Even at a time when the world is yet to contend with wars and threats of war nature also seems mad at humanity. The word tsunami was hardly in vogue before the 2004 disaster in the Indian Ocean, providing a terribly new threat to humanity.
We used to hear about hurricanes, storms, earthquakes and tremors, but this anti-human monstrous gorgon called Tsunami is definitely a recent phenomenon. It actually looks like a higher stage or by-product of an earthquake. I wonder whether Geography today talks about Tsunamis or is it under Geology, Geomorphology or what have you? Please forgive me, my geography did not go beyond junior secondary.
The world is actually collectively at danger. Even with events reducing threats from humans against humans, nature is not bothered… it keeps lashing out in a most horrendous fashion. Even in a small way we see disaster at small but disastrous levels. Take our country Sierra Leone. Years back in 1986 in June there was what was dubbed the June breeze. This breeze blew across the Western Area destroying structures, uprooting trees and killing livestock especially the flying ones. I can remember so many vultures died at the cotton tree. Even a branch of the cotton tree was cut… something hitherto never thought of. Well all that was a small thing. Actually prior to this there had been an earth tremor in nearby Conakry. The Sierra Leone Red Cross at the time sent truck loads of relief items across the border to help victims.
For countries reeling under poverty and mismanagement, disasters only compound their already precarious situations. Sometimes I wonder why humanity has to contend with all sorts of threats to life. While we are daily struggling to keep the lives in us, fresh challenges stare us starkly in the face. On the other hand there are others who use weapons to destroy the world. Of course it is not surprising that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is coming under so much limelight. Look at all the emerging new states that are clamoring for world recognition. They are all trying to build their atomic power. The current efforts by the United States and some other Great nations to get countries like Iran to abide by the provisions of the IAEA are indeed a great move. Small defenseless countries like Sierra Leone which is yet to have enough life jackets to protect her boat passengers can definitely not like missile attacks! The countries that have weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are not many but their actions are as devastating as any Tsunami. I believe the war on terrorism should also include research to detect earthquakes well before they occur. Since most Tsunamis are ignited by quakes, then it is logical that the quakes should be nipped in the bud.
Natural disasters definitely do not strike everyday some take decades to hit back. With all the gadgets now being used to give early warning to areas prone to disasters why is it that people are still caught up in the middle of some disaster and another? People get so used to staying in an area that moving out of that area is almost unthinkable… how can they leave the homes they have known all their life? I can remember some years back in 1978 or so I went for an assignment to Guard street to interview women there to see if they were going to comply with a government directive at the time for them to quit selling on the streets. Some flatly said they would not except if they are forced out. They will tell you that they have been on those tables and through those tables they have educated their children through university. The trend is almost always the same, people do not like moving out of familiar areas. Perhaps what seems lacking at times is dialogue with people concerned. People need to know why they should move in the first place. They need to see reason and be part of the process and not just mere subjects of the process.
An Organization like the Red Cross place great premium on Disaster preparedness. Do we really take heed of early warning signs? Do we blame that also on poverty? We have had so many lives lost that could actually be alive and living with us today had we been a bit careful. Disasters like children falling into pits being dug for toilet or water wells should not happen if these death traps are not left uncovered. Do we always have to behave like the frog which did not know that there were two species of water until it fell into the hot species?
The world does not really lack the support materials to at least fix certain problems especially when they are small. When we wait until they grow into monsters, then it becomes difficult to fix. When I look around the hills enveloping Kabala town with all the hanging, I get scared that one day they might fall. But interestingly enough people think that will never happen. But I know also that while art is permanent, nature is transient. This explains while many spring waters that used to provide drinking sources are today gone. So many terms are used these days to describe the strange changes in nature. Some call it global warming, others call it Climate change and the like. What is worrying is that in Africa where majority of people are literally tied to the land for their livelihood, agriculture seems to be facing the type of crisis that threatens survival in an environment where poverty keeps close company with its millions of depraved citizens. Even with highly empowered communities in our countries the current environmental trend may bring to naught all gains made in development. This is where partnering is today stressed on. Like someone said on the BBC the other day…You want to work fast, work alone…you want to produce good results, work with others. I believe as things get more difficult, the more we should be more transformative in outlook. People should be enabled to act and we should continue creating better ways of doing things. The idea of saying we met our fore fathers doing it this way, is not only irrelevant today, but most unprogressive. In your grandfather’s time were the seasons around the same time as they are today? Did they talk about Tsunamis? Did they know about HIV and cancer? Come on get this, abnormal situations breed abnormal behaviors. Like the Krios say, ‘set you yai bet fatfoot’. Problems of today need to be tackled head long to forestall any engulfment of the whole universe. We have heard of the Mad Cow disease, Bird flu and so many other strange diseases. It appears the more modern the period, the more vulnerable humanity becomes.
Human security seems to be eroding by the day and everybody feels threatened. The emergence of Civil Society organizations to facilitate citizens access to law enforcement agencies and monitoring justice delivery process are to a large part helping to weather many security storms that if not checked may turn into monstrous tsunamis. We may not know what the future holds but let us try to know those who hold the future and get them to take appropriate steps. Knowing is not enough…we must apply knowledge.
By S. Beny SAM
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