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Round Up
No Man Is An Island
 If there is one
message that the devastating tsunami of 26th December 2004 has succeeded in
conveying to the world, it is that no man is an island. An earthquake with
its epicenter in Indonesia spread havoc across twelve countries by shaking
up the bowels of the Indian Ocean, resulting in a tragedy that has rattled
and affected people all over the world.
The much-abused Mother Nature has,
in a terrifying manner, revealed the interconnectedness of living beings.
Who would have imagined that the death toll of tourists, largely from the
Western countries, would outnumber that of the local populace in some of the
affected areas? In almost all the countries hit by the tsunami, the
casualties include Westerners who had come in to enjoy a bit of the winter
sun (non-existent in their own part of the world, at this time of the year)
and sand.
When nature struck with uncontrollable fury, it did not discriminate on the
basis of possessions, caste, creed, nationality or religion. Whoever came in
its path was exposed to the horror of the tidal waves. Those who were
fortunate enough to escape also ranged from all strata of society; each of
them will perhaps consider themselves lucky and see a new purpose to their
lives.
No doubt there is sufficient research to show that misfortune does affect
the impoverished countries more than the rich, first by virtue of their
geographical locations and congestion in terms of numbers (the dominant
reasons for their poor status), and also on account of the absence of
sophisticated warning systems, easily afforded by the countries from the
North. People from the countries of the South have a propensity to take
risks with regard to their place of habitation, like fisher-folk in hamlets
close to the sea or miners in hazardous mining zones. But this apart, in
many ways, the world has turned into a global village and there is a great
deal of mobility between people across countries and continents. That the
people of many nationalities, besides Americans, lost their lives in
September 11th is just one more instance that demonstrates the universality
of human tragedy.
This sense of connectedness that many religions have spoken of has
manifested itself in a very positive manner in the aftermath of the tsunami.
The Internet and the electronic media have relayed the horrors of those who
have lost everything, culminating in an unbelievable outpouring of sympathy
and help from all corners of the world. The Net has also helped to connect
lost people and families and served as a one-point contact to raise huge
donations in cash and kind to benefit the victims of these killer waves. The
World Wide Web has certainly risen up to the occasion in weaving more than
just a superficial sense of cyber-connectedness. Web logs have provided
first-hand accounts of the impact of the disaster in far-flung areas and
created a new form of live reporting. Peter, a blogger from India, is just
one among the many netizens who decided that the best way that they could
help the victims was by providing websites where all kinds of services could
be offered. This idea has lead to people across the world uniting to offer
their assistance.
The tsunami has also conveyed another powerful message. Man may think that
he is the master of all he surveys but an ocean’s dreaded tandav nritya
can change the whole geography of a country. The recent submergence of
Indira Point, India’s southernmost tip is just one example. History is
replete with several others, if only mankind would care to learn something
from them.
Unfortunately, this sense of inter-dependence has yet to be understood by a
country like America, which has been the slowest and the most niggardly in
its first reaction to a tragedy of such magnitude. It changed its stand only
when it was stung by criticism from the United Nations, which, thankfully,
was widely publicized by the media. Calculations have revealed that just
about one dollar per day of an average American income has been earmarked
for victims of the tsunami. All the more regretful when it is common
knowledge that billions of dollars are being spent every day on war
machinery that is used to blast people to oblivion in Iraq. What is this
sense of a global leader that does not mind killing in the name of peace,
but does not see the inter-connectedness of the world when it comes to
extending a hand to offer succor to people of the South, affected by a
tragedy of such mammoth proportions? Clearly words like peace and compassion
are mere shibboleths unless backed by action.
The poet John Donne reminds us that no man is an island and is a part of the
main. This message has its reinforcement in a song that says, “No man is an
island. No man stands alone. Each man’s joy is joy to me; each man’s grief
is my own. We need one another so will I defend, each man as my brother,
each man as my friend.”
–
Melanie Priya Kumar
January 9, 2005
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