To "Katrina" Survivors: A Simple Message

Though a foreigner (Filipino), I have kept a close watch on what's been happening to New Orleans, Louisiana and the rest of the Southern states because of this disaster. I know that there are no words to describe the state of things and emotions you are feeling right now. I know that things are pretty scary, uncertain and immensely sad over what has happened. But allow me to share my own past since I defintely can relate with what you are going through.

I am from the region of Pampanga. A decade ago, we also encountered one of the worst natural disasters EVER; the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. It is hailed as one of the greatest eruptions ever in recorded history. In our case, it was "lahar" or mudflows from volcanic discharge that defaced and literally changed the landscape of our region/province. Entire towns, loved ones, edifices, literally "buried" in one fell swoop. The worst hit became muddy desolate wastelands. Since we were also heavily agricultural, think of the vast scale damage caused which "years" could not have even counted. The large scale displacement of large populations with no home, work or futures faced us. And mind you, this wasn't just a "one-time" event. Every year for almost a decade, the mudflows came down the highlands carried by the storms and torrential rains.

I do not wish to compare my plight with yours, which is both empty and pointless, but I could say we had it tougher. Adding to the fact that are a third-world nation with not even a tenth of the wealth, resources and logistics your govenment could provide.

BUT WE'RE STILL HERE.

Yes, this is the season of feeling pain and aguish and suffering. But season's pass, the hope does not. Take heart. Life will go on. My prayers to all of you folks out there.

I'm really surprised nobody responded to this. You're quite right-people have been through much worse than this and survived. I not sure though that you can say being a third-world country gave you a disadvantage here. I tend to think the opposite for several reasons. First off, not having power, running water, and many other things that we here in the US take for granted means that a sudden absence of these things will affect you very little. Here in the US no power may well mean a walk down 50 flights of stairs just to reach the street. No power or running water means most of the economy can't function because it simply isn't set up that way. Second, there is much more specialization in developed countries. In so-called third-world countries many people grow or hunt for their own food, build their own shelters, make their own clothes, and so forth. Over here in the US those functions are all specialized and mechanized. This is both good and bad. It's good in that it means a virtual endless supply of cheap food and very few manual labor jobs. It's bad in that when the system breaks down, people will literally starve to death because they lack the ability and supplies, plus in many cases the land/climate, to feed themselves. Ditto for most of the other things they need (And I'm only talking necessities here, not luxuries).

I think my point is easy to get across. If most of the people here could live independently, depending only upon the immediate family or at most a small village, then we could cope much better with sudden natural disasters. However, we traded off living independently at a much lower standard of living for living much better, but at the same time being highly dependent upon the workings of a highly complex, ordered, mechanized society similar to an ant colony where everyone has a function, and most members depend upon the colony to survive. I personally hope that in the future solar power, hydroponic gardens, the ability to collect and purify rain water, etc. give the average person a greater independence from the grid (here referring to society itself, not just the electrical grid).