Thursday, January 06, 2005
Natural and man-made disasters
I was listening to a show on the radio last night, it was an interview of the director of the new movie "Hotel Rwanda". The show was succeeded by a newscast where, predictably, the lead item was the refugee relief operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka and so on.
I got to thinking. The tsunami killed upwards of 150000 people. The big earthquake in China 30 years ago killed more than 200000 people. The cyclones and floods killed 130000 people in Bangladesh in 91. And so we talk about the power of Nature.
Between 1 and 10 million people were killed in Rwanda/Congo in 94. How? By other people. No natural forces here. Only man-made.
I got to thinking. The tsunami killed upwards of 150000 people. The big earthquake in China 30 years ago killed more than 200000 people. The cyclones and floods killed 130000 people in Bangladesh in 91. And so we talk about the power of Nature.
Between 1 and 10 million people were killed in Rwanda/Congo in 94. How? By other people. No natural forces here. Only man-made.
