if you wanna sing out...

I've been watching very closely as the story continues to unfold- the one of the tsunami that struck Banda Aceh, off the coast of Sri Lanka, last weekend, killing more than 100,000 people. One of the principal lessons that seems to be emerging because of this disaster is the need for coordination. While earthquakes cannot be detected ahead of time, tsunamis can. That is, there are detection systems for tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean; they are none for the Indian Ocean. Such systems are costly, and not something that countries surrounding the Indian Ocean could afford. Is the answer purchasing a early-warning tsunami detection system, despite the fact that tsunamis happen only once every 200 years in the Indian Ocean? The NY Times article on detection systems indicates that educating people about tsunamis would be the more effective strategy.

But beyond coordinating an early warning system, there is also coordination at the back-end, post-disaster. For example, the people of Banda Aceh are wondering where the aid is-- it is in fact sitting at the airport. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is trying to halt the spread of water-borne disease by pumping massive amounts of clean water into affected areas. So, does this mean that we should not give money to aid organizations to assist in the effort? No. I think it is our responsibility to give- as St. Madeleine Sophie Barat might say: "To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected."