Global issues today

80,000 Americans killed

The big tsunami. You know which one. Donations poured in from around the world. India asked the world to stop sending money, they had too much, they could afford their own rebuilding, and yet still the money poured in. Where did it go? To the big tourist areas, those places we’ve been, or at the very least heard of.

A year ago an earthquake struck Kashmir and 80,000 people died. Have a look at that number in words, perhaps it will have more of an impact. EIGHTY THOUSAND. No, even spelt out in capitals it still fails to strike. Why?

Where’s Kashmir?

Kashmir is a disputed part of the Indian / Pakistan border territory lying in the Himalayan mountain range. Apparently an area of great beauty at the best of times, it has become a living hell for the nearly 2 million, TWO MILLION, people left homeless after that savage earthquake destroyed countless lives and homes.

Why care?

Can you even imagine what the impact would be on everyone you knew and life as you knew it if 80,000 people in your state were killed? Can you??

I read about this in recent news articles hidden in the back-pages of the world wide web and I feel sick and sad at once. We, and I use the term inclusive of myself, have forsaken these people, offered them little (if anything) in support or aid and left them to fend for themselves against the most inconceivable of odds.

They are about to face their second winter in makeshift tents. They had little to begin with but their supplies dwindle daily, their tents are leaking and winter in the Himalayas approaches fast. How can these amazing people have survived? I don’t know, you and I would probably curl up into a little ball and perish in a week, but now they’re facing winter and they must be asking themselves “how can we make it?”

I don’t know how much they need. I can’t really fathom 2 million people struggling for survival. I’ve never seen (or even heard) anything like it. It’s such a phenomenal number that it’s hard to accept it’s even real, but it is. This is reality for so many people.

What can I give and who can I give it to?

Please consider donating anything you can to Oxfam, a global charity supported by world governments and aid organisations. Oxfam – Donate now and help thousands of people much less fortunate than yourself.

Did I say 80,000 Americans killed? Wooops, but since you're here, you might as well care!!!

Related: One Year Later, Pakistan's Earthquake Survivors Still Lack Proper Shelter

posted by Eliza @ 10:43 pm