The Natural Response?
There are numerous disasters that are occuring around the world. From Civil Wars to Nuclear missile threats, there never seems to be a shortage of both manmade and natural disasters.The biggest disaster occuring within the United States today is taking place within the island state of Hawaii. The volcano of Mount Kilauea has erupted and is spewing ash and lava hundreds of feet into the air and around the southern region of Puna Hawaii. This is forcing locals within nearby villages to evacuate their home. An estimated 10,000 people have been forced to evacuate their, leaving most of their possessions behind. This is especially true for the people who lived within the area of Lelingai, where almost half of the area has been overrun with lava. The threat of their homes being destroyed is one that is waying on the minds of a great amount of people within Hawaii. This threat also occupies the mind of numerous other people for reasons that may not be as life threatening or even beneficial to them.The numerous different responses to this disaster effectively display how people within the disaster, as well as outside of it respond to the consequences of such a major tragedy.
The two major responses that have been observed are those of the people that are in the situation, and those that see the disaster as a way to benefit. The former response is obviously the one that we as human beings with morals, and sympathy for others would expect. The people are panicked. They are devastated. They are worried for their families and homes.This is expected due to the fact that homes and lives are being destroyed.This is supposedly the natural response to something as devastating as unstoppable molten rock destroying villages.This is a response that nobody is going to question. The second response however, is a head scratcher. This is one of greed and complete disregard for the terrible situation of other people. While thousands of locals are running away from the lava and fearing for their livelihoods, tourists are flocking to island in an effort to get a look at the devastation. As if watching people’s lives be destroyed is entertainment for them. This isn’t the response that we would expect. People using the misfortune of others to their own benefit. We as sophisticated beings, like to believe that we are so much better than that. After all, the fact that we can empathize and understand the feelings of other people is one of the things that make us human right? In hearing this, most people are surprised. However we really shouldn’t be that surprised. This type of gain through the demise of others is displayed in all disasters.
It is especially seen in Indra Sinha’s novel, Animals People. The author tells the story of a seventeen year old boy who has walked on all fours since he was a child. In doing so,she also tells the story of the people within his village who were poisoned by chemicals within a factory that was built there. The author uses Animal’s story as a way to tell the stories of the people in his community. The readers are exposed to the personal accounts of how the victims of the incident feel and have managed to cope with the effects of such a deadly disaster. The story is based off the Bhopal disaster that released thirty tons of deadly pesticides into the surrounding areas, leaving hundreds dead and thousands seriously ill and injured. The people responsible for the incident never took responsibility for the tragedy. Efforts to assist the victims of the Bhopal disaster were few and far between if that.The events and characters within the novel may be fictional, but closely mirror the events of the bhopal disaster in India. There was no justice for the victims and the incident has been relatively forgotten.
The response to the disaster in Animals People and that of the volcano eruption in Hawaii are very similar. The actual victims of the disaster are the only ones to suffer. They deal with the loss of their homes, families, and even their lives.They have nothing left to give because everything is destroyed. This leaves them needing to ask for help from their government, neighboring areas , or just normal people. A majority of people would think that the population would be happy to help its own in a time of need however, that is often not the case. It is much more common for people to take advantage of a situation that puts others out of their homes and snatches their families away from them. It is much more common for people to find money in an event that kills and devastates hundreds of people. In the case of the disaster within Animals people, the people who came there to “help” betrayed the locals of the community. They gained the trust of the community and then used it against them to keep the community from getting justice for the long years of pain that they endured. The people of Khan]ufpur were left to fend for themselves while everyone else around them continued to benefit from their misfortune.In the case of the still erupting volcano in Hawaii, while the people flee in terror and worry, tourists flock to site of devastation. While sitting on their cruise ships, safe from the molten rock, They take pictures and smile, happy to be on the island that is being destroyed. The contrast between the people sitting on the massive cruise ships and the people fleeing for the lives is major when you consider that they are only mere feet away from each other. It is obvious that the people who are benefiting from disaster and those who are victimized by it live in very different worlds.To benefit from the pain of another human being is something that most would be disgusted and even surprised by. But should we really be surprised. In the history of disasters, Someone has always used it to their own advantage despite the pain that it causes for others.In ending this article I will leave you with this one question: what is really the natural response to disaster?
