New Year's and The Disaster of Tsunami

January 1, 2005
by Debra Opri - Attorney and Legal Analyst

With the well wishers of a hopeful New Year's 2005, came the deadliest catastrophe of our civilization. It was on the heels of Christmas 2004, and while the world vacationed, 150,000 people, thus far, lost their lives, because of an act of God. And we all wept. We wept not so much for the pictures and images of what we saw thousands of miles away, but rather for the helplessness we felt at not being able to do anything for these people, many of them children. Those images of suffering which came into our living rooms instantaneously transfixed us as a nation and as a civilization. For so long we have felt so powerful as a civilization with the greatest advances and achievements of mankind, and yet we are so helpless in our ability to help the helpless.

With the ravages of those tidal waves, came the beginnings of an evergrowing evil, the greed of humanity. It is the greed of those who are now seeking to make some money off of the desperation of helpless individuals. I speak directly to what I am now reading and hearing of those who are starting websites, seeking and accepting donations from the unwitting public, for no other purpose than to make a quick buck off of the suffering of others. To take money earmarked for Tsunami victims, is to kill these survivors with the hands that hold that stolen money.

I am not only directing my anger at those public few at large. We are also faced with governments of countries who suffered the devastation. When we learn that government agencies are isolating the food and water, increasing prices for food and water, to profit, and who are offering help to the privileged few who can afford it or who are 'connected' in some way, while others sit and starve and die of thirst, we must all question, "to whom are they accountable?"

Can this provide us insight into why governments topple only to be replaced by worse than their predecessors? Is there a solution based upon the compassion and kindness of a people rather than a government alone, as President Bush has initiated in his call to the American people to give whatever they can to help others?

President Bush accurately reflected upon the catastrophic devastation and told us that what had happened was 'beyond all comprehension', And we wonder, "why now?"

With all the technology and advancements in science, why have we been ravaged by an act of nature otherwise controlled on most all other levels in most other places?

It is an age of greatness, challenged by a world of great violence and strife. Since 9-11, and the ever emerging terrorist battles worldwide, with the recent Tsunami natural disaster, we find ourselves in an age where we are coming to terms with our own mortality and morality. We must now legitimately question why this is happening and what we can do to prevent it from happening again. In this age of great religious awakening, why are we killing each other in record numbers? In this age of plenty, why are many without? In this age of medical advancement and technology, why are we riddled with disease? In this age of space exploration to the far reaches of the universe, for reasons inclusive of determining whether or not Mars had water at one time, why do we not seek to protect and preserve the water we have left? In an age of computers and internet access, where all the world is joined in a matter of seconds, why can we not create enough jobs for all of us, such that the indignities of unemployment are routed from our societies once and for all?

I was prepared to write a very hopeful New Year's column, and then Tsunami hit us all. We didn't have to be there. It came to us via the internet and all modern media allows us. In a way, this may be the most hopeful article I could ever have written. Tsunami made us all hopeful that we are really a united people. After all, it made me realize how connected we all are to our survival and to each other. There is nothing more hopeful than that.In this New Year 2005, I am hopeful that we have all learned that we need each other more than ever. I believe that we are all one step closer to appreciating the basic quality of our life, which is, to live. May God bless each and every one of us in this, our greatest hour of need and grief as a united civilization.

From the courtroom to your living room, this has been another edition of THE OPRI OPINION.