What must it feel like to be the invisible victim of an invisible disaster?
Natural disasters are a part of life. At least they become so for the many people around the world who find themselves affected by one. Whether storm or fire, flood or earthquake, there can be nothing worse than find your life turned upside down in a matter of hours, even minutes. There can be nothing worse than losing your home, losing all your belongings or, worst of all, losing your family.
Or can there? Maybe there can be something worse than being the victim of a disaster. You could be the invisible victim of an invisible disaster.
Few of us will forget the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It was all too visible. With over 200,000 dead and millions affected in numerous countries, the scale of the disaster shocked the world. And the blanket media coverage shocked a response too: billions of dollars were collected in private donations made from all around the world.
The Victorian bushfires of 2009 were visible too. They affected far fewer people, on a global scale, but they were close to home for Australians. Media coverage was exhaustive and prompted generous donations. Warehouses were filled with donated goods and over $315 million was raised by the Red Cross appeal.
Unfortunately, not all disasters capture as much attention as these two.
Large parts of Pakistan are currently under water, and have been for weeks. The Pakistan floods have had some media coverage, but not enough to capture real public attention.
The Pakistan floods are essentially invisible.
While the death toll in Pakistan has been modest (by tsunami standards) at ‘only’ a few thousand, millions of people have had their lives severely disrupted. A report in The Guardian estimates that over 13 million people could be suffering. The report explains that it’s more than the combined number of people affected by the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 Kashmiri earthquake (which was also largely invisible) and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. That’s a lot of invisible victims.
To have any significant affect on the response and recovery effort, the United Nations has called for $460 million in aid. In global terms this is peanuts, yet so far they have managed to raise less than 40% of that amount: only about $100 million. The Australian commitment so far is $9 – just 42 cents per head.
This is pathetic.
What must it feel like to be the invisible victim of an invisible disaster?
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