I have been watching CNN these days for updates in tsunami disaster and found that Indonesia was not widely covered in news. This struck me hard, as Aceh and Nias probably experienced the hardest hit due to its closeness to the epicenter of the earthquake (about 255 kms away).
Understandable. Aceh has been pretty much closed to the outer world due to the conflicts happening in the area. As far as I know, no foreign journalists set foot there. Our government did not allow it and their government advised them not to go there. It is therefore understandable that when the disaster hit, practically no journalists covered the first hit of the tidal wave.
Plus, the infrastructure of communication in the area is not adequate and of course practically cut out by the disaster. Until now, there is no official count on how many deaths and casualties in Indonesia, compared to the quick counts of other countries affected by the earthquake. This is especially hard considering the vast geography of Indonesia. In addition to being so vast, aids are not easily delivered because, again, we have no advanced communication and transportation means. I'm particularly concerned with small tiny islands of Nias because with the severity of the disaster, it is possible that those islands were simply wiped out from the map and no survivors could tell the numbers and the horror of the tragedy.
Speculations of the media are flying: where's the warning system? why didn't they set it up? why the aids are not readily available? where's the assistance system? Oh well, Mr. and Ms. know-it-all, our country is poor. If there is any money left (which in our case, never happened), we need it to feed and clothe and educate and support the other 200 million something of our people. A warning system might cost only a few million US dollars, but unfortunately we just don't have it. We're poor. We're broke. Simply that.
In my previous post, I sounded like I was blaming God for this disaster. Well, no. Probably it's just a reflection of my inability as a human being to deal with the situation. Probably it's just because I'm tired of what has been happening in Aceh (which our government failed to solve the conflicts and to meet the demands of Acehnese). Therefore I'm looking for a way to explain this whole situation. But, simply put, there is no way to explain this.
What matters is what to do to help, to aid, to assist the people affected by the tsunami. Well, I have one complaint again really. Indonesia should receive more aids because the fact is our area suffer the most of the tidal waves. Oh, No, I should quit complaining for the thing that I have no power to change. The prayer remains: God gives, God takes.....
