General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "Please, do NOT pray for Japan.." [View all]davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I can understand from living in another country how people don't realize how much of a part they are of an international community. I'm sure the Japanese people helped when the Boxing Day tsunami hit SE Asia in 2004 (I had been on Koh Phi Phi island just about 5 months before the tsunami and a mother and daughter from Japan was in our tour group), and when Hurricane Katrina hit in the US. Maybe the only thing you can say to people when a tragedy like that happens and they feel like unimportant is that we are all one community.
The tragedy in Japan was it wasn't one single event, but three. I can't imagine how frustrated the people who lived in that area are. It is bad enough to try to rebuild after a tsunami, but the problems with the nuclear power plant caused a 20 km "no go" zone. They say it will be 40 years before it will be cleaned up.
One of the few things coming out of the disaster is that countries are taking a closer look at their nuclear power programs and how the plants are maintained. South Korea found fake parts in their plants. A large hurricane could have caused enough damage (all the plants are near the coast as well) to cause the same damage.