What else after Avian influenza?

Disaster after disaster has marked the ascension of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as President of the Republic of Indonesia inaugurated on Oct. 20 following the historic and peaceful direct legislative and presidential elections last year. Roughly a month after that the country was rocked by an earthquake in Alor, East Nusa Tenggara province, and a month later in mid December, similar disaster hit the town of Nabire, in Papua province.

Two weeks after that, exactly on Dec. 26, when he was in Papua to meet the victims of the earlier quake, a major tectonic earthquake measuring 9.3 on Richter scale, followed by a massive tsunami, hit the province of Aceh and part of North Sumatra causing no less than 120,000 fatalities, mostly in Aceh. This huge and monstrous tsunami, which also hit surrounding countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and Bangladesh awakened the world, and Indonesia became the focus of a massive international aid and relief operation with pledges of billions of dollars for reconstruction of the devastated areas.

Four months after that, another disaster, polio arose -- a highly infectious viral disease that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis, even death. It prompted the government to launch a nationwide polio vaccination campaign.

Barely a month later, the other disaster that put this country entered into the international spotlight were the hundreds of reported cases of severe malnutrition around the country, and even in areas where there is a rice surplus. It was proven later that most part of the country's provinces had pockets of severe malnutrition.

The latest disaster, which has just been thrust into the spotlight is avian influenza and the first case of human deaths here. So far, this virus has hit 132 regencies/municipalities in 21 provinces causing the death of around 9.53 million chickens and ducks (Republika, July 25). In terms of human casualties, three people from one family in Tangerang regency have died.

All of these aforementioned disasters, to those who believe that all things are predestined by God, including President SBY, would see that behind all these disasters, there will one day be a day of prosperity. That is, if he continues on with his relentless effort to clamp down on corruption cases, which have caused a lot of suffering to the people.

M. RUSDI Jakarta