring"?

I have great respect for the people who have very little, but who care enough about the even less fortunate. Day after day they make sacrifices. My mind wanders back to my days of selling university rag magazines in the poor areas of Durban where an obviously poor person would hesitantly approach. Not having enough money to buy a magazine but still wanting to make a donation ... I gave him a magazine anyway.

Quite frankly most democratic societies are stuffed up. Borrowed to the hilt. Fat cat politicians sacrificing the future to make themselves look good. Excuses, excuses and blame. While all around there are signs of failure ... poverty, homelessness, degeneration of values (and not only currencies), irrational controls, more and more laws.

Western populations in a feeding frenzy. With little consideration for the future but driven by an insatiable drive to consume. These warped values being adopted by the "middle class" of all developing nations

And for the bulk of the world population more and more despair.

The politicians around the world keep pushing a failed democracy agenda.

My message today to those who are fortunate enough to be reading this blog. Remember how priviledged you are. There are many today who had their lives ripped way from them. Tonight, and for many more nights to come, they will go to sleep hungry and homeless ... everything they worked for destroyed.

Together with their trust?