Sharing the pain<\/p>\n
What should we do to help a friend in need who is now facing a
\ngreat tragedy; one who has helped us much and in a sincere way
\nwhen we faced a similar problem? What should we offer to this
\nmuch richer and much more advanced friend? A friend who has
\nnearly everything with him?<\/p>\n
That is perhaps the feeling of many Indonesians, especially
\nthe victims of the tsunami and earthquakes in Aceh province and
\nNias island, in North Sumatra, when they saw the harrowing
\nreports about the hurricane disaster in the southern United
\nStates on their televisions.<\/p>\n
The frustration of the people in New Orleans with the federal
\ngovernment and its slow arrival of emergency assistance was also
\nshared by the victims of the tsunami here, although actually the
\nU.S. government is supposed to be more prepared than the
\nIndonesian government, because unlike the tsunami, the arrival of
\nHurricane Katrina had been predicted long before. The magnitude
\nof the natural disaster however was much worse than the U.S.
\ngovernment anticipated.<\/p>\n
The sympathy of victims of the last year's tsunami disaster
\nto the victims of the Hurriance Katrina in New Orleans and their
\ngratitude for the massive humanitarian aid given by the U.S. to
\nthem were best reflected by the remarks of two Acehnese people.
\nThe televised images of water flooding New Orleans prompted
\npainful memories for the Acehnese people, many of them still
\nliving in displaced shelters or tents. About 130,000 people were
\nkilled in the tsunami on Dec. 26.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press' Chris Brummitt reported last week from
\nBanda Aceh, how Raju Danny, who lost his wife to the raging
\ntsunami torrent, and said \"I felt tears welling up when I saw
\nthat so many people had died.\"<\/p>\n
\"I would like to help, but all I have is my prayers,\" the
\nwaiter said during a break from serving rice and fried chicken to
\ncustomers in a seaside area of Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
A student, according to Brummitt, recalled the massive
\nhumanitarian effort undertaken by the U.S. military following the
\ndisaster. Within days, U.S. choppers were dropping off water and
\nemergency supplies to stranded villagers and collecting injured
\nsurvivors.<\/p>\n
\"America helped us a lot, and they were genuine too,\" said
\nReza Saputra, a 19-year-old student. \"One of their helicopters
\neven crashed here.\"<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday has expressed
\nhis condolences and sympathy to the U.S. President George W.
\nBush. With Indonesia still struggling to completely come out of
\nthe 1997 financial crisis, of course there is little the
\nPresident can offer to President Bush except sympathy from our
\nnation toward the suffering of Americans in New Orleans.<\/p>\n
Among friends who came to offer sympathy and help, Secretary
\nof State Condoleezza Rice especially praised Sri Lanka who
\ndonated US$25,000 although the country also is still battling to
\nrecover from the tsunami.<\/p>\n
\"It is very valuable for people being able to give to each
\nother and to be able to do so without a sense of means,\" Rice
\ncommented on Sri Lanka's help, as quoted by the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
An American citizen sent an email to this newspaper, telling
\nIndonesians it is their turn now to return the U.S. massive
\nassistance to Indonesia. We, Indonesians, will always feel
\ngratitude for the help of the U.S. government, and its citizens
\nto the victims of the tsunami in Aceh and Nias. The Americans do
\nnot need our physical or financial contribution because they can
\nsolve it themselves. But sincere attention from friends is very
\nhelpful for them in their recovery process from the impact of the
\nhurriance disaster.<\/p>\n
We want to repeat what Acehnese Raju Danny said, to the
\nhurricane victims in the New Orleans.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to help, but all we have is our prayers.\" May
\nGod help the Americans in facing this disaster.<\/p>\n
And we call on President Susilo to learn from Sri Lanka's good
\nexample. It is not a matter of the amount of the assistance, but
\nthe sincerity and care among friends. Although the amount of our
\nassistance is very small, the Americans will remember it as a
\nsymbol of our sympathy for them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sharing-the-pain-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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