The risk of being poor?

A horrific picture was shown on TV of a fishing village in West Aceh devastated by the tsunami. The landscape was flat; only one building stuck out, the village mosque. What did the picture tell me?

The mosque is the strongest building in the area, as it is the most precious property that the villagers have. The rest of the buildings including the homes used cheaper materials, and therefore, were not as strong. This shows me how great the devotion of the villagers to God is.

In my travels in Indonesia I have never seen a wealthy fishing village. Their villages are poor, as their catch depends on small wooden boats, with a small portable motor. I have never seen trawlers with a big crane on the back, with refrigerated storage and equipped with sonar and radio, on their docks. They saved what they had earned for the beautiful mosque, to express their love for God.

History shows that the Acehnese people stand up for what they believe in, which is a rare quality these days. So, why did these God-loving, honest villagers experience such a tragic fate? Many of them drowned or lost their loved ones. Has God forsaken them?

Having no knowledge in theology and afraid that I may jeopardize my own faith, I chose not to pursue such a question. I tried to find the answer simply by using logic, and I have come up with a painful conclusion that many of people affected by the tsunami died simply because they were poor.

Nobody can stop such a natural disaster; however, the number of casualties could be minimized. That is, if, and only if, those people could afford it. The government when asked why a tsunami warning system is not in place in the Indian ocean replied that the system is expensive.

How expensive? Something is deemed expensive when the cost is bigger than the benefit.

A problem was once posed in an engineering school about 10 years ago, in which students were asked to calculate how many safety fences had to be installed, and where, along the highway around a small city in Texas. The cost of installing and maintaining the fences was given and the students were given access to the highway accident data from the local government.

The state of Texas estimates a loss of US$2 million for a fatality, while the losses through various other injuries are also calculated. The students had to analyze the accident database to see in what areas spending money to install and maintain the fences would save a lot more money than the losses incurred due to fatalities and injuries. Meaning, the investment is justified or not expensive.

ROBERTUS HERU TRIHARJANTO
Jakarta