"Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
I'm worn out calling for help
my throat is parched
My eyes fail
Looking for my God."
Psalm 69: 1-3
When I read this psalm this morning, my thought went to those who were suddenly swept away by the ferocious waves of tsunami last Friday aftenoon. Like the psalmist who cried out to God in the miry depth of waters/sin. people must have cried out to God for help whether they had known Him or not.
As the day dawned on the North east coastal towns of Japan, they had the least idea what lay ahead of them later that afternoon. Giving no much thought to the weather, nor to the morrows, they must have gone doing the same old mundane things as usual.
Then it happened. Around 2.46 pm(12.46 am ET) the earth started to rock. A magnitude of 9.0 earthquake, the fifth biggest one in the earth's history rocked with such a vengence that 30-foot high waves rolled in and engulfed entire towns and swept away hundreds of people, cars,boats, and houses within blinking time. Surely, no one would have had time even to blink when they saw the rushing flood of blackish water come rushing in with such a force.
Of course, Japan was prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis and had built its highrisings and houses to withstand them. Yet, the country never expected to have a giant quake like this, nor such a merciless tsunami like this one.
The rest of the world stood still, numbed and watched in horror as the news on television slowly rolled out what was happening in Japan. "The big one is coming, the big one is coming", we'd been told now and then, but when the big one came on Japan's shore, we, in the western shores in California started to tremble. When the report of nuclear plant explosion and melting down of rods hit our ears, we, who are living above a faultline and closer to a nuclear plant are wondering whether to pack and flee or wait and see.
We do not know anyone in Japan, but we cry out to God to help those victimized and traumatized by this monstrous earthquake. About 10, 000 people had been killed, hundreds more missing, homes, cars and boats had been dragged by rushing waters and thrown over somewhere.
A mother clinging onto a tree while her daughter is grabbed and tossed away in the rushing water like a toy. A man sobbing non-stop after losing his entire family-wife, son, daughter-in-law and three grand kids to the tsunami.
Then there stood a young woman, probably in her standing alone amidst the mass debris of broken windows, roof planks, children's toys, punched down cars and face down boats. Blank faced and glazed eyes she stood there wrapping herself tightly in a worn -out blanket. I've lost it all. What next? Why I'm here?-No, she didn't spell that in words, but anyone could guess, that's what going through her mind at that time.
If such a tragedy of this magnitude had happened on our shores, surely we would have been bombarded with so many why?s and why not? We would have blamed the goverment for not giving us proper warnings, for not constructing tsunami preventing bunds, not rushing to the disaster zone sooner and not providing enough drinking water or so on.
Surprisingly, nothing of that sort was noted in the affected areas in Japan. Inspite of the tragedy, the people maintained their calm composure and polite behaviour. It was reported that people and cars stood in line to get drinking water and gas from one pumping station for hours and no one yelled or pushed another aside. Neither was looting reported at any time.
Japanese,by nature are known to be polite and respectful. But in a crisis like this, even a saint may blurt out in anger and frustration. But the people of Japan displayed calmness and solidarity even in a horrendous tragedy like this. Nuclear plants are threatening to meltdown and emit radiation. Yet, men are willingto work selflessly in those plants, to bring safety for their fellowmen. When one of those men's wife was interviewed, she calmly said that her husband had asked her to take care of herself with all the caution necessary while he;d be gone for days to attends to the safety of the people around. She wasn't sure of the time of his return, yet she looked calm.
It's applaudable that other countries are reaching out to help those in Japan. Yes, at times like this, the good in us over-ride our pettiness and reach out to give, love, help others in need, as well as learn from those we try to help too. In other words, good things can come out of bad happenings, if we have the right perspective to see. Such thought may sound harsh and silly at the moment, but it may dawn to us years later may be.
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