Since the turn of the century, our world has experienced a record number of precipitating natural disasters, the latest of which struck last month.

On Dec. 26, waves of mass destruction moved with the speed of an airline jet, hit twelve countries in South Asia and caused incredible destruction! They turned into rubble houses, hotels, schools, restaurants, shops and hospitals, which had been teeming with people.

The entire world is mesmerized, horrified and numb at the incredible devastation the tsunami left behind. Thousands of lives have been lost; thousands of people have been injured. The livelihood of millions has collapsed. Many unfortunate souls have been deprived of their homes and of their loved ones.

Modern technology has brought to our doorsteps scenes from areas hit by waves of mass destruction. They are copycats of scenes hit by man-made disasters in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere.

We have seen footage of towns and villages wiped out in a matter of minutes. We have watched faces of lost, bewildered, orphaned children and homeless people. We have heard the shrieks of tiny babies, whose parents disappeared, leaving them behind to face an uncertain future.

We have seen pictures of tourists, who were resting, relaxing, sea diving and enjoying the warmth of well-renowned beaches, when their holiday suddenly turned into a frightful nightmare. Many tourists perished, many were injured, and many lost their children, their spouses, their relatives or their close friends.

We have seen images of traumatized and stranded men, women and children, who the media and the press rightly call” the only lucky survivors”. They are lucky indeed, for unlike thousands of victims of man-made disasters around the globe, the media and the press have not pushed their horrific tragedy under their thick carpet and the spin machine has not replaced their sad story with another.

Over the next thousand years and beyond, the disaster that hit South Asia on Dec. 26 will be looked upon, not only as a tragedy that destroyed lives and livelihood, but also as a natural disaster that has changed time itself!

We are told that the ocean-bed was struck so hard, that the rotation of the earth literally altered. Henceforward, our days will be a fraction of a second shorter.

We are facing enormous challenges and living in very difficult times. We have placed the heavy burden of the coordination of the relief efforts on the weakened shoulders of the United Nations (UN). Luckily, the UN will not be alone this time. It will be supported by the rising superpower that united us in a short-lived solidarity after the destruction of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. It will be assisted by the same superpower, which tried to spare the Iraqi people the woes, the horrors and the misery of a merciless war and protect Iraq from the devastation that modern war machinery is capable of inflicting.

The UN will be supported by “The United People of the World” (UPW).

UPW has no prejudices, no favorites, and harbors no ill feelings. It has no hidden agenda, no long-term materialistic ambitions.

UPW has a human face that does not frown, a voice that does not threaten, a tongue that tells no lies, a heart that does not hate, arms that embrace all humanity and hands that deliver food to the hungry, distribute clean water to the thirsty, rebuild shattered communities and plant olive trees. It is a superpower that protects orphaned children, comforts the bereaved and wipes tears.

The new superpower is the healthy, benevolent child of globalization. It condemns the humiliation of the weak and the exploitation of the poor. It exposes the corruption of the rich and shames the arrogance of the mighty.

UPW does not possess drones, nuclear bombs or precision weapons. Its multinational, multifaith, multicolor volunteer army fights with care, love, compassion and generosity. Its soldiers are honest men and women of all ages and all professions. They are from all regions and from all walks of life. They build and do not destroy, they save lives and do not kill, they heal wounds and do not torture. They are loved and greeted with open arms, wherever they land.

Is the solidarity the tsunami promoted among us eternal? Can UPW pressure governments to honor their pledges to the victims of the tsunami? Will it develop the strength and the stamina to call for a drastic reduction in expenditure on deadly weapons? Will it help us live in a nuclear-free world before a natural and a man-made disaster joined forces and annihilated our very existence?

The conflicts and wars in Africa and the Middle East have caused more devastation and claimed more lives than the tsunami of Dec. 26. Will UPW help in finding just and fair solutions to chronic problems, so we can live in peace?

Maybe.