The risk of being poor?<\/p>\n
A horrific picture was shown on TV of a fishing village in
\nWest Aceh devastated by the tsunami. The landscape was flat; only
\none building stuck out, the village mosque. What did the picture
\ntell me?<\/p>\n
The mosque is the strongest building in the area, as it is the
\nmost precious property that the villagers have. The rest of the
\nbuildings including the homes used cheaper materials, and
\ntherefore, were not as strong. This shows me how great the
\ndevotion of the villagers to God is.<\/p>\n
In my travels in Indonesia I have never seen a wealthy fishing
\nvillage. Their villages are poor, as their catch depends on small
\nwooden boats, with a small portable motor. I have never seen
\ntrawlers with a big crane on the back, with refrigerated storage
\nand equipped with sonar and radio, on their docks. They saved
\nwhat they had earned for the beautiful mosque, to express their
\nlove for God.<\/p>\n
History shows that the Acehnese people stand up for what they
\nbelieve in, which is a rare quality these days. So, why did these
\nGod-loving, honest villagers experience such a tragic fate? Many
\nof them drowned or lost their loved ones. Has God forsaken them?<\/p>\n
Having no knowledge in theology and afraid that I may
\njeopardize my own faith, I chose not to pursue such a question. I
\ntried to find the answer simply by using logic, and I have come
\nup with a painful conclusion that many of people affected by the
\ntsunami died simply because they were poor.<\/p>\n
Nobody can stop such a natural disaster; however, the number
\nof casualties could be minimized. That is, if, and only if, those
\npeople could afford it. The government when asked why a tsunami
\nwarning system is not in place in the Indian ocean replied that
\nthe system is expensive.<\/p>\n
How expensive? Something is deemed expensive when the cost is
\nbigger than the benefit.<\/p>\n
A problem was once posed in an engineering school about 10
\nyears ago, in which students were asked to calculate how many
\nsafety fences had to be installed, and where, along the highway
\naround a small city in Texas. The cost of installing and
\nmaintaining the fences was given and the students were given
\naccess to the highway accident data from the local government.<\/p>\n
The state of Texas estimates a loss of US$2 million for a
\nfatality, while the losses through various other injuries are
\nalso calculated. The students had to analyze the accident
\ndatabase to see in what areas spending money to install and
\nmaintain the fences would save a lot more money than the losses
\nincurred due to fatalities and injuries. Meaning, the investment
\nis justified or not expensive.<\/p>\n
ROBERTUS HERU TRIHARJANTO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-risk-of-being-poor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }