the appalling ignorance and superiority of some.

i was reading the reuters photographers blog online and the most recent post by russell boyce talked about the recent cyclone nargis that hit myanmar and the death toll has risen from a mere 200 to 22,000 now. and i'm pretty sure it's grossly underestimated as rescue efforts (try t0) continue and aid and relief (try to) enter the country.

well pastor tells us often about the difficulties of ministering to our bethren in myanmar and even getting a visa to enter myanmar is so difficult. and we haven't received word from them yet, so this waiting is kind of excruciating. and i know the one thing we can do now is to pray. i've been dilligently praying for the people of myanmar, for UN aid workers, especially our church members. and as i prayed also for my FYP presentation, i felt (once again) that my worries of a bad q&a session during the presentation completely pales in comparison to what they are going through.

well anyway, back to the the reuters blog post. the author writes,

"At the end of yesterday I went home believing that a caring world knew about what was going on.

Once at home, after explaining to my 12 year old son why so many had died in a cyclone, I browsed a few of the international news sites to see how the world was reacting to something I felt was the most important news event of the day.

The first blog I read under a slide show of pictures on a major US news site read (I paraphrase as it has been removed now) “why should we care about this dirty little washed up country and who gives a damn anyway”

This comment on the blog chilled me, not because it was there but because it was supported by many other comments."

well, i was totally appalled by the comment. and the fact that it was removed only goes to show how offensive it was. i don't want to assume the nationality of the blogger who wrote that comment, but as a blogger i can safely conclude that he is part of the virtual community and is considerably quite "tech-savvy" and probably well-educated too. and i was shocked that the education that he received and his upbringing could bring him to post such a comment in such harsh words, at a time where people are dying by the tens of thousands due to a natural disaster, (not a war ok). i shudder to think that if more than 4000 US soldiers lost their lives in the iraq war, how many iraqis and other people have lost their lives since then. and think about cyclones and hurricanes and volcanoes (case-in-point that is happening right NOW: chile). for the people in the US, think about hurricane katrina and the south asia tsunami.

i want to tell the blogger in question to imagine if he was born into a family in myanmar, under strict military regime that was not of their own choosing. that what they watch on tv is controlled by their government. that they have no democracy, no freedom, no choice. and tell him he'd probably not know where myanmar is on the world map. or tell me the capital city.

a recent episode of CSI:new york featured the victim as a guy who was building an ark 'cos he was convinced it was the "end of times". in a video, he rattled on several different verses from the Bible and that reminded me again of tragedies and disasters, war and strife. where nations will rise against nations. it's a chilling thought as i look at our world now. all the problems we have.

i've been holding on to these verses in good faith when problems cloud my head. and i know even when my FYP poster presentation didn't go as well as i hoped, or that there are horrible people in this world, or that thousands have perished in disasters, i can trust in His will and His grand plan, in a very micro and macro level.

“Through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in
hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.”
Romans 5:2-3