The Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina

8th September 2005

Everyone's doing it (blogging that is).

I've been thinking about blogging, but never been motivated enough. The concept of putting one's private thoughts on paper and feeding it out to the world for others to read is an alien one to me, and I can't really see that anyone else would be interested.

However, I've been motivated to take the first step and start to keep a diary. This evening I have been very moved by a BBC programme (Horizon) looking at the work of forensic scientists in the aftermath of the Tsunami. The final interview was of someone describing his family as "one of the lucky ones" because they had been able to bury his brother. The forensic scientists had matched his remains to items that his family had provided.

What is so moving is the conspiracy of circumstances that should bring someone to describe in such positive terms the experience of finding a loved one had died.

I watched this BBC program in the context, whist driving home, of hearing on the news that the authorities had shipped 25,000 body bags to New Orleans.

There are now tens or even hundreds of thousands of people experiencing uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones.

Background

BBC News:

"It could take three years to identify everyone killed in Thailand during the tsunami, Thai officials have said..."