A Moment of Silence

During an innocent stroll through Maumere, Indonesia with 1 man and 3 other women, our group collected men (and boys), who followed us to the beach with wide-eyed fascination. 

As evidenced by the photo, the beach wasn't really a beach, but a hodgepodge of concrete slabs strewn over what used to be the beach. You wouldn't have known from the friendly demeanor of the locals, but 7 months before our arrival, Maumere suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami, the largest and deadliest earthquake that year. Thousands of people lost their lives, and most of Maumere was destroyed. Did the world sit up and pay attention?

One year ago, the world watched in horror as a wall of water rushed onto the earthquake-devastated landscape of North-Eastern Japan and washed away the lives and livelihoods of nearly 19,000 people.  The world sprang into action, and relief came from around the globe, with help from the likes of Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper.

 

A disaster in the right place at the right time can unite the world. The Haiti earthquake. Hurricane Katrina. The Indian ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004. But what about devastating incidents like the Maumere earthquake, the recent floods in Thailand, or the catastrophic landslides in the Philippines in 2006? Did the world take notice? Should the world take notice? In a time when technology and connectedness broadcast everything everywhere instantaneously, how much is too much? What compels us to act? Do we choose one catastrophe over another? Do we choose not to act? Is it OK not to act?

A moment of silence, then, to remember those affected in Japan one year ago today. And a moment of silence for our global neighbors who fall victim to the countless other tragedies that take place both in the public eye, and far from the public eye, for the human suffering is the same.

AP Photo