many happenings...

in a little less than two weeks we have two natural disasters that ravaged the lives of many.

heaven bless the souls of those who perished in these unfortunate incidents, and bless even more so the ones who lived on to witness the harsh reality of their loved ones' passing.

yes, i'm talking about myanmar and sichuan, china.

the common thing running between these two countries, apart from the fact that they were hit by nature's wrath, was their rejection of foreign aid personnel into their borders.

i'm not so concerned about china because i have faith in their abilities to deal with a public health hazard. the very least is that they have a dedicated armed forces devoted to the rescue and liberation of victims.

with president wen's personal visit to the site, this comes as a morale booster - both to the victims and rescue personnel. it has also been reported that he was adamant that the victims be evacuated quickly and safely; supposedly, he barked orders at military personnel to save the victims at all cost, reasoning that:

"it's the people who's feeding you - you see how it gets done!"

comparing this to the military government over at myanmar - the junta reportedly kept foreign rescue teams away, siphoned the better foreign aid for themselves, imprint the commanders' insignia on the aid boxes as a form of propaganda, and make no efforts to conceal the fact that they are going to bias the votes in favor of Than Shwe in the upcoming elections, whether the votes are for or against him.

bastards.

a natural disaster does not culminate with ravaged landscapes or corpses. the true aftermath of disasters of such magnitude is the public health hazard that threatens the lives of those lucky to be alive.

take myanmar for example: with death tolls on the rise and corpses floating around, these are conditions favorable for the propagation of disease. furthermore, with all that water, water-related diseases are bound to start crawling their way into the cramped refugee camps and quarters. malaria and diarrhea, i'm afraid, are beginning to inflict themselves on the burmese.

let's hope that these two asian neighbours get over their woes soon, and begin the long and painstaking process of rebuilding homes, rebuilding lives.

oops, i almost forgot the US. prayers for them, too.

and, this sounds really cliche, but for those who perished - the only hope is that the process was instantaneous and hence, painless (or at least kept to a minimum).

technically, there's no difference because the result is the same: they're gone.

if it only helps to lessen the pain suffered by the living, a difference frame of reference might just help.

tonight, i shall sleep with my heart keeping a vigil for the victims of nature's rage.