Sunday, November 7, 2010

Reactions to Natural Disasters

Three natural disasters struck Indonesia recently i.e flood in Wasior, West Papua, on 4 October killed 147 people, earthquake and tsunami on the islands of Mentawai, West Sumatra, on 25 October killed 445 people, and eruption of Mount Merapi, Yogjakarta on 26 October and 4 November killed 116 people. Besides, many others were wounded, and more than 150 thousand people must be evacuated.   .

Many people, including celebrities, have given positive reactions to the above mentioned natural disasters, e.g by collecting donations, becoming rescue volunteers, and other good things to help victims. And others have given different reactions.

First there was the Minister of Information and Communication who linked the natural disasters with declining public moral.

Then there was the Australian Qantas airlines that blamed Mount Merapi's volcanic ash for the emergency landing of its aircraft in Singapore. This was followed by13 foreign airlines that canceled their flight to and from Jakarta, after Mount Merapi erupted again last Thursday.

Further, there was the Governor of West Sumatra who traveled to Germany last Wednesday although rescuers are still facing difficulties to help tsunami survivors and thousands of people are still living in evacuation.

But like they say " every cloud has a silver lining ", beside the above bitter reactions, there were also good and positive reactions i.e the Vice President Boediono immediately flew to West Sumatra after the tsunami, followed by President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) who temporarily left the East Asia Summit meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.

And for better coordination of disaster relief efforts, SBY has temporarily moved his office to Yogjakarta, and appointed the chief of the national disasters agency Syamsul Maarif as the top coordinator of disasters management, thereby uplifting Maarif's position to a ministerial level.

I hope that more people in Indonesia, especially those who love to gather and protest, would do whatever they can to help the victims of natural disasters in our own country.

8 comments:

Ferdinand said...

pokoknya reaksi pemerintah kita bener2 lambat Sob.... malah pernah aku liat kompas bikin postingan perbandingan antara tanggap tsunami indonesia dan China yg bener2 beda jauh.... udah gitu ditengah bencana herannya parpol tetep promosi dan ngibarin benderanya....

Ria Tumimomor said...

justru parpol sedikit ah ngibarin benderanya... Khan Pemilu masih lama...
I like the last line... those who like to gather and protest... hahahah...Ouch!
yes, we do hope that there will be more clear coordination from the government otherwise those volunteers will be scattered and could put danger upon themselves

dee said...

I hope that more people in Indonesia, especially those who love to gather and protest, would do whatever they can to help the victims of natural disasters in our own country".. yeah I Hope so.. Let's Pray n act for our Lovely Country Indonesia" Thanks for share H.Nizam

Unknown said...

@Ferdinand,
Kalau dilihat sepintas pemerintah sepertinya lambat, tapi kalau kita perhatikan kondisi lapangan yang sangat sulit, dan dikerahkannya kopasus, marinir dll. maka kita bisa simpulkan bahwa usaha keras sudah dilakukan.
Dari bermacam bencana yang sudah kita lalui seharusnya kita semakin pintar mengatasinya sehingga bisa lebih cepat lagi.
Mudah2an 3 bencana ini membuat kita lebih pintar mengurangi dampak bencana.

@The Dream Catcher,
Mudah2-an partai tidak gunakan bencana ini sebagai alat promosi untuk 2014.
Yes, the keyword here is good coordination among government ministries and institutions.

@Dee,
Yes, it would be better to pray for the safety of the victims rather then doing nothing.

Meutia Halida Khairani said...

hmm maybe i won't say about government reaction for the disaster. it's really difficult to stand in the situation like this. so many people died 'n not only in 1 province, but many. all i have to do, try to help people, give the best i can to help them even it only a small donation.

Unknown said...

Meutia,
The disaster area in three provinces are difficult to reach, so it can be understandable why rescue takes quite long.
The best thing for us as common people would be to donate based on our ability. It is the thought that counts.

PO Box said...

I know about Indonesia earthquake. It is horrible. This kind of natural disaster totally changed human life. There are so many people were killed in Indonesia earthquake. This kind of natural disaster effected human life for a long time.

Unknown said...

PO Box,
You are right my friend, natural disasters effect the lives of victims.